Day Trip Adventure: Windmill Walk, Golden Gate Park
Picnic at the Dutch Windmill, sip (root) beer at the Beach Chalet, hike around to the Murphy Windmill, and play at the Blue Boat Playground.
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.
The base of the Dutch Windmill at the west-end of Golden Gate Park by Cody Tolmasoff
Windmill Walk — Bonus Golden Gate Park Adventure
Before we wrap up these family outings, I thought it would be a good idea to include some Golden Gate Park specific adventures. The ones from the west side (west of 19th Avenue) are from a book I published in 2018 called San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park West, 5 Family Explorations, Day Trips On The West Side Of The Park. There is a companion book that has been on the back burner that covers the east side of the park too, I’ll include highlights from there as well.
There are 5 more adventures with 3 bonus adventures from the GGP West book, so that makes 8 more. I’d expect about the same for the GGP East book, giving us about 16 more days together. Let me know what you think.
Adventure: Windmill Walk at the west end of Golden Gate park
Picnic at the Dutch Windmill
Drink a (root) beer at the Beach Chalet
Hike to the Murphy Windmill
Play at the Blue Boat Playground
At the far western edge of Golden Gate Park is a nice flat trail that will take you by the two windmills, the Beach Chalet, and the Blue Boat playground.
I like to park near the Blue Boat Playground on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive near Bernice Rodgers Way, then start walking down to the Dutch Windmill from there. Continuing on past the monument for the Gjøa (formerly the site of the first boat to navigate the North-West Passage, now restored back in Norway), you will find the Beach Chalet. Inside the lower level, you can look at some wonderful fresco’s of San Francisco life back in the 1930s.
Continuing along (what used to be a steam train line) the west end of the park, you will arrive at the recently renovated Murphy windmill. Both windmills originally pumped water for irrigation throughout the park. Finally, continuing along MLK Drive to the Blue Boat playground for some playtime after your hike.
For more detailed information about this trip, have a look for the book mentioned above.
Picnic at the Dutch Windmill
Dutch Windmill in Golden Gate Park by Cody Tolmasoff
The Dutch Windmill and Wilhelmina Tulip garden is a wonderful spot for a picnic, fairly protected from any wind. Groundskeepers cycle flowers in the garden beds throughout the year, so you may not see tulips.
Originally built in 1903 to pump groundwater into ponds further east for irrigating the park, its function was replaced by an electric pump in 1913 and fell into disrepair by the 1950s. Campaigns starting in the mid-1960s started to raise funds for its restoration, and by 1981 it was restored to its former glory. For many years it was the only functional windmill in the park (turning but not pumping water). Today it is in need of repair again, it no longer runs.
Drink a (root) beer at the Beach Chalet
The Beach Chalet in Golden Gate Park by Cody Tolmasoff
We are lucky to have the Beach Chalet building today. From 1979 through 1996, the building was fenced off after a tenure as a VFW bar took its toll on the building, which had been here since WWII. The current restaurant helped restore the building to its former glory and built the second restaurant on the park side called the Park Chalet as it became a popular spot.
Originally, the Willis Polk designed building (opened in 1925) was a restaurant and changing room for the beach, with a tunnel connecting it to the beach under the Great Highway. The Murals were added in 1936 by Lucien Adolphe Labaudt as part of a Works Progress Administration project. Take some time to investigate the frescos on the lower floor, along with the carved octopus railing, and the mosaic pointing to the restrooms.
While you are here, you might as well stop for a quick drink. The Beach Chalet brews its own root beer, and a selection of locally themed beers that are pretty good. The root beer is not as sugary as regular soda, and has some natural flavors that really come through when you drink it. They have some good appetizers too. The upstairs Beach Chalet is a little more upscale, and the downstairs Park Chalet a bit more casual. Although I love the view and sunset from the Beach Chalet, I have been to the Park Chalet more often.
The trail from behind the Park Chalet along the soccer fields and on to the Murphy windmill was originally a steam train right of way, eventually becoming a streetcar line. As you take the stairs down to the windmill, imagine the connecting bridge across what is now MLK Drive to the hill on the other side, easing down onto Lincoln Blvd. to head east.
Hike to the Murphy Windmill
Murphy Windmill by Cody Tolmasoff
Built in 1908 following the success of the nearby Dutch windmill, wealthy banker Samuel Murphy donated the funds for a windmill to be built in his name. This is a larger windmill, which was able to pump 40,000 gallons of water per day (compared to the 30,000 the Dutch windmill could pump). It was retired at the same time as the Dutch windmill, and also fell into disrepair, losing its fins in a severe storm.
Restoration started in 2002 with the entire top of the wooden structure being removed and sent back to Holland for repair. Returned and reinstalled in 2012, it is now the site of annual Dutch celebrations for Kings Day. Fun Fact, this windmill turns the opposite direction from traditional windmills.
Play at the Blue Boat Playground
Blue Boat Playground by Cody Tolmasoff
The Blue Boat has been here from at least the early 1970s. This was close to where I grew up, and was always a favorite to visit. Although the playground has been updated, much of the original equipment remains including a corkscrew slide. There is also a newly installed bathroom facility nearby.
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 5 May 2020