Wood Line – Presidio
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Wood Line, the Andy Goldsworthy environmental artpiece that is the heart of this walk, starts in the southeast corner of the Presidio, near the intersection of West Pacific Ave. and Presidio Blvd.
Starting Point: This hike description makes for a loop walk starting near the Julius Kahn Playground (recently renamed the Presidio Wall Playground). Driving north on Arguello Blvd., just past the gate entrance to the Presidio past Jackson St., there is a sharp right turn onto a small side road, West Pacific Ave., which runs along a wall on the right and the park on the left. There is road shoulder parking along the wall near the playground.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Wood Line Presidio info link (Presidio.gov):
https://www.presidio.gov/places/andy-goldsworthys-wood-line
Presidio info link (Presidio.gov):
https://www.presidio.gov
Video links about Andy Goldsworthy’s art in the Presidio:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIp9fPrGZsOnLlvomKNsX1pUyUFVsPpCx
Map links:
Presidio trail map (Presidio.gov):
https://wp.presidio.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Trails-Map-Accessible.pdf
Distance:
This walk is approximately a 1 mile loop. Start from the Julius Khan/Presidio Wall Playground, walk along West Pacific Ave. toward Presidio Blvd., and turn left to find Wood Line before connecting to Presidio Blvd. After following Wood Line to the end, follow the trail out to the intersection of Liggett Ave and Clark St. Lovers’ Lane, a historic pathway running parallel to Clark St., leads back toward West Pacific Ave. to return to the playground.
Considerations:
• Toilet facilities are available at the playground where this walk starts and ends. Check the Presidio maps (see links above) for other nearby toilet facilities.
• Dogs are allowed on leash.
• There is usually sufficient parking along West Pacific Ave. near the playground, but we also sometimes park above Wood Line near Presidio Ave. and Pacific or Jackson.
• Wood Line can be made a part of a variety of Presidio walks. Check out the Presidio maps in the links above to create your own hike.
The trail:
Wood Line is a magical winding work of art by renowned environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy, who has also created other art pieces in San Francisco. Nestled within a eucalyptus forest running parallel to historic walkway Lovers’ Lane, a walk along Wood Line never fails to be visually and emotionally stimulating, though in a calm, soothing way.
We like to start our Wood Line walks from near Julius Khan Playground, newly named Presidio Wall Playground. This is a popular place for birthday parties, or just for kids playing at the playground. It also offers the benefit of a public bathroom, not always easily available on hikes or city walks.
There is a great Golden Gate Bridge tease view from the playground area, with the towers of the bridge peeking above the trees in the distance, the Marin Headlands looming behind.
We take the trail parallel to the wall running along West Pacific Ave., enjoying the views through trees walking past the old baseball field and up a modest incline until West Pacific Ave. curves left and crosses Lovers’ Lane. Lovers’ Lane is a narrow, straight paved pathway. Go left on Lovers’ Lane and walk a short distance until you see a pathway into the woods to the right. The start of Wood Line is in this section of woods.
The eucalyptus forest provides a canopy over the hypnotically snaking series of logs that are Wood Line. Some people walk atop the log curves the whole way (a good exercise in balance), and some walk along the dirt path beside it. The snaking curves of connected logs lead us forward until the curves end with a dirt path.
Don’t forget to look back in the other direction to see the visual effect looking up Wood Line, not just down it. The image changes slightly with each step.
Heading down to the left after the end of Wood Line, walkers are connected to Lovers’ Lane. For our short loop, turn left on Lovers’ Lane and walk up the gentle incline to connect back to West Pacific Ave. The trees and shadows along this stretch are lovely, changing depending on the season, the time of day, and the weather at the moment. The Wood Line woods are at left, and historic Presidio buildings are in view to the right.
Reconnect to the initial trail, turn right, and return to the playground parking area. Keep an eye out for a final peek at the Golden Gate Bridge towers rising above the trees in the distance.
(Wood Line - Presidio Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Long and Winding Road” 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: Wood Line, the Andy Goldsworthy environmental artpiece that is the heart of this walk, starts in the southeast corner of the Presidio, near the intersection of West Pacific Ave. and Presidio Blvd.
Starting Point: This hike description makes for a loop walk starting near the Julius Kahn Playground (recently renamed the Presidio Wall Playground). Driving north on Arguello Blvd., just past the gate entrance to the Presidio past Jackson St., there is a sharp right turn onto a small side road, West Pacific Ave., which runs along a wall on the right and the park on the left. There is road shoulder parking along the wall near the playground.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Wood Line Presidio info link (Presidio.gov):
https://www.presidio.gov/places/andy-goldsworthys-wood-line
Presidio info link (Presidio.gov):
https://www.presidio.gov
Video links about Andy Goldsworthy’s art in the Presidio:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIp9fPrGZsOnLlvomKNsX1pUyUFVsPpCx
Map links:
Presidio trail map (Presidio.gov):
https://wp.presidio.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Trails-Map-Accessible.pdf
Distance:
This walk is approximately a 1 mile loop. Start from the Julius Khan/Presidio Wall Playground, walk along West Pacific Ave. toward Presidio Blvd., and turn left to find Wood Line before connecting to Presidio Blvd. After following Wood Line to the end, follow the trail out to the intersection of Liggett Ave and Clark St. Lovers’ Lane, a historic pathway running parallel to Clark St., leads back toward West Pacific Ave. to return to the playground.
Considerations:
• Toilet facilities are available at the playground where this walk starts and ends. Check the Presidio maps (see links above) for other nearby toilet facilities.
• Dogs are allowed on leash.
• There is usually sufficient parking along West Pacific Ave. near the playground, but we also sometimes park above Wood Line near Presidio Ave. and Pacific or Jackson.
• Wood Line can be made a part of a variety of Presidio walks. Check out the Presidio maps in the links above to create your own hike.
The trail:
Wood Line is a magical winding work of art by renowned environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy, who has also created other art pieces in San Francisco. Nestled within a eucalyptus forest running parallel to historic walkway Lovers’ Lane, a walk along Wood Line never fails to be visually and emotionally stimulating, though in a calm, soothing way.
We like to start our Wood Line walks from near Julius Khan Playground, newly named Presidio Wall Playground. This is a popular place for birthday parties, or just for kids playing at the playground. It also offers the benefit of a public bathroom, not always easily available on hikes or city walks.
There is a great Golden Gate Bridge tease view from the playground area, with the towers of the bridge peeking above the trees in the distance, the Marin Headlands looming behind.
We take the trail parallel to the wall running along West Pacific Ave., enjoying the views through trees walking past the old baseball field and up a modest incline until West Pacific Ave. curves left and crosses Lovers’ Lane. Lovers’ Lane is a narrow, straight paved pathway. Go left on Lovers’ Lane and walk a short distance until you see a pathway into the woods to the right. The start of Wood Line is in this section of woods.
The eucalyptus forest provides a canopy over the hypnotically snaking series of logs that are Wood Line. Some people walk atop the log curves the whole way (a good exercise in balance), and some walk along the dirt path beside it. The snaking curves of connected logs lead us forward until the curves end with a dirt path.
Don’t forget to look back in the other direction to see the visual effect looking up Wood Line, not just down it. The image changes slightly with each step.
Heading down to the left after the end of Wood Line, walkers are connected to Lovers’ Lane. For our short loop, turn left on Lovers’ Lane and walk up the gentle incline to connect back to West Pacific Ave. The trees and shadows along this stretch are lovely, changing depending on the season, the time of day, and the weather at the moment. The Wood Line woods are at left, and historic Presidio buildings are in view to the right.
Reconnect to the initial trail, turn right, and return to the playground parking area. Keep an eye out for a final peek at the Golden Gate Bridge towers rising above the trees in the distance.
(Wood Line - Presidio Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Long and Winding Road” 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