Oak Woodlands Natural Area

Long before lawns and flowerbeds arrived, a seven-mile expanse of sand dunes swept from Ocean Beach across the peninsula to today's Financial District. While drifting sand covered the coast, eastern rock outcrops and ridges provided shelter for native oaks in what is now the park's northeast corner.

When 1870s planners stabilized the shifting dunes with horse manure, lupine, and new plantings, designers built the park around the oak woodlands instead of clearing them. They endure today as a tangible record of the peninsula's pre-settlement ecosystem.