The 210-page 'Discovering Golden Gate Park: A Local's Guide' covers the natural attraction's history and beauty
A new guidebook written by a pair of San Francisco residents will give locals tips, tricks and tidbits about Golden Gate Park , one of the world’s largest urban parks . Author Marta Lindsey and walking and biking tour designer Nancy Botkin will release “Discovering Golden Gate Park : A Local’s Guide” on March 2.
The 210-page book covers the park’s nearly 160-year history, while also giving readers recommendations on how to best spend their days at the 1,017-acre urban oasis. The book’s topics include fun activities and entertainment to experience in the park, as well as the types of trees, insects and animals that can be found living in the area. Botkin designed walking and hiking trails that will take readers through places like Golden Gate Park’s rose garden, redwood groves, waterfalls and other scenic locations. Lindsey and Botkin said working on the book allowed them to interact with other residents who are passionate about Golden Gate Park in their own ways, while also giving them the opportunity to elevate the park’s beauty for others. “Falling in love with Golden Gate Park was the falling in love with San Francisco for me,” said Lindsey, who moved near the Panhandle with her husband five years ago after a few years of living in the Inner Sunset. The park soon became the backdrop for barbecues with friends, walks with her children and free concerts at the Golden Gate Bandshell. Lindsey had previously ventured into the world of literature with “Golden Gate Park, An A to Z Adventure,” a 2020 book illustrated by artist Michael Wertz that introduced children to the English alphabet with things that could be found in the park.“Discovering Golden Gate Park” is published by Mountaineers Books, a Seattle-based nonprofit publisher of literature dedicated to enjoying outdoor lifestyles. Mountaineers Books has previously released guidebooks for parks in cities like Los Angeles, Denver and Portland. Mountaineers Books Editor-in-Chief Kate Rogers worked with Lindsey to develop her manuscript. Rogers said she was “impressed” by Lindsey’s work on the alphabet book.Lindsey recruited Botkin for her project, as the latter “just knows The City in this encyclopedic way,” Lindsey said. The pair also bonded through their work with Walk San Francisco, a nonprofit that advocates to make The City more pedestrian friendly. Over the past 20 years, Botkin said she has helped create some of the organization's popular walking tours and fundraising walks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Botkin organized group bike rides in the park, including one based on the history of road closures in the park. The ride took cyclists to locations including the Panhandle and Skatin' Place on 6th Avenue. “Once you start researching something seemingly obscure, like all the roads that used to be open to cars and now are closed, you can go down a lot of fascinating detours in the history room of the ,” Botkin said. 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Botkin said she remembered Lindsey being “a new mom, enthusiastically pushing a stroller over the rough paths, all the while carrying on serious conversations and having no problem keeping up with the group.”Lindsey said she researched subjects such as where to find the cleanest restrooms in the park, the cheapest cup of coffee or the best playground to help beat a foggy day. There are also sections on the best times of year to find butterflies on Strawberry Hill, as well as bits on where to see spiders spinning their webs and how to identify the park’s many trees. Lindsey said she was particularly excited about highlighting the 10-acre National AIDS Memorial Grove. “You start going up this creek and you feel like you’re hiking in Marin. It’s so pretty,” Lindsey said. Historical figures highlighted by the book include John McLaren, who helped develop the park for over 50 years with landscape design and other developments, and Sue Bierman, the former San Francisco supervisor who organized for eight years against a proposal that would have allowed freeways to run through the Panhandle.San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department Interim General Manager Sarah Madland said Golden Gate Park has “become a core part of San Francisco’s identity.” She said her department was “proud of how meaningful this space is to both residents and visitors” and “excited to see that story captured in this book.” Once the book is released, Botkin said she hopes residents will learn that “there is no reason to feel bored or alone in this city.” “No matter what your ability or energy level is, there is something to do in the park,” she said. “Whether it’s finding solitude, community, awe or wonder.” The paperback edition of “Discovering Golden Gate Park” can be purchased online for $21.95 plus shipping and handling fees.
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