Join Chris Briggs, research director of our Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, for a tour of the nesting birds on Alcatraz. In this essay, he points out some rookeries on the Rock—and shares the sad history of the turn-of-the-century feather craze.

After a National Park Service career of almost 40 years, Frank Dean is retiring. Learn about his enduring legacy at Golden Gate—and find out what’s next for Frank in his remarkable life of work on behalf of public lands.

One of the earliest residents of Yerba Buena. A pioneering dairy rancher during the Gold Rush era. And a woman who, for U.S. servicemen in WWII, became synonymous with San Francisco. In honor of Women’s History Month, read their stories and more.

What do you call two smiling raptor banders? A pair o’grins! Beaming faces were abundant on Hawk Hill during the fall 2014 migration season, which featured plenty of “celebrity” raptors, a loopy Redtail, a bald eagle flyby, and 300 intrepid Golden Gate Raptor Observatory volunteers.

Valentine’s Day isn’t just for greeting-card shills, sappy romantics, and the cynics who hate them. Here in the Golden Gate National Parks, we have park sites for everybody on V-Day. Our expert staff chose the perfect place to spend the holiday—with your sweetie, with your buddies, with your puppy, or...

The new 13-acre swath of national parkland, atop the Presidio Parkway tunnels and connecting the Main Post with Crissy Field, represents a major, historic park-making opportunity. James Corner Field Operations—the creative minds who designed the much-admired High Line in New York City—seems up to the task.

There’s no way to encapsulate everything that you—our park volunteers—accomplish in a year. But, for 2014, we tried—with one summary infographic. As you can see, you give Golden Gate the most precious gifts of all: your time, energy, care, and dedication. Thank you!

No box of stale chocolate. No ugly sweater. And no fruitcake. Only the warm fuzzy feeling of protecting the most-visited national park in America. Give a Conservancy membership, which your loved one will treasure as much as a trip to Muir Woods or Crissy Field.

Across the parks, volunteers root out nonnative plants to help restore wildlife habitat. But did you know that those weeds can be quite tasty? Just in time for holiday meals, enjoy these recipes that use nonnative species found in the Bay Area!

OneTam.org is the new web portal recently launched by the Tamalpais Lands Collaborative, features a new trail map, stunning videos, event listings, and more.

“Going to Chrissy Fields is as amazing as a kid not getting homework for the rest of the year.” See how school kids described their trips to Crissy Field Center, in words and pictures. Share in their inspiration and delight as they give thanks to the parks!