Presidio Trust Announces Free Winter 2020 Programs
See what's happening this season.
Attention Calendar Editors: Photos are available on request
Ongoing
Presidio Visitor Center
Open 7 days a week, from 10 am to 5 pm
210 Lincoln Blvd., on the Presidio’s Main Post, San Francisco
Phone: 415-561-4323
Visit what was once a former jail house, and is now the welcoming spot for all Presidio visitors. View displays on the park’s history and nature, learn about the day’s activities, get advice from expert multilingual staff, pick up a map or a self-guide, or purchase what you may need to set off on your Presidio adventures.
Also pick up an Explorer Backpack, which turns your Presidio visit into a game-like adventure. Each backpack contains an adventure map and challenge cards that guide you to fun discoveries—unique places, hidden spots, wild creatures, and more—all around the park. It’s also packed with tools like a magnifying glass, binoculars, and a compass to help you along the way. There are now two versions available: one for kids and one for teens and grown-ups.
To check out a free backpack, drop in to the Presidio Visitor Center (open daily from 10 am to 5 pm). Reserve one in advance by calling (415) 561-4323. Backpacks must be returned by 4:30 pm.
Presidio Officers’ Club
Open Tuesday – Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm – Closed Mondays
50 Moraga Avenue, on the Presidio’s Main Post, San Francisco
Phone: 415-561-4400
Price: Free
San Francisco’s most historic building is now home to the Presidio’s museum and other permanent exhibitions tracing the Presidio’s past and present, an installation by artist Andy Goldsworthy, free live performances and talks, history tours, and school field trips. It’s also a wonderful place to gather, featuring Arguello, a Mexican restaurant by award-winning chef Traci Des Jardins, and special event venues.
Presidio Officers’ Club Tours
Date: Saturdays at 11 am
Place: Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Avenue, San Francisco
Phone: 415-561-4400
Price: Free
On this guided tour of the Presidio’s history museum, located in its oldest structure, hear exclusive stories about the fort’s founding in 1776, its adobe walls, seafaring scientists, Buffalo Soldiers, Army nurses, secret Japanese language school, Vietnam-era dissenters and much, much more.
Drop-in Tours of Andy Goldsworthy’s Tree Fall
Date: Saturdays and Sundays from 12 pm to 3 pm, and weekdays by appointment.
Phone: 415-561-2767
Price: Free
Place: 95 Anza Avenue on the Main Post (northwest of the Presidio’s Officers’ Club)
This installation juxtaposes nature and history inside the former Powder Magazine.
Special Exhibition: EXCLUSION: The Presidio’s Role in World War II Japanese American Incarceration
Date: Tuesday to Sundays, 10 am – 5 pm; Through June 2020
Place: Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Avenue, San Francisco
Phone: (415) 561-4400
Price: Free
During World War II, the Presidio of San Francisco, the Army’s Western Defense Command, played a pivotal role in the unjust incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, purportedly in the name of national security. This special exhibition invites visitors to investigate the choices—both personal and political—that led to this dark chapter in American history, and to reflect on what we have learned that helps us to address present-day issues of mass incarceration, immigration reform, and racial profiling. In developing EXCLUSION, the Presidio Trust collaborated with the Fred T. Korematsu Institute and the National Japanese American Historical Society.
Link: www.presidio.gov/exclusion
January
Event: Guided Walking Tour of the Main Post
Date: Thursday, January 2
Time: 1 pm to 3 pm
Place: Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Ave., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 561-4323
Price: Free
The Main Post’s history comes alive on this two-hour, guided walking tour. Learn about the Presidio’s layered past through the stories of the people and places that have shaped it. The walk is on paved surfaces with some moderate inclines and uneven sections.
Event: Archaeology Lab Guided Tours
Date: Saturday, January 4
Time: 1 pm
Place: Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Ave., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 561-4400
Price: Free
Learn about the Presidio’s archaeological process and excavations during this one-hour tour. See standing Spanish adobe in the Presidio Officers’ Club before moving to the state-of-the-art lab and collections facility where artifacts are cleaned, catalogued, studied, and curated. It’s a unique opportunity to see the behind-the-scenes workings of an archaeology lab and talk directly to the archaeologists.
Event: Y Bike Learn to Ride Program
Date: Sunday, January 5
Time: 11 am to 2 pm
Place: Main Parade Ground at Anza and Sheridan
Phone: (415) 561-4323
Price: Free
Get your kids riding on two wheels with free, safe, and friendly instruction from the Presidio Community Y. Bikes and equipment are provided. All ages are welcome; no reservations are required. Co-sponsored by the Presidio Trust.
Event: Guided Art Hikes: Andy Goldsworthy in the Presidio
Date: Saturday, January 11
Time: 10:30 am to 1 pm
Place: Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Avenue, San Francisco
Phone: (415) 561-4400
Price: Free
This guided hike visits the park’s four installations by the world-renowned artist: Spire (2008), Wood Line (2010), Tree Fall (2013), and Earth Wall (2014). The three-mile hike is moderate with a few uphill stretches and surfaces that include sand and rocky areas. Rain or shine.
Registration is required.
Event: Presidio Experience Tour
Date: Thursday, January 16
Time: 1 pm to 3 pm
Place: Presidio Visitor Center, 210 Lincoln Blvd., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 561-4323
Price: Free
Get to know the Presidio during this two hour, in-depth experience. Start with a scenic shuttle ride around the park, filled with illuminating stories about the Presidio’s past and present. Then enjoy a guided tour of the Presidio Officers’ Club for a deeper dive into the diverse people and world events that have shaped the Presidio since 1776. Registration is required.
Event: Guided Walking Tour of the Main Post
Date: Friday, January 17
Time: 11 am to 1 pm
Place: Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Ave., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 561-4323
Price: Free
The Main Post’s history comes alive on this two-hour, guided walking tour. Learn about the Presidio’s layered past through the stories of the people and places that have shaped it. The walk is on paved surfaces with some moderate inclines and uneven sections.
Event: MLK Volunteer Day of Service 2020
Date: Monday, January 20
Time: 9 am to 12:30 pm
Place: Fort Winfield Scott, Presidio of San Francisco
Phone: (415) 561-4323
Price: Free
Commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day by taking care of the Presidio. This event features ecological restoration and landscape stewardship projects in and around the Presidio’s Fort Scott District. All ages are welcome. Space is limited. Registration is required at Volunteer.
February
Event: Archaeology Lab Guided Tours
Date: Saturday, February 1
Time: 1 pm
Place: Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Ave., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 561-4400
Price: Free
Learn about the Presidio’s archaeological process and excavations during this one-hour tour. See standing Spanish adobe in the Presidio Officers’ Club before moving to the state-of-the-art lab and collections facility where artifacts are cleaned, catalogued, studied, and curated. It’s a unique opportunity to see the behind-the-scenes workings of an archaeology lab and talk directly to the archaeologists.
Event: Y Bike Learn to Ride Program
Date: Sunday, February 2
Time: 11 am to 2 pm
Place: Main Parade Ground at Anza and Sheridan
Phone: (415) 561-4323
Price: Free
Get your kids riding on two wheels with free, safe, and friendly instruction from the Presidio Community Y. Bikes and equipment are provided. All ages are welcome; no reservations are required. Co-sponsored by the Presidio Trust.
Event: Guided Walking Tour of the Main Post
Date: Thursday, February 6
Time: 1 pm to 3 pm
Place: Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Ave., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 561-4323
Price: Free
The Main Post’s history comes alive on this two-hour, guided walking tour. Learn about the Presidio’s layered past through the stories of the people and places that have shaped it. The walk is on paved surfaces with some moderate inclines and uneven sections.
Event: Guided Art Hikes: Andy Goldsworthy in the Presidio
Date: Saturday, February 8
Time: 10:30 am to 1 pm
Place: Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Ave., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 561-4400
Price: Free
This guided hike visits the park’s four installations by the world-renowned artist: Spire (2008), Wood Line (2010), Tree Fall (2013), and Earth Wall (2014). The three-mile hike is moderate with a few uphill stretches and surfaces that include sand and rocky areas. Rain or shine. Registration is required.
Event: Valentine’s Day Sock Hop
Date: Saturday, February 15
Time: 7 pm to 10 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm for a 30-minute sock-hop inspired dance lesson!)
Place: Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Ave., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 561-4400
Price: Free
Hop back to the 1950’s! Dance to live music from The Ely Brothers + The Doubletake Band, enjoy period dance performances from San Francisco’s renowned Jitterbugs, and sip retro cocktails available for purchase from Arguello Restaurant (cash bar). Reflect on the history of romance at the Presidio with a mini pop-up exhibit of Love Letters & Stories from the Presidio’s military days. Come shake, rattle, and roll!
Event: Presidio Experience Tour
Date: Thursday, February 20
Time: 1 pm to 3 pm
Place: Presidio Visitor Center, 210 Lincoln Blvd., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 561-4323
Price: Free
Get to know the Presidio during this two hour, in-depth experience. Start with a scenic shuttle ride around the park, filled with illuminating stories about the Presidio’s past and present. Then enjoy a guided tour of the Presidio Officers’ Club for a deeper dive into the diverse people and world events that have shaped the Presidio since 1776. Registration is required.
Event: Guided Walking Tour of the Main Post
Date: Friday, February 21
Time: 11 am to 1 pm
Place: Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Ave., San Francisco
Phone: (415) 561-4323
Price: Free
The Main Post’s history comes alive on this two-hour, guided walking tour. Learn about the Presidio’s layered past through the stories of the people and places that have shaped it. The walk is on paved surfaces with some moderate inclines and uneven sections.
Event: Film + Talk: No Time to Waste
Date: Saturday, February 22
Time: 7 pm to 8:30 pm
Place: Presidio Theatre, 99 Moraga Avenue
Phone: (415) 561-4323
Price: Free
This documentary celebrates legendary national park ranger Betty Reid Soskin who, at age 98, still actively presents her unique perspective on American history to visitors at Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park. The film examines Soskin’s urgent mission to restore critical missing chapters of American’s story. The screening will be followed by a conversation between director Carl Bidleman and co-executive producer Doug McConnell, host of NBC Bay Area’s OpenRoad.
About the Presidio and the Presidio Trust
The Presidio Trust is a federal agency that manages the Presidio of San Francisco, a national park at the heart of the 82,000-acre Golden Gate National Recreation Area. In partnership with the National Park Service and the non-profit Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the Presidio Trust brings alive the park’s historic, natural, and recreational assets for the inspiration, education, health, and enjoyment of all people at no cost to taxpayers. Spanning nearly 1,500 acres in a spectacular setting at the Golden Gate, the Presidio is defined by its history, spectacular views, natural habitats, and beautiful opens spaces. It is home to 3,000 residents and 200 tenant organizations, many of which welcome and serve the public. The Presidio Trust is focused on welcoming all to the national park experience, protecting and enhancing the environment, and operating in service to the public. Learn more at www.presidio.gov.