Hiking through the Presidio

Traveling through the Presidio it becomes appart at how underutilized the park really is. Crissy Field is always packed, but much of the rest of the park seems mostly empty.
This leads to the question of who actually uses the park. Crissy field is covered with dogs and their owners, residents going for strolls and there always seems to be a party or barbecue. Fort point is a popular area for tourists as it sits beneath the largest tourist attraction in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge. Surrounded by water on three sides Fort Point offers an interesting sight just off its rocky shore.
As the water flows out of San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean beneath the Golden Gate Bridge waves form. Those waves run along the rocky shore just east of Fort Point and on a good day there are surfers out in the water. Surfing just below the Golden Gate Bridge seems completely out of place for the location not to mention dangerous. The waves run south parallel to Fort Point and crash into the roadway connecting the fort to Crissy Field. With a dicent swell the waves will soak any cars or bystanders situated too close the the bay. With no beach around the surfers have to be careful, because if they ride a wave a little too far in they just might end up smashed against those rocks.
Moving away from the coast and up higher into the Presidio the flow of traffic begins to drop off sharply. The parade grounds are usually lively as the main office for people visiting the Presidio is located there along with other shops and the soon to be Disney store.
Deeper into the Presido traffic continues to dwindle until the only people around or in cars or biking along the various trails.
Going south to the Richmond-Presidio border lies the Presidio golf course, which certainly looks out of my price range with a few Bentley in the parking lot.

First impressions

Richmond and the Presidio sit in the relatively quiet northern end of San Francisco. Away from the congested downtown and tourist filled marina areas.

Richmond nestled between two beautiful parks, Golden Gate Park to the south and the Presidio to the north, is a mostly residential area with commerce in the form of small local business.

The Presidio, the only national park to reside within a major metropolitan city, is a calming oasis in America’s 14th largest city, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The Presidio is a remarkable place. As a former military base turned national park the change is amazing. Aside from Crissy Field, which is packed on the weekends, the park seems underutilized. Commerce has been slowly introduced to the park with the rehabilitation of the buildings, but with some resistance from neighbors regarding the commercialization the progress has been slow.

The lack of people in such a beautiful place is startling, considering two major highways, 101 and 1, cut though the park. The Presidio’s northern point connects the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco. There is significant traffic at Crissy Field and north to Fort Point, which rests under the Golden Gate Bridge, but those appear to be the only high traffic areas. Perhaps my visits have just been at ill-timed moments, but the greater area of the park appears to be overlooked.

Coming south out of the Presidio, Richmond is a large area, but due to its residential nature is quiet most of the day. People are often moving from the homes to work or out for a bite to eat at one of the many local restaurants. The area lacks any true gathering areas for the community, Executive Director of the Richmond District Neighborhood Center Michelle Cusano said. Though two parks flank Richmond there are not many within the borders of the district itself. Resulting in a lack of areas for the community to come together. This is the goal of the Richmond District Neighborhood Center, to offer an area for the community to come together. By offering outreach programs to students and elderly in the area they are working hard to bring the community together.