San Francisco - Golden Gate National Recreation Area

In 1972 the U.S. Congress decreed the creation of a large leisure park in San Francisco and Marin County on the other side of the Bay, partly to prevent the coastal area from becoming built up or blighted by industry.

The park, covering an area of some 600sq.mi/1,600sq.km, was christened the Golden Gate National Recreational Area. Every weekend many thousands of San Franciscans take advantage of its wide open spaces. There are islands, stretches of seashore, small-craft harbors, buildings of historic interest and, in the Marin County section, wildlife reserves, picnic places and over 90mi/150km of footpaths.