San Francisco
Sunday, July 13, 2003

Contact: Deron van Hoff, 415-566-7990

What's larger than New York's Central Park, once consisted of sand dunes, is now covered with more than one million trees and is bison-friendly? Yes, that's right, it's Golden Gate Park! And there's going to be an orienteering event on Sunday, July 13, 2003!

White, Yellow, Orange and Long Orange courses will be set by Leif Kirschenbaum and me to span a range of orienteering abilities and interests. As in past years, the controls will be paper plates with words/symbols on them for you to mark on your control sheet. Golden Gate Park has been a popular venue for beginner orienteers, and we welcome all that would like to come try the sport. Beginner's clinics will be provided from 9:30 am until 11:00 am on the day of the event. For those that want a little more exercise, intermediate Orange (5 - 6 km) and Long Orange courses (9 - 10+ km) will be set.

The starting area will be located in Marx Meadow along John F. Kennedy Drive between 25th Avenue and 30th Avenue. Registration is open from 9:00 am to noon, with starts available from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm. Beginner's clinics will be provided from 9:30 am until 11:00 am. All par-ticipants must check in at the finish by 2:00 pm, whether or not they have finished their course.

Come out and enjoy a summer day in the park! Make a day of it, and plan a picnic or a visit to other attractions in the park. Since I used their opening line, I feel obliged to pass along the URL for a web page about Golden Gate Park activities. This may help you plan your day! http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/ggpark.shtml

Directions

From Route 101 North or Interstate 80 West: Take the 9th Street off-ramp in San Francisco, and work your way over to Fell Street. (The Fell Street off-ramp was demolished earlier this year.) Follow Fell Street west for 1.5 miles, which will bring you to the east end of Golden Gate Park. The east end of John F. Kennedy Drive is closed on Sundays for biking, roller blading, etc., so you'll have to take an alternate route to the staging area. One option is to bear left on Kezar Drive, and follow this for 0.6 mile to Lincoln Way. Continue on Lincoln Way for about 1 mile to Crossover Drive/19th Avenue. Turn right onto Crossover Drive, and get in the left lane. Bear left onto Crossover Drive. Turn left onto Transverse Drive, and then a right onto JFK Drive. Marx Meadow will be on your right (on the north side of JFK Drive).

From Interstate 280 North: Take Route 1 North/19th Avenue exit. Continue north on 19th Ave-nue, then continue straight through the park on Crossover Drive staying in the left lane. Bear left onto Crossover Drive. Turn left onto Transverse Drive, and then a right onto JFK Drive. Marx Meadow will be on your right (on the north side of JFK Drive).

From Route 1 South: From the Golden Gate Bridge, follow Route 1 South (Park Presidio Boulevard). Take a right mid-way through Golden Gate Park on Crossover Drive. Turn left onto Transverse Drive, and then a right onto JFK Drive. Marx Meadow will be on your right (on the north side of JFK Drive).