Touring * Fitness * Beginner * Hockey * Historic * Slalom * Scene * Artistic *

Entering San Francisco from the south on Interstate 280, take the exit marked Highway 1 North (which is also 19th Avenue). After driving five miles through city block after city block, you'll pass Lincoln Way, Golden Gate Park's southern border; continue through the park until you meet Fulton Street. Turn right on Fulton, where parking is free and close to the skating, as long as you arrive by 10 a.m. Leave your car at the west end of the park (or carry your skates) if you can't ride your heel brake down the narrow sidewalk from the east end of Fulton. Entering the city from the Golden Gate Bridge on U.S. 101, take the 19th Avenue/Golden Gate Park exit after crossing the bridge and head south through the Presidio, now named, appropriately enough, Park Presidio Boulevard. After you emerge from the tunnel, continue south on Park Presidio for seven more blocks until you reach Fulton. Turn left and park as explained above. From Interstate 80 and the Bay Bridge, follow the signs for U.S. 101 north and the Golden Gate Bridge. Turn left (west) at Fell Street, and follow it until you meet Stanyan Street, which is the eastern border of the park. Turn right onto Stanyan and go up a hill. The first left at the top of the rise is Fulton.

Golden Gate Park is the place to skate in the Bay Area on Sundays. Year round, hundreds of in-line and quad (roller) skaters congregate from 10 a.m. until dark, frolicking without fear of traffic on 2.5 miles of wide, barricaded streets at the park's east end. There's enough room and variety of terrain for skaters of all skill levels to have fun. No other Bay Area skating location can compare with the scene you'll find here. The skating activity takes place up and down the length of John F. Kennedy Drive. Two levels of slalom runs are set up on Conservatory Drive, and a lip of asphalt on the shoulder nearby attracts trick jumpers as well. A roller hockey game is almost always in progress where East Middle Drive meets John F. Kennedy Drive. Off Tea Garden Drive, two sets of stairs near the Music Concourse offer intermediate and advanced stair riding and jumping opportunities. Near the Seventh Street entrance to the park, a grassy slope makes perfect seating for spectators to watch artistic skaters, first-timers on rental skates, and general show-offs who share a rink-like rectangle of smooth pavement. A boom box provides a variety of tunes that are great for dancing. When asked, the experts here are generous about sharing their tips. Keep a lunch in your car, and when you get hungry, bring it here for a picnic. A water fountain is located nearby. Throughout the barricaded area, the San Francisco Skate Patrol watches for unsafe behavior or injured skaters.