Glen Canyon Park [San Francisco Parks and Recreation]

B - C; *; 0.4 mile; Transit   INFO          

Most of the natural part of this park is not accessible from the main entrances at O'Shaughnessy and Elk. There is a short loop of trail that is enjoyable enough, running up the east side of Islais Creek, crossing over a culvert and coming back on the west, rougher side (photo shows the trickiest spot). On the east side, a boardwalk continuing up the canyon may be accessible if your wheelchair can jump a 5" curb, but my understanding is that it ends at a flight of stairs, so I didn't attempt it. On the west side, the trail immediately turns to a narrow footpath.

The best place to start is the entrance at Elk and Chenery Streets, where you can go past the playground and game fields to the pleasant easy trail up the east side of the creek. There is a bridge to the west side just before you reach the boardwalk; if the roughness of that trail is too much, backtrack as you came. If you start from the O'Shaughnessy entrance, you need to be able to get through a 30" wide opening between posts there, but from the bus stop, the other entrance can only be reached via a very steep stretch of Elk Street

I was disappointed that in the accessible part that I visited, there were no benches, and the available picnic tables are not situated in natural areas, so though we heard the calls of various birds, and felt far from nearby busy streets, we weren't tempted to linger.

Details: Park is south of Twin Peaks in San Francisco; entrance on Elk Street near O'Shaughnessy Boulevard, or on O'Shaughnessy after Elk Street. Number 44 Muni bus serves it (get off at Elk), and it's about 0.4 mile from the Glen Park BART station (use Chenery Street or take the 44 bus). No off-street parking, restrooms or fees; dogs are permitted and you'll meet quite a few.