The Historic U.S. Coast Guard Chimney Rock Boathouse.

Chimney Rock is located at the eastern spur of the Point Reyes Headlands. The Chimney Rock area is a popular destination for visitors wishing to view elephant seals, birds, and wildflowers. The 1.75-mile (2.8-km) round-trip Chimney Rock Trail leads along the ridge crest of a narrow peninsula, offering spectacular views of Drakes Bay and the coastline stretching to the southeast. The historic Chimney Rock Lifeboat Station offers a glimpse into the harrowing jobs of rescuing crew and passengers from ships that ran aground along this rugged coastline.

Come Prepared

• Print out the Chimney Rock Area map. (125 KB PDF)
• Fuel: The closest gas station is 20 miles (32 km) away in Point Reyes Station. Be sure you have sufficient fuel in your vehicle for a minimum 40-mile (64 km) round-trip drive, not including side trips to other points of interest within the National Seashore.
• Weather: Visitors may experience stiff winds, cool temperatures, fog, and/or rain at Chimney Rock; so dress appropriately. Wear layered clothing.
  National Weather Service Forecast for the Chimney Rock area
• Water: Bring a water bottle. There are no potable sources of water at Chimney Rock. The nearest potable source of water is a water bottle filling station/water fountain located near the east end of the green garages that are located approximately 100 yards (100 meters) before one arrives at the Lighthouse Visitor Center or a water fountain located in the courtyard of the Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center at Drakes Beach. Bottled water is not sold at Point Reyes National Seashore’s visitor centers or bookstores.
• Food: There are no food services west of Inverness, which is a thirty-five-minute drive from the Chimney Rock parking lot. Bring food from home or purchase food at one of the stores or restaurants in West Marin before heading out to Chimney Rock if it is close to mealtime.
• Restrooms: Restrooms are available at the Chimney Rock parking lot from 6 am to midnight. Be sure to use the restrooms before heading out on area trails.
• Phones: Cell phone reception is very minimal to nonexistent in the Chimney Rock area.

• Drones: Launching, landing, or operating a remotely operated aircraft (aka “remotely piloted aircraft,” “unmanned aircraft,” or “drone”) from or on lands and waters administered by the National Park Service within the boundaries of Point Reyes National Seashore is prohibited.

  If you observe drone use in Point Reyes National Seashore, please call park dispatch at 415-464-5170 or contact staff at the nearest Visitor Center as soon as possible. If you observe drone use in other National Park Service areas or if you find photographs or videos online or elsewhere that were illegally taken within National Park Service areas from drones, you can report the violation to the National Park Service tip line at 888-653-0009 or by email.

• Pets: Dogs may be walked in the parking lot and along Chimney Rock Road west of the parking lot (i.e., back toward Sir Francis Drake Boulevard); otherwise, dogs are prohibited. Please be aware that most visitors to Chimney Rock are away from their vehicle for an hour or longer. Please do not leave your dog unattended in your vehicle; leave your dog at home instead. This prohibition does not apply to working service dogs, which are allowed on trails and in public buildings. If you have a service dog, please inquire at a park visitor center for information before heading out to the Chimney Rock area. Visit our Pets page for more information about visiting Point Reyes National Seashore with your dog.

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Sir Francis Drake Boulevard passes through a number of ranches on its way to Chimney Rock and the Point Reyes Headlands.

The Drive

Chimney Rock is located at the eastern-most end of the Point Reyes Headlands. Drive west ~19 miles (~30 km) on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. After passing through the “A” Ranch, turn left at the Y signed for Chimney Rock and follow Chimney Rock Road ~0.9 miles (~1.5 km) to the Chimney Rock parking lot. Chimney Rock Road is only about ten feet (3 meters) wide, but serves as a two-way road. Please observe the speed limit and look ahead to keep watch for oncoming traffic. If you do notice a vehicle heading your way, pull into the next turnout until the other vehicle has had a chance to pass.

Sir Francis Drake Boulevard is windy and slow-going, so allow forty-five minutes to drive the ~20 miles (~32 km) from the Bear Valley/Olema/Point Reyes Station area to the Chimney Rock parking lot (one hour and thirty minutes round-trip), not including any time you will spend in the area. Allow one hour and forty-five minutes for the drive (three hours and thirty minutes round-trip) from the Santa Rosa area, northwest San Francisco, or the northern East Bay. Many visitors spend at least an hour or two in the Chimney Rock area.
Directions to Chimney Rock from the Bear Valley Visitor Center.

RVs and Trailers

Recreational vehicles (RVs) and vehicles pulling trailers with a combined length in excess of 24 feet (7.3 meters) are prohibited on Chimney Rock Road. If you are traveling with a trailer or are driving an RV towing a passenger vehicle, consider unhitching at the bus/RV/trailer-only parking lot at Bear Valley and taking only the passenger vehicle for the drive out to the Chimney Rock area. Overnight parking/camping in RVs and trailers is prohibited throughout Point Reyes National Seashore.

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Parking

The parking lot at the Chimney Rock Trailhead can only accommodate twenty vehicles. As a result, parking space availability is very limited, particularly in the afternoon. Please observe all “No Parking” signs. Please refrain from parking along the shoulder of the road or off of the pavement. Doing so kills vegetation and increases erosion.

Parking Lot

Chimney Rock Parking Lot

• 
  
  20 total spaces
  

• 
  0 oversized spaces
  

• 
  37.995124821, -122.979734524
  

A small paved parking lot with space for 20 vehicles. Park here to hike the Chimney Rock Trail, walk to the Elephant Seal Overlook, or visit the Historic Point Reyes Lifeboat Station. A vault toilet is located at the southeast corner of the parking lot. The Chimney Rock Parking Lot is approximately 45 minutes by car from the Bear Valley Visitor Center via Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

Parking Fee

No parking or entrance fees are charged at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Cost: $0.00

Closures & Seasonal Exceptions

Amenities

Accessible Lot
Yes
Number of ADA-designated spaces
1
Number of ADA van-accessible spaces
1
Number of ADA step-free spaces
0
Total number of spaces
20
Number of oversize vehicle spaces
0

Accessibility

The parking lot at Chimney Rock has one van accessible parking spot and is composed of asphalt. The path to the Elephant Seal Overlook involves a rather short but moderately steep descent along an asphalt driveway (which is degraded in places), and then a flat traverse along a rammed-earth 0.2 mile-long (0.3 kilometer) trail. Individuals in wheelchairs may need assistance with the descent and accent of the driveway.

Individuals with a Disabled Person parking placard or plate may drive their personal vehicle to the Lifeboat Station’s Boathouse parking area. Please drive slowly and carefully since this section of the one-lane access road doubles as the pedestrian path from the main Chimney Rock parking lot to the Boathouse. Volunteers sometimes staff the Boathouse on weekends and holidays from January through March. The Boathouse’s first floor and boat bay are wheelchair accessible. There is also an accessible restroom within the Boathouse. At other times, visitors may explore the Lifeboat Station grounds, where wayside exhibits provide information about the U.S. Lifesaving Service and U.S. Coast Guard history at Point Reyes.

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Stay on designated trails

The only official trails in the Chimney Rock area are shown in the map to the right.

Hiking along the bluff tops can be unsafe and is not recommended. Stay away from cliff edges. Loose soil and/or rock can give way suddenly and you may fall. Do not climb cliffs.

Visitors walking off of official trails and paths trample vegetation, which may lead to the death of the trampled plants. Over time, as more and more visitors use a route, it starts to look more and more like an official trail, and more and more visitors use it, resulting in a feedback loop that makes the “trail” look “official.” However, these “social paths” tend to exacerbate erosion and harm threatened and endangered species. These paths also can lead to locations where visitors may be more at risk to injury, endangering themselves and any potential rescuers.

Do not “hop” the fences to get a “better” photo or for any other reason. Fences and other barriers are there for your safety. The bluffs and cliffs in the Chimney Rock are prone to collapse with little warning. Stay well away from the bluff tops. Individuals who are found on the wrong side of fences will be cited for entering a closed area.

During the winter, hundreds of northern elephants seals can be seen from the Elephant Seal Overlook.

Elephant Seal Overlook

From the Chimney Rock parking lot, walk down the driveway 150 feet (~50 meters), bear left at the Y, and continue along the Fish Docks access road another 260 feet (~80 meters) to the trailhead for the Elephant Seal Overlook Trail. The relatively flat dirt trail leads 850 feet (~260 meters) northwest to the Elephant Seal Overlook. While it may be possible to view northern elephant seals from here on any given day of the year, December through March is the period during which visitors may view several hundred elephant seals hauled out at the southwest end of Drakes Beach as the seals return to give birth and to mate.

Please visit our Viewing Elephant Seals page for more information.

Chimney Rock Trail

This spectacular 1.75-mile (2.8 km) hike offers views of Drakes Bay and the Pacific Ocean and is renowned for great spring wildflowers. Rocky cliffs drop off steeply to the water, so there is no beach access. While it is possible to see a few whales any given day of the year, from March through May, dozens to hundreds of gray whales migrate north past Chimney Rock every day. Fog and wind can make this hike challenging. Start this hike from the southeast corner of the Chimney Rock parking lot.

Photo of a park employee standing over and pointing at a newly developed fissure along the Chimney Rock Trail on December 21, 2015.

Fissures Near the Chimney Rock Trail

Cracks were reported on a portion of the bluff near the Chimney Rock Trail on December 21, 2015. These fissures could indicate the possibility of a weakening cliff face in the area. The land may be unstable and a collapse or erosion could occur. Visitors are reminded to stay on designated trails.

Bluffs along the California coast are inherently unstable. They are prone to crumbling and sliding, especially in wet weather. It is very dangerous to climb or walk along the edge of cliffs. Be aware of falling rocks if walking near the base of a rock face.

View:
Close-up photograph of the fissure. (172 KB jpg)
Photograph of the area with the fissure from the southeast. (117 KB jpg)
Aerial photograph of the location of the fissure marked in yellow. (216 KB jpg)

The Historic U.S. Coast Guard Chimney Rock Boathouse.

Historic Lifeboat Station

Despite the efforts of the men and women who worked at the Point Reyes Lighthouse, which was constructed in 1870, ships continued to wreck on the rocks and beaches along the dangerous Point Reyes peninsula. In 1889, the U.S. Life-Saving Service opened a Life Saving Station on the Point Reyes Beach, the first of two built at Point Reyes. The U.S. Lifesaving Service was combined with the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915. In 1927, the Coast Guard moved their operations moved from Point Reyes Beach to the protected waters at the southwest end of Drakes Beach near Chimney Rock. Eventually modern technologies eclipsed the need for the Lifeboat Station at Point Reyes. In 1969,the Point Reyes Lifeboat Station was closed and, shortly thereafter, was transferred to the National Park Service for preservation.
Visit our Lifeboat Station History at Point Reyes page for more information.

The Lifeboat Station buildings are visible from the Chimney Rock Trail and the station’s access road (which is open only to NPS and other authorized vehicles). Visitors may explore the Lifeboat Station grounds, where wayside exhibits provide information about the U.S. Lifesaving Service and U.S. Coast Guard history at Point Reyes.

Today, the Historic Lifeboat Station at Point Reyes National Seashore is primarily used as an educational facility for non-profit groups learning about the resources of the natural and cultural resources of Point Reyes. The Boathouse is sometimes open to the public from 11 am to 4 pm on weekends and federal holidays from January through March, if volunteer staff is available. The Boathouse contains the historic Coast Guard Motorized Lifeboat CG-36542 and has the last intact marine railway on the West Coast. Kids activities, a 10-minute video on elephant seals, and complimentary hot beverages (cocoa, tea, coffee) are available when the Boathouse is open, along with hands-on interactive activities allowing both children and adults to learn about seal and whale adaptations.

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Just before the Hood Mountain Regional Park parking lot, a narrow road barely big enough for a car climbs into the forest. Paved in parts, the road twists and rises until it reaches a mountain meadow that has served as a family’s gathering place for five generations.

Offering sweeping views of Sonoma County, the 289-acre property, called El Recreo, burned in both the 2017 and 2020 wildfires.

But it has recovered slowly, and all the while shaped the lives of its caretakers in the Perrin, Bucklin, Tilt and English families. Now, in a deal with the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, El Recreo is set to remain preserved as conservation land.

The district is in the homestretch of purchasing a $898,000 conservation easement for the property – a complicated process that has taken about nine years, needing buy-in from all of the property’s 13 owners. The easement will extinguish future development rights on the land, meaning it would be permanently protected even if sold.

“It just seemed like the natural thing to do,” said Arden Bucklin-Sporer, whose family owns the property.

It borders Hood Mountain on the north side, overlooking Oakmont. The property will not be opened to the public and will remain available for the family’s private use.

But the benefits of preserving land like El Recreo as a conservation area extend beyond public recreation, said Lauren Alpert, a community relations assistant for the open space district.

“When you’re protecting areas like this you’re protecting watershed, clean air,” Alpert said. Wildlife habitat – the property takes in headwaters for both the Santa Rosa and Sonoma creek drainages – and scenic viewsheds are other conservation benefits.

Alpert added that El Recreo will also serve as an important wildland buffer for its neighboring developed communities including Oakmont and Kenwood.

This is not the family’s first foray into conservation. Bucklin-Sporer’s mother and stepfather were Anne and Otto Teller, local land stewardship visionaries who helped found the Sonoma Land Trust.

It was Bucklin-Sporer’s grandmother, Adelaid Perrin, who began that family legacy, when she purchased El Recreo for around $48,000 in the 1950s.

Born in Guatemala, Perrin spent her early childhood on a coffee farm until the family moved back to California following her father’s death from malaria, Bucklin-Sporer said.

An “ardent admirer” of nature, independent and with “energy off the wall,” Perrin turned her attention to finding a family retreat once her three daughters were grown. It was El Recreo’s wild meadow nestled near the top of the mountain that sealed the deal, Bucklin-Sporer said.

Over the years the family left much of the land untouched, but built two homes and a swimming pool near the meadow. It was there that Anne Teller would bring her four children from their home in San Francisco during the weekends, and for weeks during the summer. She used it to teach them self-sufficiency, economy and an appreciation for the natural world.

“I think all of us are the way we are because of this place,” Bucklin-Sporer said.

Growing up, Bucklin-Sporer and her siblings would ride horses, care for injured birds they found including owls and a vulture, and acquired skills including identifying animal tracks.

Many have since pursued careers connected to land stewardship and ecology, including farming, restoration and nonprofit work, Bucklin Sporer said.

Supervisor Susan Gorin, who represents the area encompassing El Recreo, praised the family’s “extraordinary legacy they have, and continue to leave.”

“You need to take responsibility and manage the land,” Gorin said. “Especially in threat of fire.”

The family is both city and country, Bucklin-Sporer joked as she walked a grassy path to a knoll on a recent sunny morning.

Strolling along in Birkenstocks, undaunted by the prickly underbrush and ever-present threat of rattlesnakes, Bucklin-Sporer chewed on a blade of grass and led the way to a knoll overlooking Hood Mountain. Her rescue dog Xochi followed behind.

The destination held special meaning. It is where Bucklin-Sporer’s brother got married, and where their grandmother, mother and aunts’ ashes now rest.

“They burned twice so that’s good,” Bucklin-Sporer said, sharing some of her dry humor as she referenced the 2017 and 2020 wildfires

The wildfires ripped through El Recreo, leaving behind scorched trees and taking the family’s two homes.

The foundation and chimney of the house that Bucklin-Sporer’s parents built stood still. A partial brick wall also remains, holding a rusted sign bearing the home’s 8000 address.

Bucklin-Sporer said she visits the site frequently to check on its status.

The loss was devastating.

Though the family’s many generations are now far flung, with members in San Francisco and beyond, El Recreo remains their heart, Bucklin-Sporer said.

The property now serves as their camp. Two tents and an Airstream trailer sit around a pool that survived the fires at the far end of the meadow. An outdoor wooden stand spruced up with string lights and complete with a sink, grill and griddle make up a kitchen of sorts.

The choice to keep the property “wild” is a reflection of Perrin’s love for all things nature, and Anne Teller’s commitment to low-impact living, Bucklin-Sporer said.

“That was my mother’s perspective,” she noted. “You want to keep it simple, you don’t want a lot of water use, you want to keep it thrifty.”

Following the wildfires, the family has watched the land grow back slowly and in some surprising ways.

Bucklin-Sporer said they have seen new types of woodpeckers on the property, as well as more quail.

Her youngest son, August Sporer, 30, observed that more wildflowers are visible in the places where trees burned.

The conservation deal allows the owners to build two homes on the property, to replace the ones that burned. Bucklin-Sporer and her siblings and cousins ​​have left that decision to the next generation.

“I’m curious and keen to know what they want to do with it,” Bucklin-Sporer said.

The rest of the property will remain as is, and much like it was decades ago.

August Sporer praised the decision.

“This was a fantastic way to make sure this stays in the family,” Sporer said.

You can reach Staff Writer Emma Murphy at 707-521-5228 or emma.murphy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MurphReports.

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A parking lot in South San Francisco’s Old Town neighborhood could be the city’s next park, with the City Council last month signing off on the purchase of property at 616 and 700 Linden Ave. in hopes of providing the developing area with more green space.

The city expects to pay roughly $1.3 million for the two parcels, and will host public outreach events to decide on the park’s design.

“This is such a win for our community,” Mayor Mark Nagales said. “We’ve heard it from residents in Old Town, they’ve been asking for a park, asking for some open space.”

The lot at 616 Linden Ave., currently a public parking lot with 18 metered spaces, was previously an automotive repair shop with underground petroleum tanks that contaminated the soil, so the construction will include cleanup efforts. The lot across the street at 700 Linden Ave. is a grassy field bisected by a pedestrian path.

According to a city report, the sites had been examined for housing, which would have required a more extensive and expensive cleanup estimated to cost nearly $800,000. City staff also noted the need for open space as the neighborhood has already been seeing increasing amounts of new residential construction.

The land is former redevelopment agency property, meaning the city will need to pay out various taxing entities to acquire the property. The city plans to pay out of its park acquisition fund, which currently has a $2 million balance thanks to fees paid by residential developers. Apart from the land acquisition, construction of the park is estimated to cost $3.1 million.

Nagales noted the park was one of the benefits of allowing new developments and allowed the city to “reinvest back into the community.”

“I know that when other neighborhoods hear about [the park] there might be some jealousy, but I want folks to know this isn’t the last park we’re taking a look at,” he said. “We’re looking at other locations throughout South San Francisco.”

Councilmember Mark Addiego said he envisioned the park with a gazebo modeled after one that sits in a plaza in Atotonilco El Alto, Jalisco, Mexico, one of the cities South San Francisco exchanges cultural, educational and economic information with as part of its “sister cities ” initiative.

“It made me smile when I heard some of the comments that were encouraging us to do a gazebo, which is very common in a lot of Latin American cities,” he said.

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SAN FRANCISCO — The rain came, the Giants rallied, but nothing could delay the inevitable.

A collection of empty seats, rain coats and umbrellas braved the brisk and blustery conditions at Oracle Park on Sunday to watch the Giants set a regrettable franchise record, losing to the Dodgers, 4-3 in 10 innings, for the 15th time this season.

After winning 10 of their 19 meetings in 2021 and outlasting Los Angeles by one game to claim the NL West, the Giants finished this season with a worse record against their rivals than any of their 63 previous seasons in San Francisco.

In the 139-year history of the Giants, dating back to the club’s inception in New York, they have finished only one other season — 1899, when they went 2-10 — with a worse winning percentage against the Dodgers than their 4-15 (.211) record this year. Their 15 losses to LA also set a San Francisco-era record, and the 32.5 games separating the two clubs would represent the Giants’ third-furthest finish from first place since moving here in 1958.

With the exception of San Francisco’s three-game sweep here in June, there has been no debate about the better ballclub. The Dodgers won 15 of their other 16 meetings, including 13 of their final 14 to close the season. The final tally on the scoreboard: Dodgers 99, Giants 55.

Limited to five runs on 13 hits over the course of the three-game series, the Giants at least showed life in the eighth, tying the game on a ground-rule double by JD Davis but left the bases loaded for the second time of the night. Davis’ ball bouncing over the wall prevented Thairo Estrada from scoring the go-ahead run from first base, the same fate that happened on Wilmer Flores’ ground-rule double in the fourth, when the Giants also left ’em loaded.

The wind was blowing in so strongly from right-center field that a would-be game-winning home run off the bat of Joc Pederson with two on in the 10th was turned in to a 396-foot flyout, blown in by 21 feet, according to Weather Applied, which tracks the impact of wind conditions at ballparks.

When the wind was blowing more and the rain coming down harder as the game started, Los Angeles leadoff man Trea Trea Turner’s fly ball on the first pitch of the game was blown in 58 feet.

Neither the miserable conditions nor the 20-minute delay caused by them fazed Giants starter Alex Cobb, who has a 1.57 ERA over his past five starts and kept up his strong stretch of pitching Sunday. Cobb limited the dangerous Dodgers lineup to two runs — a leadoff walk and a leadoff double that came around to score — over 5⅓ innings.

San Francisco’s bullpen blanked the Dodgers for the rest of regulation, but Mookie Betts doubled home the automatic runner in the top of the 10th and Thomas Szapucki forced home an insurance run with a bases-loaded walk. The two-run cushion proved too much in the bottom half for the Giants, who got an RBI single from Flores, a couple walks and a couple close-call fly balls but nothing else.

Some three hours earlier, at about 5:10 pm, Justin Turner doubled home Freddie Freeman for the Dodgers’ first run. At 5:40, Cobb retired the final out of the fourth inning. It wasn’t particularly strenuous, as you might expect from a 30-minute inning, but rather interrupted by one of the intermittent downpours over Oracle Park on Sunday.

The delay came with two outs in the top of the fourth and lasted 20 minutes.

Rookie outfielder Heliot Ramos, manning right field in his second game since being called up from Triple-A, had maybe the most intimate interactions with the conditions Sunday afternoon.

Turner hit a fly ball to right field on the first pitch of the game that appeared to be on a trajectory for McCovey Cove, or at least Levi’s Landing. But it ran into a wall of wind that knocked it down, turning it into a single one that fell in front of Ramos, who had taken his first few steps toward the wall.

Turner’s single ultimately traveled 327 feet, according to Statcast. But it was blown in by 58 feet, more than any other fly ball in the history of Oracle Park, according to Weather Applied, which tracks the impact of wind conditions at ballparks.

Recording the second out of the fourth — the final play before the game went into delay — Ramos tracked down another fly ball from Trayce Thompson but lost his footing on the wet grass while trying to throw back to the infield.

The slick ground, however, didn’t prevent Ramos from robbing Turner of extra bases and an RBI to end the third inning.

For a change, Cobb benefitted from the defense behind him. At one point this season, the difference between his actual ERA and his expected ERA was the largest in the majors, and the figures are still separated by almost half a run.

With Betts getting a running start at first base, after Cobb issued a two-out walk, Ramos sprinted from his spot in shallow right field and made a leaping grab to chase down a line drive from Turner that appeared destined for Triples Alley.

It didn’t take long for Turner to get his revenge, though, doubling to lead off the sixth and coming home to score the Dodgers’ second run on a single by Freeman.

©#YR@ MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at mercurynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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A handyman who allegedly stabbed and then cut the throat of a Queens mom, stuffed her body in a hockey duffel bag and then dumped it in a nearby park earlier last year has admitted to the gruesome killing.

David Bonola44, entered a guilty plea for manslaughter in the April slaying of Orsolya Gaalwhose body was found dumped in a sports bag near Forest Park, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Bonola is expected to be sentenced to 25 years in prison, plus an additional five years of probation. As part of his please dealprosecutors agreed to drop the murder charge he’d been facing in the case, according to New York ABC affiliate WABC-TV.

“This heinous killing devastated an entire family, left two boys without a mother and horrified the surrounding community,” Queens District Attorney Melina Katz stated in a press release. “I want to thank my prosecutors for their exhaustive efforts in securing this plea.”

David Bonola a suspect in the gruesome multi stabbing murder of Orsolya Gaal,

David Bonola, 44, a suspect in the gruesome multi stabbing murder of 51yr old Orsolya Gaal, is taken from the NYPD 112th Precinct Station House on Austin Street in Queens on Thursday April 21, 2022. Photo: Getty Images

“In pleading guilty, the defendant has accepted responsibility and is being held fully accountable for his criminal actions,” Katz added We express our sincerest condolences to the victim’s family and hope that today’s plea will allow them to begin to heal.”

On April 16, a man walking his dogs by Forest Park found a “suspicious bag with blood on it,” the New York City Police Department told Oxygen.com at the time. Gaal’s body was found inside, dead of a slashed throat. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that Gaal died from sharp force injuries to her neck.

RELATED: DNA Ties California Man To 2011 Killings Of Teen And Woman Whose Bodies Were Dumped By LA Freeways

Chilling surveillance footage from a nearby home had captured Gaal’s suspected killer — later identified as Bonola — “wheeling” a hockey duffel bag down a sidewalk near Gaal’s home around dawn. Prosecutors said the bag belonged to Gaal’s son.

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Investigators found Gaal’s home by tracing a trail of blood from the bag in Forest Park back to her residence.

A personal photo of Orsolya Gaal

Orsolya Gaal Photo: Facebook

Investigators later determined that Bonola had attacked Gaal at her home after the Queens mother returned from an outing shortly after midnight on April 16.

The pair, who had an on-and-off again sexual relationship, argued outside before going into the home’s basement prosecutors said Bonola then stabbed Gaal 55 times.

One of Gaal’s sons was inside the home at the time she was killed, but her husband and the couple’s other son were away at the time of the incident.

Bonola was arrested, but initially pleaded not guilty to a 13-count indictment following his arrest. According to authorities, Bonola had previously been employed to perform handy work at Gaal’s home.

Oxy app

Gaal’s family said she’ll be remembered as a loving and devoted mother who put her children first.

“She had a passion for making her kids happy,” Gaal’s teenage son Jamie said at a memorial for the slain Queens woman. “Right now that’s what’s important to remember.”

Bonola is set to be sentenced on Nov. 16.

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SAN FRANCISCO, July 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi along with community leaders and partnership for the Presidio Representatives celebrated the opening of Presidio Tunnel Tops. This highly anticipated new park destination marks the culmination of a 20-year transformation of the Presidium’s waterfront. Presidio Tunnel Tops adds 14 acres to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It is built on top of highway tunnels connecting san francisco to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, bringing national park experiences closer to people across the Bay Area and visitors from around the world.

Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio of San Francisco opens July 17. This highly anticipated new park destination marks the culmination of a 20-year transformation of the Presidio’s waterfront and adds 14 acres of new national park land to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Almost a decade in the making, Presidio Tunnel Tops was built by the community for the community bringing national park experiences closer to people across the Bay Area and visitors from around the world.

Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio of San Francisco opens July 17. This highly anticipated new park destination marks the culmination of a 20-year transformation of the Presidio’s waterfront and adds 14 acres of new national park land to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Almost a decade in the making, Presidio Tunnel Tops was built by the community for the community bringing national park experiences closer to people across the Bay Area and visitors around the world.

“Today is a day of celebration for San Franciscans as our city opens a majestic new public space,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “Presidio Tunnel Tops will serve as a beautiful beacon of recreation, education, and community. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Presidio Trust, National Park Service, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and the immense generosity of many supporters and volunteers, visitors in the Bay Area and beyond will benefit from this magnificent new park – now and for generations to come.”

Presidio Tunnel Tops features scenic overlooks with stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the bay and the city, paths and gardens, a welcome plaza with food and visitor services, a campfire circle, picnic grounds and more. Kids and adults alike can learn about nature, explore and have fun at the two-acre “Outpost” nature playscape and Field Station. Presidio Tunnel Tops opens to the public Jul 17 kicking off with an inaugural season of free family-friendly events and activities through October.

Additional photos and videos, including from the opening event, are available HERE. For more information, visit www.presidiotunneltops.org.

About Presidio Tunnel Tops
In 1993, Bay Area leaders, urban planners and citizens were faced with the need to replace the seismically unsafe Doyle Drive, which cut the Presidio in two as it led to the Golden Gate Bridge. A vision to construct the highway into tunnels and reconnect the park by creating new land over their tops was put forth and the Presidio Tunnel Tops project was born. Hundreds of hours of community engagement with more than 10,000 participants shaped the final design of the site. James Corner Field Operations, the firm behind New York’s High Line, was selected as the design partner. This new site allows the partnership for the Presidio to provide more national park experiences to people across the Bay Area and serves as a gateway to the greater Golden Gate National Recreation Area and broader National Park System. Led by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the Presidio Tunnel Tops campaign raised over $98 million of the $118 million project. It was built by Swinerton Builders.

SOURCE Presidio of san francisco

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Staring out at the Golden Gate Bridge on a sunny summer morning as fog swept slowly through the towering orange beams, a shudder of anger ran through me. This sweeping vista from the new Tunnel Tops park had not only been obscured from pedestrians for decades — the land severed a connection to the bay from one of the most unique national parklands in the country.

Sure, there are plenty of other places to get a good look at San Francisco’s most iconic landmark, but for nearly 100 years, this view belonged only to passing cars, military members, the occasional event attendees and patrons of a Burger King. Yes, a Burger King.

We’ll get back to the Burger King, but as visitors lounged on benches made of fallen cypress trees from the Presidio and children climbed on play structures made of wood and stone, nothing looked overtly shiny and new. Freshly planted native plants and carefully curated, landscaped paths blended into the scenery, putting the focus on, instead, what a city park can be. And surely, the best part about Tunnel Tops is that you likely won’t realize you’re walking on top of a tunnel at all.

Visitors hang out on the cypress tree benches at the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

Visitors enjoy a meadow at the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

This isn’t to undermine the beauty of the park or all the work that went into making it a truly special place for San Franciscans. But beneath all that beauty, quite literally, is the importance of transformative urban infrastructure, celebrating greenspace over cars — or at the very least finding a harmony in which the two can coexist. You just have to seize the opportunity.

In January 1989, the US Army announced it would exit the Presidio. Later that year, one of the biggest earthquakes the city had ever experienced hit, forcing city officials to reexamine the future of Doyle Drive freeway, which had bifurcated the land for years. As the military base became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the area transformed, the vision for Tunnel Tops began to take shape, slowly.

“The Burger King with the best view” was demolished in celebration. James Corner Field Operations, famed for his creation of New York City’s High Line, was chosen as the design partner on the project. The community was asked to weigh in, and more than 10,000 people contributed their opinions. The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy raised $98 million and the Presidio Trust contributed $20 million.

Visitors enjoy the Campfire circle at the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

After more than 20 years of planning, plenty of bureaucratic delays and one pandemic, Tunnel Tops park officially opens to the public Sunday, allowing visitors to walk through the Presidio and down to Crissy Field and the beach below. The separate areas that once felt so distinct are now seamlessly blended together. It’s almost surprising how close they always were.

While there’s plenty to explore in the 14-acre space for adults — don’t miss the campfire circle — the land is largely set aside for children. A two-acre play area designed to embrace safe risk-taking and crafted from natural materials decries brightly colored plastic playgrounds everywhere and emphasizes the importance of what can be learned from the nature around us.

Children play in the Outpost children’s playground at the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

Children play in the Outpost children’s playground at the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

Nearby, the Field Station allows kids to learn indoors, reminiscent of a free interactive museum where kids can immerse themselves in science and exploration. The Crissy Field Center and learning labs are next door, making additional space for kids and families. There will be plenty of programming at the park, the first on display being the inaugural art exhibition from Favianna Rodriguez, honoring the Ohlone Ramaytush and their ancestral homeland.

Visitors enjoy a meadow at the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

The new park also has plans to solve another persistent problem — the lack of food and drink options in the area. With daily food trucks spanning offerings from specialty coffee to empanadas to craft cocktails, visitors will no longer need to leave the area for a meal and instead can while away the hours on one of the expansive meadows. There are even reservable picnic areas, some of which include grills.

Visitors walk along the Cliff Walk check at the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE

The grand opening comes just months after the adjacent six-acre Battery Bluffs Park made its debut, cementing the area as destination-worthy for residents and tourists alike.

As I made my final loop around the park, I wandered over near where you can peer down on the passing traffic below. I turned my back to the bridge and glanced back toward the city. The Palace of Fine Arts was in full view to the east, while the Transamerica Pyramid and Salesforce Tower loomed over the city skyline as I scanned. Turning my eyes southward, the tip of Sutro Tower jutted out from the fog.

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1of15Visitors check out the views from the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEshow moreshow less

2of15Children play in the Outpost children’s playground at the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEshow moreshow less3of15

4of15Children play in the Outpost children’s playground at the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEshow moreshow less

5of15A view of the Outpost children’s playground and Crissy Field from the Cliff Walk of the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEshow moreshow less6of15

7of15A mural from artist Favianna Rodriguez at the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEshow moreshow less

8thof15A view from the Cliff Walk at the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEshow moreshow less9of15

10of15House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joins other invited guests at the official ribbon cutting of the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEshow moreshow less

11of15House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks at the official ribbon cutting of the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEshow moreshow less12of15

13of15Visitors check out the views from the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEshow moreshow less

14of15Two guests check out the new benches made out of cypress trees at the official ribbon cutting of the Presidio Tunnel Tops in the Presidio on in San Francisco, Calif. on July 16, 2022.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATEshow moreshow less15of15

Tunnel Tops will undoubtedly be coveted by tourists for that Golden Gate Bridge view, but for the residents, the best view may be behind you.

Presidio Tunnel Tops is located at 210 Lincoln Boulevard. It officially opens to the public on July 17. The park will be open daily, with the Outpost open 9:30 am to 6 pm from April to Oct. and 9:30 am to 4:30 pm from Nov. to March. The Field Station is open Tuesday to Friday from 11 am to 4 pm and weekends from 10 am to 5 pm Food trucks will be available daily from 9 am to 6 pm

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Viewers from all over the world responded to this San Francisco couple’s story. Many could not believe a city would threaten a huge penalty for parking in their own driveway. Many offered to help prove it was a historic use – and then – the proof they needed came from an amazing source.

“It just seems wrong.”

Judy and Ed Craine had been parking in the carpad of their San Francisco cottage for 36 years… when suddenly the Planning Department said it’s illegal.

RELATED: CA couple allowed to park in their driveway again after threatened with $1.5K fine from city

They had to remove the car or face a huge penalty: $1,542 plus $250 for every day they parked there.

“I said what, that’s crazy,” Ed said.

So they quickly pulled the car out – but it made no sense.

“Why are you taking away something that has great utility?” Ed asked. “To all of a sudden to be told you can’t use something that we could use for years. It’s, it’s startling.”

The city planning code makes it illegal to park in the setback of a home to prevent front yards from becoming unsightly parking lots.

However, if they could prove cars were parked there before the law was passed in 1978, they might get a waiver.

RELATED: Chicago makes more drivers pay speed camera, red light camera tickets gotten by thieves, they say

“We could be grandfathered in. If we show them a historical photo that showed a car… or a horse-drawn buggy in the carport,” Judy said.

“I did a number of online searches, Ed said, “checked historical resources,.”

But finding a historic photo of their exact driveway seemed impossible. Until Ed found an aerial photo from 1938. Zooming in showed their exact house. Ed saw a black shape he figured must be a car, pulling into what he figured must be the driveway.
.

“Here’s our house…” Ed said. “This black blob looks like it’s pulling into our house… to me it’s very compelling that was a car.”

But city planners said the photo was too fuzzy – not clear evidence.

However, after ABC 7 aired the story, the couple was flooded with offers of help (as well as commentary about way-out San Francisco).

And then, a gift from the sky.

“I happened to be watching Channel Seven, Michael Finney, and I saw this couple who was in a really tough spot…” said David Rui. He manages the aerial photo collection at Pacific Aerial Surveys of Novato in Marin County, which has millions of photos from its flights across the Bay Area dating all the way back to 1928. Ruiz saw our story and knew he could help Ed and Judy.

“I just simply went through our flight database and found numerous flights and was able to pull out some photography,” he said.

Ruiz used mapping coordinates to locate their house among maps in the company database. He found two aerial photos of what appears to be a car in their driveway; the clearest was a photo from 1958.

Ruiz said the company flew over most of the Bay Area once every three years including this neighborhood. “The question is, is there a car in the driveway at the moment we fly over,” Ruiz said. Most people were at work with their cars when Pacific Aerial Services was flying overhead, reducing the chances of catching a car in the driveway .

He did find two of them — 1958 and 1955. .

“So April 23, 1958,” Ruiz said, pointing to an aerial photo taken with a film camera in a plane flying 6000 feet overhead. Ruiz said he’s able to enhance the photos with 3-D imagery and other tools. He’s trained to look for indicators it’s a real vehicle, such as shadows, context and dimension.

“And here’s the house in question, And right here is a nice car, parked right there.”

He pointed to an image that looked like it could be a 1950s automobile. it was a snapshot in time, a view that went back in time. The viewer is transported to that moment in that time. “It definitely looks like a nice big American sedan, doesn’t it?” Ruiz said.

“This is all film-based. We had a plane flying overhead, it’s flying at 6,000 feet, took this wonderful photo that you can enlarge,” he said.

It is crystal clear to Ruiz – as it just so happens Ruiz is an expert trained during his Army career to analyze aerial images – especially cars.

“As an imagery analyst from the Army, one of my specialties is identifying vehicles,” he said.

And so the black blob Ed Craine found? The planning department wouldn’t accept it. But Ruiz says that blob was, indeed, a car.

He showed 7 On Your Side a clearer copy of that photo.

“It verifies that this is a vehicle, that there’s height… so I told them that there’s no doubt in my mind as an expert that this is a vehicle and if they needed me to, to write a report or testify to that I could do that,” Ruiz said.

The Craines showed the city that 1958 photo.

And it did the trick.

The city said it is now a legal parking space — grandfathered in.

Ed and Judy, who didn’t want to go on camera, said: “We are delighted we are able to park in our driveway again.”

Thanks in large part to David Ruiz.

“I’m glad it helped them out. They seemed like wonderful people that were just in a tough spot,” he said.

Major help also came from a neighbor who rummaged through old boxes and found a 1972 photo showing a car in their driveway. Others in the neighborhood also got violation notices for parking in their driveways. All came from anonymous complaints. If that’s you, let 7 On Your Side know about it.

Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.

Have a question for Michael and the 7 On Your Side team? Fill out the form HERE!
7OYS’s consumer hotline is a free consumer mediation service for those in the San Francisco Bay Area. We assist individuals with consumer-related issues; we cannot assist on cases between businesses, or cases involving family law, criminal matters, landlord/tenant disputes, labor issues, or medical issues. Please review our FAQ here. As a part of our process in assisting you, it is necessary that we contact the company / agency you are writing about. If you do not wish us to contact them, please let us know right away, as it will affect our ability to work on your case. Due to the high volume of emails we receive, please allow 3-5 business days for a response.

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For decades, people have been coming to the Skatin’ Place, a closed-off section of Sixth Avenue in Golden Gate Park, to roller-skate and roller-blade along to music.

As David Miles, the founder of the Church of 8 Wheels known as the “Godfather of Skate,” says, “It’s as much a part of the park experience as going to the museum.”

But on Friday morning, after a few extended closures over the past four months, the Skatin’ Place reopened with a new look. A large-scale mural, paying homage to the area’s decades-long history as a meeting space for skaters, now covers the asphalt, defining it as a dedicated spot for the rollerskating community. There’s a new asphalt slab, too, in place of the old one that had experienced years of wear and tear.

“It is an amazing, iconic place and it deserved an amazing makeover,” said Tamara Aparton, a spokesperson for San Francisco Recreation and Park. “It’s just been generations of skaters there, and it’s a really remarkable, welcoming, inclusive community.

“We want to make sure that it’s there for generations to come.”

David Miles (center), “the Godfather of Skate,” and his cohorts gather at the roller skate area in Golden Gate Park to celebrate its new mural.

Jana Asenbrennerova/Special to The Chronicle

The mural was designed by Aimee Bruckner, a San Francisco artist, who has been part of the city’s skate scene for more than a decade. “Psychedelic Golden Gate Skate,” as the piece is called, takes the form of a color-filled 28-by-93-foot oval. The mural, Bruckner says, makes a subtle nod to the Golden Gate Bridge, with lava-lamp-like waves coming in from either side that evoke the city’s countercultural history. Naturally, she also put a roller skate right at the center.

Bruckner said she kept the design “cool and unique” but also “not so crazy that when you’re out there you get disoriented.” And she wanted to be sure the mural didn’t overshadow the community that skates there — over the years people have shown up to skate in furry leg warmers and rainbow sequins and butterfly wings.

“It’s the people and the skaters that bring all the color to this area,” she said. “I don’t want to compete with all the great styles and fashions.”

The park means a lot for Bruckner, in part because she found skating at a time when she was dealing with losing the use of her hand and struggling to figure out how to move forward in her art practice. Skating offered at “alternative creative outlet” — “a bit of an escape back to a simpler time, a funner time.” She’s since found a path forward with her art, and the mural, for her, symbolizes “a really great combination of the two worlds.”

As with most things skate-related in San Francisco, the mural — and the Skatin’ Place, too, really — can be traced back to Miles.

Skating has always had a home in Golden Gate Park — John McLaren, the park’s first superintendent, incorporated a rink into the Children’s Playground in 1891 — but the sport really hit its stride in the ’70s. (So ​​much so that it briefly sparked a public panic.)

By the mid ’80s, though, the number of skaters was declining and Miles saw Sixth Avenue as a place to create a protected home for the community. He says he spoke to the city in 1985 about keeping it a street (rather than tearing it up and planting grass) while also keeping it closed off to cars. What started as a 30-day trial became a 60-day trial and then a 90-day trial, and eventually it stuck. “It’s just become better and better, year after year.”

“It’s the happiest place in Golden Gate Park,” Miles says. “You have the whole mixture of everybody who makes the city great. It’s everything that San Francisco is.”

Skaters show their moves at Golden Gate Park’s Skatin’ Place.

Jana Asenbrennerova/Special to The Chronicle

When Miles heard that the city would be laying down new asphalt, he pitched the idea of ​​the mural. After some public meetings and the blessing of the park department and the city’s arts commission, it was a done deal. (Recreation and Park paid for the concrete; Bruckner donated her time working on the piece.)

At a time when rinks are closing, Miles said, it’s clear the future of skating is outside.

“I believe you should have a spot like this in every city,” he said. “It’s really become a source of pride for people.”

Miles and the park department are planning an event from 11 am to noon Saturday to really celebrate the Skatin’ Place and its new look. But he’s pretty sure it will be full well before that.

Ryan Kost is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkost@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @RyanKost.

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SAN FRANCISCO — Supervisors voted Tuesday to ban motorists from a popular road in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, making permanent a closure that started in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic when people needed space to exercise and distance socially.

After a 12-hour meeting, the Board of Supervisors voted 7-4 for Mayor London Breed’s proposal. The majority sided with supporters who said a car-free promenade was in keeping with the city’s commitment to safer roads and cleaner climate.

Other roads in the park — which sees more than 24 million visitors a year — will stay open to drivers.

Critics argued that permanently closing the 1.5-mile (2.4-kilometer) portion of John F. Kennedy Drive would cut off park access to people who are disabled, elderly or live farther away while benefiting select bicyclists and runners.

Some people asked for a compromise to keep the road car-free on weekends only, saying drivers needed access during the week.

“To close down portions of the park says to a certain geography, says to a certain class of people, says to a certain race of people here in San Francisco that you weren’t welcome before and you’re still not welcome,” Board President Shamann Walton, who represents one of the most diverse and low-income parts of the city, said during the meeting.

The battle between motorists and pedestrians and bicyclists has raged in San Francisco for roughly two years. In August, Breed announced that a stretch of coastal highway that was closed to cars in 2020 would reopen to vehicles during the week.

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