Golden Gate

National Recreation Area California

Explore This Park

Park Tools

There are park alerts in effect.

Tunnel to Marin Headlands Closed

The tunnel on Bunker Road from Alexander Avenue in Sausalito towards the Marin Headlands is closed for construction. Please follow the detour signs to Conzelman Road (just above the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge) to go up over the hill. More »

Muir Beach (but not nearby Muir Woods) parking lot closed June-November 2013

Muir Beach parking lot will be closed from June-November 2013 due to construction. Restrooms or nearby parking will not be available at Muir Beach during this period. Pacific Way is closed except to residents. Check back for updates or call (415)561-3054 More »

CAUTION: Post Storm Damage to Coastal Trail

The Presidio Coastal Trail segment just north of the Pacific Overlook and adjacent to Lincoln Blvd remains CLOSED indefinitely. We have posted signage to alert bicyclists and hikers and with information for safe trail alternatives. More »

Teaching Techniques and Tools

The PARK Teachers Geology resource site includes several teaching tools designed to make an earth science unit engaging for secondary education students. To begin a student inquiry of our essential question, ”How do I recognize geologic change in my environment?”, click on the Magic Windows button on right side of the screen. To use a constructivist approach while introducing the rocks of the Franciscan Complex, click on Edible Geology. The Geo-speak button brings you to links for I Have Tectonics and Geo-Lingo Bingo materials. Both are participatory, fast-paced reviews of the vocabulary-rich language of plate tectonics. To model the geologic assembling of the Franciscan Complex with a sandwich cookie, click on Cookie Tectonics. And to sharpen your rock identification skills and assemble a Cretaceous Period subduction zone, play our online Subduction Construction game by clicking here. While all of these tools are part of the PARK Teachers Geology resource site, you may see many opportunities to adapt these lessons to your specific science teaching needs. Enjoy!

If you are a middle school earth science teacher from a school in the San Francisco Bay Area, your class can participate in Rocks on the Move, a curriculum-based, field geology program in the Golden Gate National Parks which includes these teaching tools. Program information is available at Rocks on the Move.