California Photo Scout

Stow Lake Footbridge

Stow Lake, Strawberry Hill and the San Francisco Botanical Garden (Strybing Arboretum) are photogenic attractions inside the giant Golden Gate Park. Stow Lake surrounds Strawberry Hill, creating a picturesque artificial island. Strawberry Hill is also the highest point in Golden Gate Park, presenting good views of San Francisco. The Botanical Gardens lie next to Stow Lake, making a combined visit practical. Nearby you can also find the Japanese Tea Garden, the parks most famous attraction.

Besides the many photogenic attractions Stow Lake offers, you can rent a rowboat or paddle boat and spend a few hours on the tranquil lake, surrounded by ducks and seagulls. During the day, the lake is a serene retreat from the hectic city life, but at night, the lake and especially the statue near the log cabin north of the lake are haunted. At least that is the account of a number of people who claim to have seen ghosts and a haunted statue. Ghosts are not the reason I stay away from city parks after sunset but rather the prospect of a mugging.

Plenty of attractions await you here during the day, so put this area of the Park on your list of must see places on your next visit.

How to get there

Stow Lake and Botanical Garden Map (click to enlarge)

Turn east on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive from Highway 1 (19th Avenue). Parking on MLK Jr. Drive is usually difficult, but if you turn left onto Stow Lake Drive (one-way street), you can usually find parking somewhere around the lake. Sometimes you can find parking on Fulton Street, especially west of 25^th Avenue. I have seen shattered glass all around Fulton, so do not park here after dark. I find the garage underneath the de Young Museum too expensive, especially since I have always found free parking somewhere around here.

On weekends and holidays, a natural gas powered shuttle allows you to traverse the park quickly for just $2/day. The information site linked below has details and a map for the shuttle service.

GPS position

Strawberry Hill:

• 37° 46.110′N 122° 28.512′W

Botanical Garden:

• 37° 46.138′N 122° 28.221′W

How to photograph Stow Lake, Strawberry Hill and the Arboretum in Golden Gate Park

Stow Lake Waterfall

My favorite spot for photography of the lake is the south side footbridge. In the first image of the article, I caught the vegetation of Strawberry Hill as it reflects in the lake. Seagulls and ducks swim in the lake and occasionally you can see a turtle taking a sunbath. Cheeky squirrels chase each other around the lake, while looking at you curiously in the hope for a handout. I used a long focal length to shoot the bridge, which also comes in handy to hunt any of the little critters in and around the lake.

The squirrels are fast. Use the AI servo mode (focus tracking) for faster focusing. Select the center focus point, as it is the most accurate and the easiest to aim. You can always crop for a better composition. Then switch to AI mode and keep the center point on the squirrel. This will automatically keep it in focus and lets you take a shot in a split second.

From the eastern shore of Stow Lake, you can see the Chinese Pavilion and a waterfall. Elderly people feed the ducks and sea grass grows along the shore. There are many fascinating compositions waiting here.

Cross over one of the footbridges to Strawberry Hill and follow the eastern trail for a closer view of the falls and the pavilion.

From the bottom of the waterfall, you can hike up and step on any of the two bridges that span the falls. Follow the trail to the top of Strawberry Hill, where you will find views of the city and Golden Gate Bridge.

Downtown San Francisco from Strawberry Hill

The skyline above the treetops of the cloud forest of the Botanical Garden is one of my favorite photographs. It creates harmony between the tall trees and tall buildings while showing the severe contrast of city and nature. Many good compositions are possible from up here, but you have to hunt for an opening in the trees that cover the hill almost entirely. On the flip side you can incorporate any of the trees to frame sections of the city.

Bamboo Forest

The San Francisco Botanical Garden is a nature lover’s delight. Plant species from around the world populate this large garden, with skillfully maintained walking paths crisscrossing the grounds.

Vandals have mutilated every bamboo stem in the Bamboo Forest. Nevertheless, if the angle of the sun is low, you can create some interesting looking shots without showing the damage. You can also use a wide-angle lens and use the unique perspective it affords you to create converging lines as I did here. Depending on the time of the day, you can include the small pond to create a feeling of being in an Asian jungle.

The Redwood Trail snakes through real redwood trails, giving you a tiny glimpse of what you can expect at Muir Woods, just north of San Francisco. The trail appears well groomed yet wild. The bark ground cover, ground vegetation, benches and trees combine favorably into abstract nature scenes.

Botanical Garden Cactus

Unfortunately most of the plants of the Arboretum do not stand alone. They are arranged in groups of plants surrounded by even more plants. I discovered many wonderful shapes in the cactus garden that I couldn’t utilize due to a cluttered background. Isolating the background is not easy, due to the close distance of those plants, requiring a lens with a very wide aperture and long focal length. Sometimes you can use the clutter to your advantage. This works especially well if you can show a repeating pattern with one or a few elements standing out from the crowd.

Check out the wooden planked trail through the primitive area, the lush meadows, the fountain and the Fragrance Garden if you want to photograph and explore even more in the San Francisco Botanical Garden.

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

Every time and every season has its merits. Whenever you happen to visit San Francisco, a visit to the park is always a good idea.

Time required

You can spend a day between Stow Lake, Strawberry Hill and the Botanical Garden. You need at least 5 hours to see it all in a faster pace. The Garden in particular needs a lot of time for exploration. If you focus on certain parts, you can stay however long you have.

Equipment

• Superzoom: I had to change my lens constantly, bring a one size fits all to avoid my pains.
• Image Stabilization: The trees block most of the light, especially during the afternoon. I had to increase my ISO settings despite my use of a IS lens.
• Tripod: I advise against it, due to the nature of the trails and the amount of walking you will do. If staying flexible is not as important to you and if you came for a specific shot you had previously planned, a tripod is a good idea, otherwise it’s not.

Fees

There are no fees to see any of the sights described in this article, but the Botanical Garden asks for a voluntary donation of $5 per person. Please consider paying to keep this wonderful attraction alive.

Close Locations

• Japanese Tea Garden
• Conservatory of Flowers, Shakespeare Garden, Music Concourse
• California Academy of Sciences and de Young Museum
• Dutch Windmill, Buffalo Paddock and Spreckles Lake
• Buena Vista Park and Haight-Ashbury District
• Twin Peaks
• Alamo Square
• San Francisco Land’s End
• Cliff House and Beach
• Legion of Honor
• Presidio historic walk
• Golden Gate Bridge
• Corona Heights Park

Useful Resources

• More pictures from Golden Gate Park
• Golden Gate Park Information
• San Francisco Botanical Garden
• Stow Lake Ghost Stories

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