McLaren
Park,
San Francisco Parks and Recreation,
San Francisco County
Getting there:
From Mission Street in the Excelsior District, turn east onto Persia Avenue. Drive
about 0.6 mile on Persia. A sign marks the park boundary. Continue on Persia another
0.5 mile (Persia transitions into Mansell at the junction with Brazil -- just
continue straight), then turn left onto John F. Shelley Drive. Proceed about 0.6
mile on Shelley Drive, then turn right into a parking lot.
Details:
Parking in a paved lot, with more roadside parking along Shelley Drive. No parking
or entrance fees. No drinking water or restrooms. Shelley Drive is open from sunrise
to sunset. Pay phones, gas, stores, and restaurants along Mission Street. Several
Muni bus lines service the edges of McLaren Park, but there is no direct public
transportation to the trailhead. There is no designated handicapped parking at
this trailhead, although some trails in the park are suitable for wheelchairs.
Read about cautions for urban hikes.
Rules:
Dogs are permitted.
Difficulty:
Trailhead elevation is about 450 feet. This hike descends to about 200 feet, then
climbs back to the trailhead. It's easy.
Map Choices and more info:
• Use AAA's San Francisco map to get there.
• Trails of the Coastside and Northern Peninsula (map) is a great
guide (available from Pease
Press).
• This McLaren
Park website has additional park info.
View
photos from this hike.
McLaren Park used to have a reputation as a scary urban
park, 
populated
(according to rumors) with criminals and garbage. Although savvy locals still
advise against patronizing McLaren's southern section, near Crocker-Amazon Playground,
the northern section of the park has been transformed to a safe and pleasant destination
for families, dog walkers, runners, and city residents craving a bit of nature.
With McLaren's 318 sprawling acres, inside San Francisco city limits only Golden
Gate Park and the Presidio have larger recreation footprints. The park's greatest
asset could be its topography. Unlike flat Golden Gate Park, McLaren boasts hills,
which make it feel less like a park and more like open space. Although McLaren
is comprised of mostly exotic vegetation, with some grassland, new installations
of native plants are helping to reestablish a balance.
Most visitors park on the sides of Shelley Drive,
or in a parking lot near a reservoir, then create a hike, walk, or run on a seemingly-infinite
assortment of paved and dirt paths. No trails are signed in the park, and navigating
can be a challenge, but 
after
a visit or two I think you'll get a feeling for the lay of the land.
Start at the parking lot off Shelley Drive, and
look for a trail at the lot's northeastern corner. Some steps descend toward
a reservoir. Pine, eucalyptus, and cypress initially provide shade, but the path
soon drops into a mix of coyote brush, thistles, grass, and fennel, with some
introduced landscaping shrubs. Turn right on the paved path heading around
the reservoir.
Alders have been planted on the left, and grass, blackberry,
ivy, and a few ceanothus line the slope on the right. The grade is perfectly flat.
In spring you might see iris, California poppy, and sweet peas in bloom. At 0.23
mile, the trail reaches the far side of the reservoir. Two paths depart to the
right; one downhill and one uphill. Take the trail downhill.
The broad dirt trail begins an easy descent, with
a grassy slope ascending on the right, and some coyote brush on both sides
of the trail. You might see wild radish and poison hemlock in bloom in May. At
0.35 mile, you'll reach a multiple junction. Stay to the left.
Continuing downhill, the trail draws near the amphitheater,
visible on the right. At 0.50 mile, you'll reach a T junction with a paved trail.
Turn left.
The paved trail passes some handicapped parking
spots and restrooms (which regular visitors report as always closed). On the left,
look for a pretty assortment of flowers. This obviously planted display includes
hummingbird sage, California poppy, and sagebrush. The trails winds downhill and
splits at 0.56 mile. Turn left and head toward the road. At 0.60 mile,
cross Shelley Drive and pick up the trail on the opposite side.
Several pleasant picnic tables are sprinkled throughout
the area, which is attractively landscaped with mostly non-native shrubs and trees.
You'll descend a few steps and reach a fork. Stay to the left. A few steps
later, at 0.63 mile, the trail splits again. This time 
bear
right.
An elevated walkway transports cuts through a thicket
of willow. Once the walkway ends, the trail continues to descend to the
left. You'll reach a playground and the second pond near the east edge of the
park, at 0.69 mile. Follow around the play area, to the left, then skirt the pond
on a paved trail. This pond, when my friend Kerstin and I visited in May, was
dry, although Kerstin remembers it had some water in the not too distant past.
Great swaths of seep monkeyflower were in bloom in May, and a mother duck tended
her fuzzy babies in the mud. Past a few picnic tables and a (closed) concession
stand, the trail curves left, following the contour of the pond. There's another
attractive display of plants on the right. On the far shore of the pond the trail
is comprised of spaced concrete slabs; perhaps this arrangement allows water to
drain into the pond from the slope on the right. When you close the loop around
the pond, retrace your steps back to the restroom/handicapped parking 
area
near the amphitheater, at 1.17 miles.
You can turn right, and ascend back to the trailhead,
but we decided to explore a little. Stay to the left and pass through the amphitheater,
and you'll reach a split under some eucalyptus, at 1.24 miles. Turn right.
A rough but wide path ascends somewhat steeply. Look for calla lilies on the left
in spring. After a few feet the trail crests. Bear right, then right again.
You'll be climbing easily through grassland near Shelley
Drive. I was surprised to see a few shaggy blue-eyed grass blooming in May, since
the hillside is dominated by thistles. The trail splits at 1.29 miles. Either
way is an option. Bear left. You'll climb a bit, through some pine. The
trail splits again, at 1.35 miles. Bear right. Leveling out, the narrow
path bisects a eucalyptus forest, where you might see miner's lettuce. You'll
emerge at the top of a hill at 1.39 miles. On clear days, Mount Diablo is visible
to the east. Go straight, downhill, and at 1.44 miles, the path feeds into
a trail a few feet from a familiar junction. Turn left, and at the junction,
turn right.
Once again on a shore of the reservoir, the paved
trail sweeps back toward the trailhead. Ascend the stairs to the parking lot.
Total distance: 1.60 miles
Last hiked: Sunday, May 12, 2002
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
populated
(according to rumors) with criminals and garbage. Although savvy locals still
advise against patronizing McLaren's southern section, near Crocker-Amazon Playground,
the northern section of the park has been transformed to a safe and pleasant destination
for families, dog walkers, runners, and city residents craving a bit of nature.
With McLaren's 318 sprawling acres, inside San Francisco city limits only Golden
Gate Park and the Presidio have larger recreation footprints. The park's greatest
asset could be its topography. Unlike flat Golden Gate Park, McLaren boasts hills,
which make it feel less like a park and more like open space. Although McLaren
is comprised of mostly exotic vegetation, with some grassland, new installations
of native plants are helping to reestablish a balance.
after
a visit or two I think you'll get a feeling for the lay of the land. 
of the trail. You might see wild radish and poison hemlock in bloom in May. At
0.35 mile, you'll reach a multiple junction. Stay to the left.
bear
right.
area
near the amphitheater, at 1.17 miles.