Day Trip Adventure: Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park
Stroll around Stow Lake, hike to the top of Strawberry Hill, paddle a boat around Stow Lake.
This is part of a series of family-oriented day trip outings around the San Francisco Bay Area I look forward to enjoying with my kids once social distancing and shelter in place isn’t the norm any longer.
Stow Lake Boat House by Cody Tolmasoff
Stroll around Stow Lake — A Bonus Adventure
One of my favorite holiday traditions growing up was taking a Christmas day walk with my family around Stow Lake and to the top of Strawberry Hill. When we would get out-of-town visitors, we would often go for a walk around the lake, look for the ruins of the Sweeney Observatory that was once at the top of Strawberry Hill, walk down Huntington Falls, visit the Pagoda, and cross the Rustic and Roman bridges.
Adventure: Stroll around Stow Lake
Stroll around Stow Lake
Hike to the top of Strawberry Hill
Paddle a boat around Stow Lake
Stroll around Stow Lake
Rustic Bridge at Stow Lake by Cody Tolmasoff
A stroll around Stow Lake itself is a flat 1-mile loop. You’ll pass by the boathouse, the Rustic Bridge, the Roman Bridge, you’ll see the Pagoda over on the island, and Huntington Falls. Stow Lake was originally conceived in the 1870s as a reservoir and irrigation system and finished construction in 1893. Water would be pumped to a reservoir at the top of Strawberry Hill to create water pressure to irrigate the park, transforming the sandy landscape to the lush park we know today. Donations from prominent businessmen and local landowners got them naming rights to Sweeney Observatory, Huntington Falls, and Stow Lake.
Hike to the top of Strawberry Hill
Ruins of Sweeney Observatory at the top of Strawberry Hill by Cody Tolmasoff
The hike to the top is roughly a 150-foot climb to the top. Strawberry Hill was named for the wild strawberries that once covered the hillside. At one time, this was one of the higher points in the city, and from Sweeny Observatory you could see the ocean, the bay, and downtown San Francisco. The Observatory was a columned two-story cement structure completed in 1891, and it lasted until 1906 when it succumbed to the earthquake.
Paddle a boat around Stow Lake
Paddleboats near the Stow Lake Boathouse by Cody Tolmasoff
You can rent a rowboat or paddleboat by the hour from the Stow Lake Boathouse by the hour. A leisurely trip around the lake takes about that time. The rowboat can be a little tricky (unless you have experience), so a paddleboat might be a safer bet, paddle boats come in 2, 4, or 6 seaters. Life jackets are available.
Cody Tolmasoff is an author and publisher for Adventuring.in. He is a recovering programmer and a San Francisco native, raising two daughters, and regularly finding new adventures around the SF Bay Area. This article is an excerpt from a book, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park West.
Find him on Twitter @codyo, and read his most recent title Adventures in Getting Out on Amazon, filled with advice on successfully getting your family out for day trip adventures.
Originally published on Medium on 10 May 2020