What's the best place to have a picnic in Golden Gate Park?

April 28, 2010 9:24 AM

What's the best place to have a picnic in Golden Gate Park?

It doesn't have to be totally secluded, but I don't want it to be completely overrun with people either.

posted by coelacanth! to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total)

generally the further west you go the less crowded it is. head out towards the bison paddock area, there are some lovely random fields :)
posted by supermedusa at 9:29 AM on April 28, 2010

Response by poster: Also, I don't mind some people walking around us if it's a really really beautiful spot.
posted by coelacanth! at 9:41 AM on April 28, 2010

I agree, west is better. If the sun is out, the Queen Wihelmina Tulip Garden is lovely--wait a little later in the day--say, 1ish and you'll have a greater chance of being fog free.
posted by agatha_magatha at 10:01 AM on April 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

I had a nice picnic near I think middle lake near the bison paddock.
posted by ghharr at 10:07 AM on April 28, 2010

Spreckels Lake is nice. East or west side of the park, though, it's going to be crowded all over on the weekend. Plan your picnic for a weekday and you'll have lots of the park to yourselves.
posted by blucevalo at 10:25 AM on April 28, 2010

Further west is generally less crowded, but further east is often warmer and less windy. Spreckels Lake is basically my backyard, so that's where we go most, but sometimes, it can be briskly windy. If you don't mind a bit of a walk up, Strawberry Hill in the middle of Stow Lake is lovely. It can sometimes be quite crowded on weekends, the various lawns at the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum are among my favorite spots. It's beautiful, and you can walk around and explore the garden afterward on the twisty, private paths.
posted by mostlymartha at 11:19 AM on April 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

Though Marx Meadow isn't off the beaten path, I've been to lots of nice picnics there. For more seclusion - and more "interesting" than "lovely", try the horseshoe courts.
posted by judith at 11:55 AM on April 28, 2010

Portals of the Past by Lloyd Lake. (Scroll down.)
posted by trip and a half at 5:16 PM on April 28, 2010 [1 favorite]