Golden Gate Park, San FranciscoWelcome to Golden Gate Park - one of the great urban parks of the world and San Francisco's green heart. Stretching three miles from the Panhandle to the Pacific Ocean, this 1,017-acre masterpiece was carved out of bare sand dunes in the 1870s by visionary engineer William Hammond Hall and transformed into its lush present form by legendary superintendent John McLaren, who tended the park for 55 dedicated years. What you see today - dense forests, meadows, lakes, and gardens teeming with birds and wildlife - was once described as an impossible dream. The park contains two world-class museums, the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States, a Victorian glass conservatory, 55 acres of botanical garden, a herd of wild bison, and a pair of 19th-century Dutch windmills. This tour travels from the park's eastern entrance near Stanyan Street all the way west to the shores of the Pacific. Allow a full day, wear comfortable shoes, and prepare to be surprised at every turn.Stops on this tourMcLaren Lodge and Sharon MeadowConservatory of FlowersRhododendron DellMusic Concourse and Spreckels Temple of Musicde Young MuseumCalifornia Academy of SciencesJapanese Tea GardenSan Francisco Botanical GardenStow Lake and Strawberry HillSpreckels Lake and Model Yacht ClubPolo Fields and Speedway MeadowBuffalo Paddock - American Bison HerdRainbow Falls and Chain of LakesDutch Windmill and Queen Wilhelmina Tulip GardenOcean Beach - Western Gateway