Fort Mason Community Garden

Fort Mason's community garden comes with a pedigree—at any given time, the wait list can run up to eight years. Luckily, anyone who knows where to look can visit. The secreted garden is tucked behind the administration building at Upper Fort Mason, with views overlooking Pacific Heights. The site, formerly a military post garden in the late 1800s, was transformed into a community project in 1975. Since then, the 7,000-square-foot expanse has flourished: you'll find flowers, herbs, succulents, cacti, fruit trees and vegetables sprouting from 125 plots. There's even a small greenhouse and kitchen for barbecues and garden-to-table dinner parties on-site.