I’m a Bay Area native who grew up when the Presidio, now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, was still a military base. And though it made the transition from oldest continuously operating military post in the U.S. to public park nearly 20 years ago, it was only recently that I spent most of a day exploring—and being delighted by, what I found. Here are my top six surprises of the Presidio:
You Can Get There for Free: The PresidiGo Shuttle is a free service that connects the Presidio with stops in downtown San Francisco between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. (and again after 7:30 p.m.). There’s also a free shuttle within the park.
You Can Sleep There: The Inn at the Presidio is a beautifully restored former home for bachelor officers with 22 rooms (most of them suites). Though it’s in San Francisco, the inn has the feel of a rural coastal getaway. It also has a fantastic front porch and downloadable magazines, which makes it pretty much the perfect urban oasis.
You Can Sit on the Bench That Inspired Disneyland: There’s a lot of cool stuff at the Walt Disney Family Museum (including the special Oscar accompanied by seven “dwarf” Oscar figures for Snow White and the Seven Dwarves), but the thing I liked best was a beat-up old bench that was, as the story goes, the spot in L.A.’s Griffith Park where Walt Disney often sat as he came up with the idea for Disneyland.
You Can Join a Giant Weekend Picnic: From mid-April through late October, the folks who bring Off the Grid food truck nights to cities around the Bay Area also host a weekly Sunday Picnic at the Presidio. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Main Post Lawn (the giant lawn in the heart of the Presidio), picnickers can set up a blanket and then choose among offerings from local restaurants and farms.
You Can See Yoda: Star Wars fans, rejoice! The Presidio is home to Lucasfilm’s Letterman Digital Arts Center. Though there aren’t tours of the facility, you can explore the campus’ 17 acres of landscaped public property and check out the Yoda Fountain. According to reviewers on Yelp, geeking out with the security guards on the way in is half the fun.
You Can Feast: History and Dungeness Crab Benedict? The Presidio Social Club serves up both in a beautifully converted former military barracks. It’s open for weekday lunch and dinner as well as weekend brunch and dinner, and it’s got brioche beignets with brown sugar hot chocolate for dessert.
You Might Also Like:
- Foods You Want in Summer
- The New California Air-Travel Market
- 10 Ways to Get Up Close and Personal with Sharks
(Photo: Zack Sheppard via flickr/CC Attribution/Share Alike)
We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.
Related
Top Fares From
Today's Top Travel Deals
Brought to you by ShermansTravel
9-Night Seoul, Hong Kong & Tokyo...
Exoticca
vacation $3099+16-Night Hawaiian Islands Cruise Over Christmas...
Princess Cruises
cruise $1579+Ohio: Daily Car Rentals from Cincinnati
85OFF.com
Car Rental $19+