Upcoming Group Hike at the Kids Festival in McLaren Park--10/10/15

I've taken a long hiatus from Hill Babies with a move to the East Bay, the start of kindergarten for one kid, and twins turning two, but I'm up and running. In the month of October, I have the honor of leading one of two hour-long family hikes that sandwich the start and end of the free Kids Festival: a day of music, art, nature and science

October 10, 2015

10 a.m. Family Nature Walk 

(arrive at 9:45)

from the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater

McLaren Park

This isn't just a hike, but a fun day in the Saturday in the Park series, with a great lineup for kids:

Stage Schedule

10 AM -- Family Nature Walk

11 AM -- Charity and the JAMband

12 PM -- Magic Dan

1 PM -- Alphabet Rockers

2 PM -- Charity and the JAMband

3 PM -- Family Nature Walk

Directions

Hike starts outside the bathrooms @ Jerry Garcia Amphitheater

40 John F. Shelley Drive

Free parking, or better yet, ride a bike or take # 29 Sunset 

The Hike at 10 AM

This is to be determined based on the strollers. If you bring one, I'll make the walk stroller friendly. If nobody has a stroller, we'll walk on dirt trails. McLaren Park is hilly, and we will be going up and downhill, so wear appropriate shoes.

There is so much to explore in McLaren Park, an hour doesn't give it justice, but it's perfect for walking with kids. I like pools and ponds, so there's a good chance we will circle McNab Lake or the Upper Reservoir. We will look for coots, ducks, egrets, and turtles. Everyone likes views, so chances are, we might end up at the Blue Water Tower, with it's 270 degree view, or the McLaren Park Observation Tower, both places that are great for finding raptors soaring overhead. Everywhere we will find coyote brush, sticky monkey flower, and Monterey Pines. What I won't do, please note, which is to hang out at any of the playgrounds, as that would zap our time. You're totally welcome to hang out, come and go as you please.  We'll stop for 1-2 snack breaks along the trail.

Please arrive by 9:45 so we can begin the walk at 10. An hour will pass quickly, considering most kids will need a short break or two (so please pack water and lots of snacks for your family).

Hope to see you and yours on October 10th!

Cheers,
Jessica

Old McLaren Park from the 1920s

Some Links
McLaren Park Collaborative: http://mclarenparksf.org
Saturday in the Park Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Saturday-in-the-Park-McLaren-546735475383735/timeline/
Magic Dan's website: http://www.magicdan.com
Alphabet Rockers: http://alphabetrockers.com
Charity and the JAMBand: http://www.jamjamjam.com
McLaren Park on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Saturday-in-the-Park-McLaren-546735475383735/timeline/
Hill Babies: The Labyrinth: http://hillbabiessf.blogspot.com/2011/01/labyrinth-of-mclaren-park.html
Hill Babies: A Day on the Southern Trails of McLaren Park: http://hillbabiessf.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-day-on-southern-trails-of-mclaren-park.html

September 27, 2014 Hike: McLaren Park and Charity and the Jam Band!

Jerry Garcia Amphitheater

This hike begins at the Louis Sutter Roundhouse playground in McLaren Park, and ends at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater. 

We are soooo lucky that there's a FREE concert, and Charity and the Jam Band are playing! It's a high energy band that plays "people's music" that kids LOVE--see their website here.

What more could you ask for? Sunshine, a walk with your loved ones, new friends, and live music! See you on the 27th!

Cheers,
Jessica and Marshall
(parents of Genevieve, Zoe, and Calliope)

The Details

• Saturday, September 27, 2014

• Meet between 10:30-11 am at the Louis Sutter Playground alongside McNab Lake (near University and Woolsey Streets in the Portola neighborhood). There are bathrooms and drinking water, and two parking lots. 

• Hike begins at 11:30. We'll begin by circling McNab Lake, keeping an observant eye out for coots, ducks, turtles, and little fish. Maybe we'll see an egret or heron. 
• Then we will go uphill on a single-track dirt trail, suitable for all ages of walkers, or single-size off-road strollers. 
• At the top of the hill, we can eat a leisurely lunch and enjoy the view. Bring picnic food and water.
• Time permitting, we'll cross Mansell Avenue to the McLaren Park Observation Tower OR we explore the single-track trails above the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, looking for hawks and scrub jays as we walk past the coyote brush and under the Monterey pines. 

• Arrive at the Charity and the JamBand Show by 1:00. The show, located at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, is free and fun. You'll find bathrooms, water, and kiosks with snacks for sale. 

• Leave when you want. The group part of the hike basically ends at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, as some folks will want to stay and boogie down, and some may want to wander on. 

McLaren Park

• Regarding dogs, if you have one -- Please consider the group's comfort level and the fact that some children are nervous around dogs, especially high energy and medium-large sized ones. Absolutely friendly dogs are welcome, but please predict your dog's behavior around a group of hyper kids before you grab that leash.  Thanks!  

Directions

Via car to the Louis Sutter Playground: From Portola Avenue in southeastern San Francisco, head west on Woolsey Street. The street ends at University. You can park here, or zig zag to the left into the McLaren Park driveway that leads to a small parking lot. A second parking lot is located around the corner, off of Yale Street (cross street is Wayland)

Via car to the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater: This amphitheater is located off of John F. Shelly Drive in McLaren Park. There is a free parking lot, but you can park along John F. Shelley Drive too.

Public Transportation: 

• The 54 Felton will take you near Louis Sutter Playground along University. 
• The 29 Sunset drives through McLaren Park on Mansell, a short distance above  both the Louis Sutter Playground and the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater. 
• The 52 Excelsior stops a couple blocks from the west border of the park, at Persia and Russia. 

View Louis Sutter Playground Roundhouse in a larger map

Let's Play in McLaren Park

On Saturday October 12th there are two great things happening in McLaren Park: the opening of a new playground at Peru and Burrows Street, and a reggae concert at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater. 

Both are free, and you should come! 




My friend, Chuck Farrugia, and his wife, Trilce, have been the galvanizing forces to create this particular playground. I know they credit a lot of other people in the making of this playground, and that's to be expected, but I think of it as a real triumph for neighborhood activism which they spurred on. Check out http://helpmlpark.weebly.com.

As for the concert, it's one of many in a series of concerts this year at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater. Just last month Charity and the Jamband played for a crowd of screaming toddlers. Check out http://savemclarenpark.org.


12:30--Playground Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Peru and Burrows Street, McLaren Park

2 pm--Reggae show at Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, McLaren Park


There are trails leading between the two destinations, so park your car by Peru and Burrows, or take the # 44 bus. Check out the playground. Bring your picnic lunch. Later, wander in the direction of the reggae music, or just pick your own trail and explore the park. 

This is not a guided hike, by the way--I'm still adjusting to getting outside and about with two young twins and a four-year-old. This is just an open invitation to all who are connected in some way to Hill Babies, or who like to hike and play and be with children.

Cheers, 
Jessica 

PLAYGROUND OPENING AT PERU AND BURROWS IN MCLAREN PARK

A Day on the Southern Trails of McLaren Park

            To experience a hint of what San Francisco was like before it became a vibrant city—hills covered in wild grass, raptors soaring overhead, butterflies alighting on lupines—venture to the rarely-trodden southeast corner where you’ll find McLaren Park with its magnificent views and wildlife. 

The lovely southern side of McLaren Park

        John McLaren Park’s three hundred and seventeen acres make it the second largest park in San Francisco after Golden Gate Park, and it is far less impacted by human touch. Mansell Avenue bisects the park into two halves: a wild and wooly southern side, and a far more groomed and irrigated northern side. Both sides have virtues and should be explored, but the southern side is the gem, the wild-at-heart.

Adventure Begins on Leland Avenue

            Start by taking the Third Street Light Rail from downtown San Francisco, disembarking at Leland Avenue and San Bruno Street in Visitacion Valley. Leland Avenue has a funky selection of neighborhood stores, a gorgeous library, and a post office. Stock-up at the Latin bodegas like Leland Avenue Market and Casa Maria, where you will find pyramids of fruit, delicious queso fresco (fresh cheese), homemade pico de gallo salsa, tamales and sandwiches; or sample a huge plate of Chinese noodles at G and L Bakery; or buy a sizeable mojado burrito at El Buen Sabor Taqueria; or drink your morning coffee at Eat Drink Play. For the best experience, bring sun block, hiking shoes, snacks, a printed map, and water. Coming soon is Eire Trea, a combination Eritrean and Irish place. 

Up the Visitacion Valley Greenway

Herb Garden in Greenway

            When you’re ready to ramble, start at the Hans Schiller Plaza on Leland Avenue, which marks the beginning of the Visitacion Valley Greenway, an award-winning series of small parks that are perhaps the best in San Francisco. There are port-o-potties at the plaza, but a block up Leland the remodeled library has brand-new bathroom facilities. 

           Walk your way through the Greenway, moving uphill through the Community Garden with its path bordered by flowers, the Herb Garden in bloom with lavender and a hillside of roses, the Children’s Play Garden with its grassy field and playground, the Agriculture Garden with rosemary pressing against the fence, and finally the Native Plant Garden with the most impressive amount of lupine flowers I have ever seen. 

              You will emerge on Tioga Avenue at the northernmost point of the Greenway. Walk to the parallel street, Wilde Avenue. Where Wilde intersects with Ervine Street, one block to the west, you will find one of the most sublime and humble entrances to McLaren Park.

 

The Southern Trails of McLaren Park

My favorite route begins where Wilde Avenue meets Ervine Street and dead-ends at McLaren Park. You have two choices: go up the meandering concrete path to the defunct observation tower where Monterey cypress trees grow at the top of the hill, or go to the end of Ervine Street and take a right turn onto a narrow dirt trail that traverses the southern flank of the hill. (Note: If you have a stroller or a small child, you might choose the concrete trail, as the dirt trail is uneven and has a steep pitch.)

The views are beautiful from either trail—there is the spectacular geography of southeastern San Francisco with its valleys and hills, like Bayview Hill, the sleeping giant of San Bruno Mountain to the south, the peaks along the East Bay, and Mount Diablo to the east. Wind and moisture funnels down Geneva Avenue, which cuts between McLaren Park and San Bruno Mountains, making phenomenal low-cloud patterns. 


At sunrise the San Francisco Bay turns golden and a stream of seagulls ride the airwaves; at sunset sinuous tongues of fog creep in from the Pacific. Many a night I’ve sat with friends watching Venus chase the sun down, or the moon rise over Bayview Hill, with stars winking overhead.

Explore the dirt trails running along the southern sides of McLaren Park, through grassland and groves of blue gum eucalyptus and Monterey pine. Find the wide east-west fire road on the far side of Visitacion Avenue, a street that runs north-south. The fire road starts almost directly across from Visitacion Valley Middle School, and take it all the way to the Excelsior where you can find a beautiful little community garden and soccer fields.   

Of important note is Philosopher’sWay, a new series of trails in the park with granite markers pointing directions, and some plaques with environmental quotes engraved on them. 

You can find some of the Philosopher’s Way trail system leading off of the fire road. There is a controversial plan to have a disc golf course in this area, which might impact hiking, especially with children. Please research this, form your opinion, and speak up.

Wildlife

            In the many years I’ve wandered around McLaren Park, I have never encountered a coyote, but my husband has seen them twice on evening jogs. Common sense tells us to leave wildlife alone, and the same respect and distance should be followed in a city park. 

          According to Friends of McLaren Park, there are more wild birds than any other animal here. Keep an observant eye out for falcons, hawks, kestrels, and if you are really lucky, a great horned owl (my husband saw one once; me, never—I must be looking at my shoes), especially if you visit in the late fall to early winter during migration season. 

            The bird list on the Friends of McLaren Park shows at least three different species of hummingbird, warbler, flycatcher, gull, hawk, sparrow, heron, and blackbird in the park (though some only in the riparian areas on the north side). Winning combinations of luck, observance, and silence might allow one glimpses of wild animals like raccoons, skunks, grey fox, and opossums, all who have been noted as living in grasslands and woody areas of the park; yet the animals I’ve seen in McLaren Park by and large, when I see them, are human and dog.

Flora

Casey Allen discussing flora

            McLaren was originally grasslands and scrub, according to Casey Allen, president of the Yerba Buena Chapter for the California Native Plant Society, on a recent walk. There are quite a few native species in McLaren Park, according to Allen, such as owl’s clover, coast live oak, purple needlegrass, lupines, and coyote brush. Coast buckwheat, the host plant for the larval stage of the Green Hairstreak butterfly, is one of the most important natives; a good amount of it grows alongside the paved trail leading uphill from Ervine and Wilde.

            The Monterey pines and eucalyptus are invasive species, as well as wild radish, French broom, ice plant, acacia, poison hemlock, Siberian grasses, and many more. Invasive species can easily be found along the roadsides from the “edge effect,” where passing cars help transport seeds from the swirling air. Some of the edible non-natives include wild mustard, wild radish, and Himalayan blackberry. 

           Casey Allen has the good idea that two goals can be accomplished (eradication and nourishment) if we could devise recipes for edible harvests of the invasive plants.

Other Features

Jerry Day Festival in August

            There is much to explore in this park, so the following is a partial list of possible destinations: Herz Playground and Coffman Pool, a phenomenal pool with cathedral ceilings and a glass wall (Visitacion and Hahn Streets); Yosemite Marsh, the start of a creek that is now covered by homes and streets; the 80 foot blue water tower with views of the Pacific on a clear day; the reservoir for dog swimming; McNab Lake with nesting ducks and coots, and the adjoining Louis Sutter Playground (University and Woolsey Streets); tennis and basketball courts (along Mansell); Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, an impressive hemisphere with hints of Greek architecture, and a public restroom in a nestle of eucalyptus trees and blackberry bushes; and the peace signs dug into the earth on a northwestern knoll, relatively close to the spiral labyrinth on top of a hill that looks over downtown, Mount Tamalpais, and points north.

Trail’s End

            End your day-hike where you began—making your way back to Leland Avenue for another chance to buy a mojado burrito or some homemade Chinese food that you passed up earlier in your eagerness to enter McLaren Park. Your dogs will be barking (those holding you up), and you’ll feel accomplished for having explored part of San Francisco that still feels rural and wild.

Note about Urban Hikes in General

            Living in a city makes me crave the outdoors, and the more remote, the better, I tend to think. Give me flowers and fields, forests and craggy hills, and all the while the comfort that I’m close to any convenience. However an urban hike is still in a city and subject to any of a city’s problems. For this reason, I recommend:

--Hiking with another adult.

--Carrying a cell phone.

--If you have trepidation, follow your intuition and leave the hike for another day.

Fire road left, trail right

Relevant Websites

• Ø  Visitacion Valley Greenway
• Ø  Friendsof McLaren Park
• Ø  Nature in the City—Restoring San Francisco Biodiversity, Wildlife Habitats & Corridors
• Ø  San Francisco Recreation& Parks
• Ø  Help McLaren Park
• Ø  California Native PlantSociety, Yerba Buena chapter
• Ø  Kids in Parks

• 

  California poppies

   Philosopher's Way information

Note: This article was published in Visionary: A Journal of San Francisco’s Visitacion Valley, summer 2012. A shorter version of this article was first published in 52Days.com, October 2009.

View Larger Map

HIKE the VISITACION VALLEY GREENWAY on JULY 15, 2012

HIKE the VISITACION VALLEY GREENWAY on JULY 15th

Herb Garden of the Visitacion Valley Greenway

Have you ever heard of the Visitacion Valley Greenway? Many people haven’t heard of it, or visited Vis Valley, but don’t worry, the Greenway is like a secret gem within a pretty cool neighborhood. Over a decade ago some neighbors rallied together and created six gardens in empty lots owned by the city, set in a checkerboard pattern of city blocks. We’ll walk the route through them for pleasure, exercise, and the chance to hang out with some like-minded individuals who probably also happen to have kids.

WHEN

Sunday July 15^th, from 10-12. I’ll be at Hans Schiller Plaza by 9:45 am, on Leland Avenue (b/t Rutland and Alpha).  We start walking at 10:15. (If you need coffee and a bathroom before, Eat Drink and Play Café is a few blocks down the street) 

THE HIKE

The Greenway starts flat and is full of blooming flowers this time of year. (Talk about lovely!) Hummingbirds are frequent, as are crows and scrub jays. At the Herb Garden, there’s a staircase, but you can still manage with a stroller (I have on numerous occasions, and am happy to help anyone carry things). The rest is gently uphill, and toddlers will set the pace. 

We’ll wander through Hans Schiller Plaza, Community Garden, Herb Garden, Children’s Play Garden (with a break for swings, sliding, and snacking), the Agriculture Garden, and the Native Plant Garden.

My hope is to picnic in the Children’s Play Garden on the way back down, but break anytime, and do try to make it to the Native Plant Garden for the view (and the biggest amount of lupine I’ve ever seen). It’s usually pretty sunny in this neighborhood, but don’t be discouraged if its overcast—the fog makes incredible patterns coming over San Bruno Mountain and down Geneva Avenue, which we can see.

Fran Martin and Jim Growden of the Greenway will be joining us to talk with anyone about design, landscaping, and more. Possibly someone from Nature in the City will also come along.

Optional: Anyone who wants a gung-ho five-star workout-style hike should go two blocks over from the Native Plant Garden to McLaren Park (there’s a trail starting at the intersection of Wilde and Ervine Streets that’ll give you four or five more miles, at least, of new sights in a great setting).

GETTING THERE

Plenty of free parking since it’s Sunday, and lots of public transportation within a block or two (Cal Train, T Third Street, 8AX/8BX Bayshore Express, 9 San Bruno, 56 Rutland)

Vis Valley Greenway

Hill Babies Group Hikes in 2012

1.     May—McLaren Park’s southern slope

2.     June—Bayview Hill

3.     July—Visitacion Valley Greenway

4.     August—Rock City on Mount Diablo

5.     September—?

Possible Future Hikes

Glen Canyon, Mt. Davidson, Lands End, Heron’s Head, Grandview Park (on the Green Hairstreak Butterfly corridor), Sign Hill in SSF, Russian Ridge, Rock City on Mt. Diablo! Basically SF and close by. Everyone is welcome.

Cheers,

Jessica

jericahahn@hotmail.com

Looking out from the Native Plant Garden