Lands End (San Francisco)
| Lands End | |
|---|---|
 Part of Lands End, with Cliff House (far left), Seal Rocks (mid left) and Sutro Bath ruins (right) | |
  Lands End  Lands End  Lands End | |
| Location | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Coordinates | 37°47′16″N 122°30′20″W / 37.7877074°N 122.5055279°W[1] |
| Operated by | Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy |
Lands End is a park in San Francisco within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It is a rocky and windswept shoreline at the mouth of the Golden Gate, situated between the Sutro District and Lincoln Park and abutting Fort Miley Military Reservation. A memorial to the USS San Francisco stands in the park. Numerous hiking trails follow the former railbeds of the Ferries and Cliff House Railway along the cliffs and also down to the shore.
The most-traveled trail in Lands End is the Coastal Trail, a section of the California Coastal Trail that follows the railbed of the old Cliff House Railway. This trail is handicap-accessible until the Mile Rock Overlook, and bike accessible until the Eagles Point steps. A spur trail takes users to Mile Rock Point and Mile Rock Beach, which offer views of the Golden Gate.
Additionally, Lands End contains the ruins of the Sutro Baths. Other historic sites include numerous shipwrecks, which are visible at low tides from the Coastal Trail and Mile Rock.
A visitor center, Lands End Lookout, opened on April 28, 2012.[2]
History
The Yelamu Ohlone tribe lived at Lands End before Spanish settlement began in 1776.[citation needed] After the Gold Rush, entrepreneurs designed the new Cliff House as a fashionable resort for the wealthy. A private company constructed a brand new road called Point Lobos Avenue. By the 1860s, a horse-drawn stagecoach made the trip every Sunday from crowded downtown San Francisco out Lands End. During the 1880s, millionaire Adolph Sutro constructed a passenger steam train from downtown to Lands End for the affordable fare of 5¢.[3]
Labyrinth
Along the Coastal Trail, was a hidden labyrinth at Eagle's Point, constructed by local artist Eduardo Aguilera, overlooking Golden Gate Bridge.[4] Although the labyrinth was destroyed, presumably by vandals, in August 2015, it was rebuilt a month later by the original artist with the help of 50 volunteers.[5][6]
Twenty-four paces west of the Lands End labyrinth lies an often missed monument that is arguably even more exquisite than its larger, more well-known counterpart. Neither a maze nor a labyrinth, this intricately winding path is composed of small, pale stones that are only found in the Wieliczka salt mines of Poland. No one knows when or by whom this circular masterpiece was created, but it is estimated to date back to the early 20th century. Inspired by its mystery and simple ingenuity, Eduardo Aguilera began the construction of the labyrinth we know today as one of San Francisco’s hidden treasures.
References
- ^ "Lands End". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ "Lands End Lookout Visitor Center". National park Service. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Lands End History". National Park Service. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Lands End Labyrinth". SFSTATION. Retrieved 2013-03-07.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Lands End labyrinth destroyed by vandalism".
- ^ "Labyrinth lovers unite to undo vandalism at Lands End".
External links
- NPS−Golden Gate National Recreation Area: Visiting Lands End
- NPS-GGNRA: Lands End History and Culture
- Vestiges of Lands End — digital guidebook.
- Lands End at the Golden Gate Parks Conservancy
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