Yoda Fountain Stroll-The Presidio
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
1 Letterman Drive, San Francisco, CA 94129
Location: The Yoda Fountain can be found by visiting the Letterman Digital Arts Center, Lucasfilm Lobby area at 1 Letterman Drive in the Presidio. The starting point for the walk described here is the Lombard Gate of the Presidio at Lombard and Lyon Street.
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser. (Information links may change. We do our best to update.)
Letterman Digital Arts Center (presidio.gov):
https://www.presidio.gov/places/letterman-digital-arts-center
History in Objects: The Yoda Fountain (Lucasfilm):
https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/history-in-objects-the-yoda-fountain/
Yoda Fountain (Atlas Obscura):
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/yoda-fountain
Yoda Fountain (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/places/000/yoda-fountain.htm
Also recommended: Visiting the Yoda fountain (California Through My Lens):
https://californiathroughmylens.com/lucasfilm-yoda-fountain/
Presidio map link (Presidio Trust):
https://www.presidio.gov/visit-internal/Shared%20Documents/presidio-visitor-map.pdf
Presidio Go Free Shuttle information link (Presidio Trust):
https://www.presidio.gov/transportation/presidigo
Distance:
Some visitors take a short walk just to take a photo at the Yoda Fountain. Fully exploring the Letterman Digital Arts area grounds could add up to a mile walk. However, the Presidio has miles of trails, and those looking for a longer hike can include the Yoda Fountain as a rest stop in a much longer walk. See information on nearby Presidio hikes at the end of the trail description.
Considerations:
General note: All information is subject to change based on current health and safety guidelines.
• We find free street parking when starting this walk from the Lombard Presidio gate at Lombard and Lyon. Parking is also available within the Presidio. Check signs carefully for parking spots requiring a fee from a parking kiosk machine.
• Check the current PresidiGo free shuttle map and MUNI map to piece together public transportation.
• There are no public toilet facilities in the immediate area, but Starbucks customers have access to the Starbucks facilities.
• Heed any health and safety notices, including recent wildlife alerts.
The trail:
There are many possible ways to make a walk to the Yoda Fountain, but a loop walk we like is to start from the Lombard Gate into the Presidio at Lombard and Lyon Street. The walk starts with a historic view of the stone gates marked with a Presidio sign, guarded by historic cannons on either side. Visitors can stop and check out the information sign that includes maps of the Presidio and its various trails.
After entering on Lombard, we take the sidewalk to the right that leads under a lattice-framed walkway. In the right season, wisteria drapes over the top. This pathway leads visitors past various buildings. Once the lattice-covered frame ends, keep walking straight across the large sidewalk intersection, and the Yoda Fountain is ahead. A look through the windows here gives visitors views of the Lucasfilm Lobby, where Star Wars memorabilia is in view.
There are usually at least a few people taking photos at the Yoda Fountain. Yoda guards over the area with his calm wisdom as the water flows below his feet.
Back track to the sidewalk intersection and follow the wide sidewalk past well-groomed plants and plentiful benches. This pathway then expands to an open space with a statue (Eadweard James Muybridge) with flowers at the base, and the dome of the Palace of Fine Arts looming in the background.
To the right is the popular Starbucks, a place to stop for a drink or food, and also the only easy bathroom access in the immediate area.
Beyond this is an artfully designed landscape of stony creeks, a pond with ducks and a fountain, and pathways that lead past more shady benches, and a grand view of hills in the distance or the Palace of Fine Arts dome again. On our last visit, we continued our walk past another statue (Philo T. Farnsworth) and then made our way out of the Presidio Chestnut Gate back to Lyon Street near where we started.
This is a pleasant stroll when our family is looking for an easy weekend walk, but there are miles of trails to connect to in the Presidio.
To try other nearby Presidio walks, check out: Ecology Trail in the Presidio, Wood Line-Presidio, Palace of Fine Arts City Stroll, Lyon Street Stairs-San Francisco Stair Walk, El Polin Spring-Presidio Walk, Battery Bluff-The Presidio, and Tunnel Tops-The Presidio.
(Yoda Fountain Stroll-The Presidio Hike Notes were originally paired with the “May the Force” 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)
1 Letterman Drive, San Francisco, CA 94129
Location: The Yoda Fountain can be found by visiting the Letterman Digital Arts Center, Lucasfilm Lobby area at 1 Letterman Drive in the Presidio. The starting point for the walk described here is the Lombard Gate of the Presidio at Lombard and Lyon Street.
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser. (Information links may change. We do our best to update.)
Letterman Digital Arts Center (presidio.gov):
https://www.presidio.gov/places/letterman-digital-arts-center
History in Objects: The Yoda Fountain (Lucasfilm):
https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/history-in-objects-the-yoda-fountain/
Yoda Fountain (Atlas Obscura):
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/yoda-fountain
Yoda Fountain (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/places/000/yoda-fountain.htm
Also recommended: Visiting the Yoda fountain (California Through My Lens):
https://californiathroughmylens.com/lucasfilm-yoda-fountain/
Presidio map link (Presidio Trust):
https://www.presidio.gov/visit-internal/Shared%20Documents/presidio-visitor-map.pdf
Presidio Go Free Shuttle information link (Presidio Trust):
https://www.presidio.gov/transportation/presidigo
Distance:
Some visitors take a short walk just to take a photo at the Yoda Fountain. Fully exploring the Letterman Digital Arts area grounds could add up to a mile walk. However, the Presidio has miles of trails, and those looking for a longer hike can include the Yoda Fountain as a rest stop in a much longer walk. See information on nearby Presidio hikes at the end of the trail description.
Considerations:
General note: All information is subject to change based on current health and safety guidelines.
• We find free street parking when starting this walk from the Lombard Presidio gate at Lombard and Lyon. Parking is also available within the Presidio. Check signs carefully for parking spots requiring a fee from a parking kiosk machine.
• Check the current PresidiGo free shuttle map and MUNI map to piece together public transportation.
• There are no public toilet facilities in the immediate area, but Starbucks customers have access to the Starbucks facilities.
• Heed any health and safety notices, including recent wildlife alerts.
The trail:
There are many possible ways to make a walk to the Yoda Fountain, but a loop walk we like is to start from the Lombard Gate into the Presidio at Lombard and Lyon Street. The walk starts with a historic view of the stone gates marked with a Presidio sign, guarded by historic cannons on either side. Visitors can stop and check out the information sign that includes maps of the Presidio and its various trails.
After entering on Lombard, we take the sidewalk to the right that leads under a lattice-framed walkway. In the right season, wisteria drapes over the top. This pathway leads visitors past various buildings. Once the lattice-covered frame ends, keep walking straight across the large sidewalk intersection, and the Yoda Fountain is ahead. A look through the windows here gives visitors views of the Lucasfilm Lobby, where Star Wars memorabilia is in view.
There are usually at least a few people taking photos at the Yoda Fountain. Yoda guards over the area with his calm wisdom as the water flows below his feet.
Back track to the sidewalk intersection and follow the wide sidewalk past well-groomed plants and plentiful benches. This pathway then expands to an open space with a statue (Eadweard James Muybridge) with flowers at the base, and the dome of the Palace of Fine Arts looming in the background.
To the right is the popular Starbucks, a place to stop for a drink or food, and also the only easy bathroom access in the immediate area.
Beyond this is an artfully designed landscape of stony creeks, a pond with ducks and a fountain, and pathways that lead past more shady benches, and a grand view of hills in the distance or the Palace of Fine Arts dome again. On our last visit, we continued our walk past another statue (Philo T. Farnsworth) and then made our way out of the Presidio Chestnut Gate back to Lyon Street near where we started.
This is a pleasant stroll when our family is looking for an easy weekend walk, but there are miles of trails to connect to in the Presidio.
To try other nearby Presidio walks, check out: Ecology Trail in the Presidio, Wood Line-Presidio, Palace of Fine Arts City Stroll, Lyon Street Stairs-San Francisco Stair Walk, El Polin Spring-Presidio Walk, Battery Bluff-The Presidio, and Tunnel Tops-The Presidio.
(Yoda Fountain Stroll-The Presidio Hike Notes were originally paired with the “May the Force” 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
