Press Kit

About GGNRA

Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), one of the largest national parks in an urban area, preserves and enhances the natural, historic, scenic and recreational resources of the lands north and south of the Golden Gate for the education, enjoyment and inspiration of people today and in the future. In the spirit of bringing national parks to the people, the park reaches out to diverse communities to promote the richness and breadth of the national park system and make Golden Gate a park for all. The park's many volunteer and partnership programs foster broad-based public stewardship.

Established by Congress in 1972 as part of the Parks for the People movement, GGNRA includes under its management two additional units of the National Park Service: Fort Point National Historic Site and Muir Woods National Monument.

GGNRA spans three counties: Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo. With more than 15 million annual visitors, the park is both an international destination and a local treasure for the 7 million people who call the Bay Area home.

The park includes world-renowned destinations such as Alcatraz Island and Muir Woods, as well as many sites of regional and national importance, such as Crissy Field, the Presidio Marin Headlands, Stinson Beach, Fort Mason, Ocean Beach, Fort Funston, Sweeney Ridge, and Mori Point.

GGNRA has one of the largest collections of historic buildings of any national park and dozens of plant and animal species that are accorded state or federal protected status. The park is part of the United Nations-designated Golden Gate International Biosphere Reserve.

Partnership is one of the watchwords of the park, with a number of outstanding nonprofit organizations working with the park to make available a wide variety of programs. The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy is the official support organization for the park, providing an extraordinary level of funds and assistance each year.

The park operates under Federal, Department of the Interior, and National Park Service policies and guidelines, in accordance with a General Management Plan (GMP) which was first published in 1980 and updated in 2014.

Park management includes a General Superintendent, Deputy General Superintendent, and a number of operating and administrative divisions. The park's budget includes annual federal appropriations, capital and special purpose project funding, fee funds, and donated funds. Park staffing is augmented by a high level of volunteerism, generally exceeding 350,000 hours of volunteer service per year.

 

By the Numbers

Data is cumulative of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Fort Point National Historic Site, and Muir Woods National Monument.

• Visitation Data: Golden Gate, Fort Point, & Muir Woods.
• 1,439 historic structures and 5 National Historic Landmark Sites
• 13 National Register of Historic Places and 9 Cultural Landscapes
• 370 archeological sites and 5 lighthouses
• 387 facilities assigned to partners, concessioners, and lessees
• 3,947 plant and animal species, including 38 threatened or endangered
• A significant portion of the UNESCO-designated Golden Gate International Biosphere Reserve
• 19 separate ecosystems in 7 distinct watersheds
• 91 miles of bay and ocean shoreline
• 68 miles of roads and 116 miles of trails
• Home to the largest museum collection in the National Park System

 

Park Mission

The mission of Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is to preserve and enhance the natural, historic, and scenic resources of the lands north and south of the Golden Gate for the education, recreation, and inspiration of people today and in the future. In the spirit of bringing national parks to the people, we reach out to a diverse urban community, promote the richness and breadth of the national park system to many who are experiencing a national park for the first time, and foster broad-based public stewardship through various volunteer and partnership programs.

 

Management Documents

Click the links below to read the park's first General Management Plan, finalized in 1980; and the new General Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement, released in April 2014.

• 1980 General Management Plan
• 2014 Final General Management Plan
• • Volume I (PDF, 30 MB)
  • Volume II (PDF, 33 MB)

To learn more about the park's vision for Interpretation & Education, download a copy of our latest Comprehensive Interpretive Plan:

• Presidio Interpretive Plan (PDF, 11.8 MB)
  
• GGNRA Long Range Interpretive Plan (PDF, 12 MB)

 

Photos

 

Press Kit Gallery

32 Images

Photos from areas in GGNRA.

Alcatraz - Federal Penitentiar...

72 Images

Alcatraz was a notorious prison run by the Bureau of Prisons from 1934 to 1963.

Alcatraz - Indian Occupation P...

14 Images

Once Alcatraz closed, the island became a temporary home for the Native American civil rights movement.

Coastal Defenses - Batteries

114 Images

Artillery batteries throughout the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Coastal Defenses - Nike Sites

54 Images

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area has several sites where the Cold War Nike anti-aircraft missiles were stationed: SF-51, SF-59, SF-87, SF-77, and SF-91. SF-88, at Fort Barry, is the only semi-restored Nike missile site in the United States.

Historic Sites

6 Images

National Historic Landmarks are nationally significant historic places designated by the Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States.

Fort Point - Military Period

40 Images

Images of Fort Point as a military fortification, beginning from its construction in 1854.

San Mateo Parklands - Mori Poi...

8 Images

Mori Point, named after farmer Stephen Mori who owned the land in the late 1800s, features beautiful bluffs and dramatic coastline.

Scenics

8 Images

Scenic views of Golden Gate National Park Recreation Area.

SF Parklands - Lands End

19 Images

Lands End is a stretch of rocky coast between the Palace of the Legion of Honor and the Cliff House.

SF Parklands - Sutro Baths

70 Images

Sutro Baths was an indoor swimming complex, including a museum and concert hall, opened in the late 1800s by entrepreneur Adolph Sutro. It burned down in 1966.

Marin Parklands - Marin Headla...

27 Images

General images of areas in the Marin Headlands, including Stinson Beach, Tennessee Valley, and Nicasio Ridge.

Trails Forever

14 Images

Troop Activity and Military Li...

204 Images

General troop activity images and scenes of military life.

Volunteers in GGNRA

10 Images

Volunteers at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument, and Fort Point National Historic Site help present the diverse resources of one of America's most popular National Parks to today's visitors, and help preserve these precious resource for future generations. Volunteers at Golden Gate play a vital role in almost all aspects of park operations.

Natural Resources - Wildflower...

7 Images

Gallery showing images of wildflowers taken in the park.