This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Crissy Field restoration! Once covered with asphalt and debris, Crissy Field was restored as a park, natural area, and historic site.

As part of the restoration, over 100,000 native plants representing 110 species were planted or seeded around the site. Since the restoration, biologists have identified over 17 fish species and 135 bird species in the tidal marsh. Herons, egrets, ducks, gulls, and other marsh-loving wildlife abound.

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VISIT CRISSY FIELD: TIPS AND HIGHLIGHTS

The restored Crissy Field is a great place to walk or bike on a flat, hard-packed promenade with truly iconic views of the bay. A wide, fully accessible trail slices through Crissy Field between Marina Green and Fort Point, offering boundless opportunities for recreation, leisure, and learning.

The shoreline provides a well-groomed promenade trail, beaches, picnic tables, tidal marsh overlooks, and it is a nationally renowned windsurfing site. Indoor amenities include cafés, bookstores, and an environmental education center.

• Park in beachfront lots just west of the Marina gate.
• Bring sweatshirts, sunglasses for the kids (the sand sometimes blows), and a friendly attitude toward dogs. The water is usually clean and safe (warnings are posted as appropriate).
• An old army shed at the west end of Crissy Field—the Warming Hut—was reborn as a café and bookstore. It provides a place to warm up away from the wind and fog that blow through the Golden Gate.
• Experience some of the riches of the 948-square-nautical-mile sanctuary onshore at the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association’s visitor center, located at the west end of Crissy Field.
• The wind usually picks up by mid-day. If you want a quiet walk, go during the early morning hours.
• The beach can be seen at its widest during low tide.
• You can legally fish or crab without a license at Torpedo Wharf at the west end of Crissy Field. Look for posted regulations.

Dungeness Crabs (Cancer magister)
Born in the open ocean, many millions of crab larvae drift into the bay. The larvae grow into young crabs in food-rich shoreline areas such as the waters off Crissy Field. Because these orange crabs with white claws don’t reach maturity until long after returning to the ocean, it is illegal to trap them in the bay.

California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus)
Watch for the heads of California sea lions as they swim past Crissy Field. These are just one of the many marine mammal species that live off the parks’ coast.

Crissy Field began as a marsh and seasonal home of Ohlone Indians, and later hosted Spanish and Mexican ships, a Grand Prix raceway, an historic army airfield, and a U.S. Coast Guard station.

Crissy Historic Airfield
A row of hangars and a slippery seaplane ramp evoke an era when a squadron of airplanes stood ready for action at Crissy Field. This military airfield is actually older than the air force, dating back to the 1920s when flying had barely gotten off the ground. In those days, so little was known about nationwide flying conditions that the US Army sent a team of fliers from Crissy Field and from an eastern counterpart at the same time to see who could reach the opposite coast first.