Black Point Historic Gardens-Fort Mason
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Black Point Historic Gardens starting from near Fort Mason Chapel
Starting Point:
Parking area near Fort Mason Chapel: Franklin Street is largely a one-way street, but Franklin’s north end runs two-ways as it enters Fort Mason at its eastern end. Check signs for parking rules. We usually find parking in the area past where Franklin Street crosses Bay Street into Fort Mason. Look for signs directing visitors to the Black Point Historic Gardens slightly northeast of Fort Mason Chapel.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Black Point Historic Gardens info link (Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy:
https://www.parksconservancy.org/projects/black-point-historic-gardens
Fort Mason Map (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/upload/map-foma_accessibility.pdf
Fort Mason Visitor info with map (Fort Mason.org):
https://fortmason.org/visit/
Black Point Battery info link (Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy:
https://www.parksconservancy.org/trails/black-point-battery-trail
Black Point/Fort Mason history link (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/historyculture/fort-mason.htm
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park link (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/safr/index.htm
Distance:
A walk starting from the Fort Mason Chapel, walking past Black Point Battery, then along Black Point Historic Gardens and to the Maritime Museum and back doesn’t make much more than a half mile loop. Walking distance can be extended by walking through Fort Mason’s Great Meadow Park and down to Marina Green, or going in the opposite direction and walking past the Maritime Museum, Aquatic Park and Hyde Street Pier to explore Fisherman’s Wharf.
Considerations:
• Always check parking signs carefully. Rules vary.
• There is paid parking in the western part of Fort Mason, but that can get crowded, and is away from the Black Point Historic Gardens. The Franklin Street entrance is less crowded and is near the gardens.
• Toilet facilities are not available right at the Franklin Street/Black Point Battery start of this walk. There is a toilet facility just south of the Philip Burton statue at Great Meadow Park in Fort Mason. The Maritime Museum and the National Park Visitor Center (San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and Museum, 499 Jefferson) on Jefferson Street are free visitor sites with great exhibits and public bathrooms. There are also public bathrooms on Hyde Street Pier before the paid entry historic ship area.
• This is a city walk. Use urban common sense. Lock vehicles, with no items left visible within car interior.
The trail:
Visiting Black Point Historic Gardens means navigating a few stairways. We like to start from parking near Fort Mason Chapel, and either check out Black Point Battery first (see Fort Mason Stairs to Hyde Street Pier for more on seeing Black Point Battery), or follow the signs from the chapel directing us directly to the Black Point Historical Gardens.
This option is a very short walk on pavement to a hilltop with a glorious view of San Francisco Bay featuring Alcatraz and the historic ships of Hyde Street Pier.
The garden restoration is still a work in progress, but a lovely variety of flowers has started to fill in the space nicely. Amble down the stairs and see what happens to be blooming.
Pink, orange, yellow and purple flecks of color highlight the views as you walk along. On our last visit, orange poppies and orange nasturtium lined the rock wall we followed to get to the stairs leading down to the lower end of Van Ness where it connects to lead to the Aquatic Park Pier in one direction and to Aquatic Park, the Maritime Museum, and Hyde Street Pier with its historic ships in the other. The San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park Visitor Center on Jefferson St. is another great place to visit for a taste of San Francisco history.
For our return walk if we’ve gone down to Aquatic Park and Hyde Street Pier, we often walk a block up to North Point Street or Bay Street and make our way back to Van Ness Avenue. Rather than take the stairs back, we usually enter the front of Fort Mason from Bay Street just past Van Ness, and find our way back to the car through this quiet section of Fort Mason.
Those who want a bit more of a touristy visit can extend their walk further down along Fisherman’s Wharf.
(Black Point Historic Gardens-Fort Mason Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Reframing the View” Insights post.)
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Black Point Historic Gardens starting from near Fort Mason Chapel
Starting Point:
Parking area near Fort Mason Chapel: Franklin Street is largely a one-way street, but Franklin’s north end runs two-ways as it enters Fort Mason at its eastern end. Check signs for parking rules. We usually find parking in the area past where Franklin Street crosses Bay Street into Fort Mason. Look for signs directing visitors to the Black Point Historic Gardens slightly northeast of Fort Mason Chapel.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Black Point Historic Gardens info link (Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy:
https://www.parksconservancy.org/projects/black-point-historic-gardens
Fort Mason Map (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/upload/map-foma_accessibility.pdf
Fort Mason Visitor info with map (Fort Mason.org):
https://fortmason.org/visit/
Black Point Battery info link (Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy:
https://www.parksconservancy.org/trails/black-point-battery-trail
Black Point/Fort Mason history link (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/historyculture/fort-mason.htm
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park link (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/safr/index.htm
Distance:
A walk starting from the Fort Mason Chapel, walking past Black Point Battery, then along Black Point Historic Gardens and to the Maritime Museum and back doesn’t make much more than a half mile loop. Walking distance can be extended by walking through Fort Mason’s Great Meadow Park and down to Marina Green, or going in the opposite direction and walking past the Maritime Museum, Aquatic Park and Hyde Street Pier to explore Fisherman’s Wharf.
Considerations:
• Always check parking signs carefully. Rules vary.
• There is paid parking in the western part of Fort Mason, but that can get crowded, and is away from the Black Point Historic Gardens. The Franklin Street entrance is less crowded and is near the gardens.
• Toilet facilities are not available right at the Franklin Street/Black Point Battery start of this walk. There is a toilet facility just south of the Philip Burton statue at Great Meadow Park in Fort Mason. The Maritime Museum and the National Park Visitor Center (San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and Museum, 499 Jefferson) on Jefferson Street are free visitor sites with great exhibits and public bathrooms. There are also public bathrooms on Hyde Street Pier before the paid entry historic ship area.
• This is a city walk. Use urban common sense. Lock vehicles, with no items left visible within car interior.
The trail:
Visiting Black Point Historic Gardens means navigating a few stairways. We like to start from parking near Fort Mason Chapel, and either check out Black Point Battery first (see Fort Mason Stairs to Hyde Street Pier for more on seeing Black Point Battery), or follow the signs from the chapel directing us directly to the Black Point Historical Gardens.
This option is a very short walk on pavement to a hilltop with a glorious view of San Francisco Bay featuring Alcatraz and the historic ships of Hyde Street Pier.
The garden restoration is still a work in progress, but a lovely variety of flowers has started to fill in the space nicely. Amble down the stairs and see what happens to be blooming.
Pink, orange, yellow and purple flecks of color highlight the views as you walk along. On our last visit, orange poppies and orange nasturtium lined the rock wall we followed to get to the stairs leading down to the lower end of Van Ness where it connects to lead to the Aquatic Park Pier in one direction and to Aquatic Park, the Maritime Museum, and Hyde Street Pier with its historic ships in the other. The San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park Visitor Center on Jefferson St. is another great place to visit for a taste of San Francisco history.
For our return walk if we’ve gone down to Aquatic Park and Hyde Street Pier, we often walk a block up to North Point Street or Bay Street and make our way back to Van Ness Avenue. Rather than take the stairs back, we usually enter the front of Fort Mason from Bay Street just past Van Ness, and find our way back to the car through this quiet section of Fort Mason.
Those who want a bit more of a touristy visit can extend their walk further down along Fisherman’s Wharf.
(Black Point Historic Gardens-Fort Mason Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Reframing the View” Insights post.)
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
