Birding spots · California

Best Birding Spots in San Francisco County, California

Gashouse Cove leads San Francisco County's birding spots with 213 species reported, best in fall. 199 spots in the county have enough data to rank.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Gashouse Cove	213	6,305	137	165	132	181
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (Helmet Rock)	213	1,294	131	152	103	189
Golden Gate National Recreation Area	211	5,715	140	150	118	176
Lake Merced Park	193	3,011	116	123	109	163
Golden Gate Park (North Lake)	174	4,312	104	127	97	141
Heron's Head Park	173	4,665	136	133	90	138
Golden Gate Park	172	4,638	105	136	106	140
San Francisco Zoo	169	883	109	110	83	127
Golden Gate Park (Golden Gate Heights)	164	4,387	111	119	89	142
Candlestick Point State Recreation Area	164	917	128	130	84	128
Mountain Lake (Presidio Hill)	164	303	101	129	83	101
Mountain Lake Park	152	1,678	90	95	91	122
Seal Rocks Beach	152	808	82	105	103	95
Lake Merced Park (north 3)	143	272	92	101	72	87
Pier 92	142	1,546	105	96	68	111
Candlestick Point State Recreation Area (Double Rock)	142	875	96	89	75	109
Golden Gate Park (Elk Glen Lake)	139	1,370	88	92	64	108
Twin Peaks Reservoir	137	2,067	56	115	75	104
Bernal Heights Park	137	1,654	62	108	71	112
Golden Gate Park (Marx Meadows)	136	527	96	95	70	99
Pine Lake Park	135	1,835	72	84	89	105
Corona Heights Park	135	1,743	68	99	78	100
Point Lobos (Seal Rocks Beach)	135	434	85	92	86	87
Lake Merced Park (north)	134	879	111	88	68	88
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (Presidio Terrace)	133	2,253	78	109	96	107
Golden Gate Park (west)	133	768	86	95	73	101
Point Lobos	130	554	86	82	61	74
Lake Merced Park (north 2)	129	747	98	91	69	81
Lake Merced	128	363	64	64	57	105
Seal Rocks	125	898	74	92	64	70
McLaren Park	125	838	76	100	73	86
Golden Gate Park (Strawberry Hill)	124	728	58	68	65	95
Mountain Lake	124	604	76	92	73	77
San Francisco Zoo (Laguna Puerca)	121	845	95	88	57	81
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (west)	120	600	79	79	49	71
Helmet Rock	119	284	77	79	61	68
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (Rob Hill)	117	411	53	92	80	80
Golden Gate Park (Lily Pond)	116	1,086	73	85	62	91
Seal Rocks Beach (Lobos Rock)	116	644	50	71	92	49
Golden Gate Park (Middle Lake)	114	780	67	69	51	96
Point Lobos (Seal Rocks)	112	326	73	69	58	61
Sutro Heights Park	110	366	57	71	52	76
Ocean Beach	109	1,391	58	70	69	64
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (south)	109	483	55	63	80	79
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (west 2)	109	392	24	63	73	89
India Basin Shoreline Park	108	377	76	76	63	78
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (Fort Winfield Scott)	108	368	49	71	62	92
Glen Canyon Park	106	1,311	64	87	63	75
Mountain Lake (Rob Hill)	105	133	37	69	33	76
Lincoln Park Golf Course	104	316	46	72	68	74