Every Sunday we’ve been making it a point to have family time exploring somewhere local or doing an activity together. I’ve been dying to ride the paddle boats at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park for a long time now, and we finally are able to cross it off our list! The boat house is adorable, and although the paddle around the lake was more strenuous than I thought it was still a wonderful experience.
We arrived at the boat house just after lunch and checked out a standard size paddle boat. We debated having my husband and older son paddle, but I ended up paddling instead with our toddler sitting safely between us and our older son on the back. The kids put on their life jackets and we set off for our trip around the lake. We were told it normally takes around 40 minutes to get around the lake, and our trip was slightly shorter than that. We definitely got our workout in for the day, but my legs weren’t too sore when compared to our hike to Team Beach last month. Taking photos of ourselves proved to be challenging on such a small boat, but I was happy to photograph the lake and scenery instead.
Afterward we hiked around Strawberry Hill, then headed over to Mother’s Meadow Playground so the kids could get some more wiggles out. I hadn’t been there before but loved the old-style playground, something you don’t see very often any more. It reminded me of the playgrounds I played on as a kid, and seemed safe for kids who are a little older. After the kids were worn out, we headed home.
Stow Lake Boathouse
50 Stow Lake Drive East
San Francisco, California 94118
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