Our National Park Service Story

“The creation of Golden Gate National Recreation Area…would be a remarkable opportunity to establish a unique national park reserve that will save for the people of the United States and the world a magnificent open space immediately adjacent to one of the major metropolitan regions of the United States.” -- Congressman Phillip Burton, 1971

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area was established in 1972 as a new urban park. A timely merging of political, economic, social and environmental forces, occurring in both the Bay Area and the country, paved the way for the creation of the park. The park’s very existence illustrates the power of the environmental conservation movement in the 1960s and 1970s.

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Creation of Golden Gate National Recreation Area

During the 1950s and 1960s, San Francisco experienced developmental pressures and shifts in its economy. The rapid development of the Bay Area after World War II was forcing suburban sprawl further and further into what had always been historic farm land. There was growing concern about the diminishing rural countryside...

Parks for the People: 50 years of Golden Gate NPS

Spanning three counties, Golden Gate National Recreation Area is an assemblage of military, private, and public lands which offer vast skylines, natural beauty, and diverse histories to locals and visitors alike, striving to be a recreation area for all people...