Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park is the environmental center of San Francisco, California. It is located in the Sunset area of SF on what used to be an enormous sand dune. In fact the ENTIRE Sunset section of SF used to be a dune but they managed to get grass and trees to grow on it. Pretty cool!

Anyway. There is a TON of cool stuff to do in the park. It is located right next to the SF MUNI N train so it is pretty easy to reach.

It is about 1/2 mile wide and 3 miles long and stretches all the way to the ocean. There are a number of really fun things to do. I would recommend the Japanese Tea Garden, Asian Art Museum and the Botanical Gardens. The Tech Musuem is pretty cool too...

After that more 'touristy' destinations, there are a ton of outdoor activities you should turn your attention to. Basically if you start in the Inner Sunset and walk/bike down to the Ocean you will get the full effect. (You should take your time though)

I Mountain Bike in the park about twice a week and it is always fun. The fact that it is RIGHT in the city and so close to the ocean REALLY make this a special place!

Just to expand on burtonator's writeup:

Golden Gate Park is not located in the Sunset District, but between the Sunset and Richmond districts. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west, Fulton Street on the north, and Lincoln Way on the south.

On the weekends many of the roads in the Park are closed off to cars, and only foot and bicycle traffic is permitted. Unlike some other parks, Golden Gate Park is federal land, so anyone unfortunate enough to get a pulled over for a moving violation will get an expensive citation that can only be challenged in a local federal court.

Golden Gate Park used to include plenty of areas for local residents to play with their dogs off-leash. The leash policy has changed a number of times, and areas that used to allow off-leash dog walking now prohibit dogs altogether. The situation worsened after the fatal dog mauling of Diane Whipple, a resident of San Francisco.

Golden Gate Park is also home to the free swing dance event, Lindy in the Park. The California Academy of Sciences, including the Morrison Planetarium also live at the park. Sadly, the De Young art museum , which lived at the park for many years, was irreparably damaged during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and is being torn down piece by piece. The De Young specialized in Asian Art and hosted many comprehensive exhibits.

Strybing Arboretum is a collection of plants and trees from around the world. People can also take a rowboat for a spin around Stowe Lake, one of the most serene and peaceful areas in San Francisco.

It's amazing that Golden Gate Park even exists. Early landscape architects were skeptical about building a park at that location, being that the Sunset and Richmond districts were a bunch of sand dunes at that point in San Francisco's history. The man who designed Central Park in New York City even had his doubts about the feasability of Golden Gate Park.

The whole story of Golden Gate Park is on display at an exhibit on the first floor of The Beach Chalet, a restaurant overlooking Ocean Beach at the western end of the park.