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San Francisco’s Presidio First U.S. Park To Receive Green Flag Award

Published Date

January 14, 2020
There are 24 miles of hiking trails at the Presidio/David and Kay Scott

There are 24 miles of hiking trails at the Presidio/David and Kay Scott

San Francisco’s Presidio has been designated the first park in the United States to receive the Green Flag Award. The award, bestowed by a worldwide network of organizations licensed by the British Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Governments, seeks to recognize well-managed green spaces. 

Selection is based on a series of 27 factors including security, signage, horticultural maintenance, community involvement, building and infrastructure maintenance, and management of natural features. Evaluation for the award includes a personal visit by peer judges who inspect the applicant’s facilities.    

The 1,500 acres comprising today’s Presidio once consisted of little more than an expanse of barren sand dunes. A military outpost established by the Spanish in 1776 fell under control of Mexico following that country’s independence from Spain in 1821. The U.S. military captured the fort without resistance in 1846.

The former military base offices serves as the Presidio's center of activities/David and Kay Scott

The former military base serves as the Presidio's center of activities/David and Kay Scott

The Presidio is now a component of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, an 82,000-acre urban park established in 1972 with a provision that the military fort be turned over to the National Park Service should the U.S. Army depart. The transition took place in 1994 following a Congressional decision to close the base.

Responsibility for the Presidio is split between the National Park Service and the Presidio Trust, with the former overseeing 300 acres of recreational coastal area and the Trust administering the larger interior portion.  The Presido Trust is required to be financially self-sustaining.

According to a Presidio Trust news release, the park’s evaluation report stated the Presidio is “one of the most welcoming and well-facilitated public resources the judges have ever visited.”

David and Kay Scott are authors of “Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges” (Globe Pequot).  They live in Valdosta, Georgia.

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