Natural Areas Locator
Click on an area of the map below to find a natural areas park near you.
Northwestern Natural Areas
North Natural Areas
Northwestern Natural Areas
North Natural Areas
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Natural Areas
Interior Greenbelt
- Location: Belmont and Woodland Avenues
- Size: Park: 19.4 acres/Natural Area: 16.5 acres
- Park Type: Exotic Forest/Coastal Scrub
The interior greenbelt is located on Mount Sutro, south of Golden Gate Park and north of Twin Peaks. This park is almost entirely covered by blue gum eucalyptus forest. Small remnant native plant populations exist here in the understory, including three locally sensitive plants species: sweet cicely, fairy bells, and thimbleberry. There is also an old creek bed that flows through the park. This urban forest also provides habitat for a variety of birds. Although the property is currently inaccessible, some plans have been put forth to increase trail access and recreational opportunities in the Interior Greenbelt.
Cultural History
At one time, Adolph Sutro owned one-twelfth of the acreage of San Francisco, including what is now Sutro Heights Park, the ruins of Sutro Baths, and Mount Sutro. On Arbor Day in 1886, he brought schoolchildren to what was then called Mount Parnassus to plant the hillside with eucalyptus, Monterey cypress, and Monterey pines. Today's Sutro Forest is only a small portion of the vast forestland Sutro created in the last 15 years of the 19th century. Pine, cypress, and eucalyptus trees were planted on Mount Davidson (originally called Blue Mountain), in the Forest Hill and St. Francis Wood neighborhoods, and even as far south as Westwood Park, fronting Ocean Avenue.
Park Images
Park Features:
City & County of San Francisco