Fort Funston

Fort Funston
A hang glider launches from Fort Funston
Fort Funston is located in San Francisco County
Fort Funston
Fort Funston
Location within San Francisco County
Fort Funston is located in California
Fort Funston
Fort Funston
Location within California
Fort Funston is located in the United States
Fort Funston
Fort Funston
Location within the United States
LocationSan Francisco, California, United States
Coordinates37°42′54″N 122°30′07″W / 37.714958°N 122.501915°W / 37.714958; -122.501915
OperatorGolden Gate National Parks Conservancy
WebsiteOfficial website
Fort Funston
Lake Merced Military Reservation
Near San Francisco, California in United States
Site information
TypeHarbor defense installation
OwnerUnited States Army
Controlled byUnited States Army Coast Artillery Corps
Site history
Built1900 (1900)
FateDecommission 1963
Recent photo of an emplacement of Battery Davis. Some of the earth covering the fort has eroded.
An image showing the large Dutch sand ladder leading from the parking lot to the beach at Fort Funston.
Steps from the southwest corner of the parking area to the beach.
A 16-inch gun on the road to the fort
Assembling a 16-inch gun carriage at the fort
Panama mount fallen from cliff due to erosion. Another mount can be seen at the top of the cliff.

Fort Funston is a former harbor defense installation located on the West Side of San Francisco in the southwestern part of the city. Formerly known as the Lake Merced Military Reservation, the fort is now a protected area within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) and is used widely as an off-leash dog park. It was named in honor of Frederick N. Funston (1865–1917), a Major General in the United States Army with strong connections to San Francisco, and included several artillery batteries. The fort is located on Skyline Boulevard at John Muir Drive, west of Lake Merced.

The fort was constructed upon windswept headlands along the Pacific coast and Ocean Beach below, above steep sandstone cliffs that provide a nesting habitat for a colony of bank swallows (Riparia riparia). The last remnants of a sand dune ecosystem that once covered the western half of San Francisco grow along the top of the headlands, with trailheads forming part of the California Coastal Trail that runs through San Francisco County.

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