Entry No. 30 — the San Francisco file — filed under: cemetery
Presidio Pet Cemetery
A half-acre valley of roughly 424 handmade headstones for Army pets, laid out around 1952 by Army engineers across from the post veterinarian, back when about 2,000 military families lived in the Presidio. Boy Scout troops tended the graves for decades; one weathered marker just reads "A GI pet. He did his time." It sits, unmarked and easy to walk past, in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge approach.
The story
Back when the Presidio was an active military post housing roughly 2,000 families, Army engineers carved out a half-acre hollow around 1952 directly across from the post veterinarian. What started as an informal resting place for military working dogs and quarters companions quickly grew into a fifty-year repository of military family life. By the time the post decommissioned, families had laid roughly 424 animals to rest here.
Walk the lines of hand-cut wood and carved stone and you'll realize military quarters held far more than just dogs and cats. The markers designate graves for parakeets, canaries, homing pigeons, macaws, rabbits, hamsters, and even rats—a cross-section of creature comforts shipped from base to base across the Pacific. Boy Scout troops stepped in to build fences and maintain the markers for decades, preserving hand-lettered epitaphs that range from solemn to blunt. One weathered board simply reads: 'A GI pet. He did his time.'
Today, the site sits wedged right under the elevated concrete viaducts of the Golden Gate Bridge approach. Commuter traffic roars continuous overhead while down in the trees, the plot remains remarkably secluded. The park service keeps it intact, but you won't find grand monuments or massive directional signs pointing you toward it—it survives as a low-profile pocket of private grief shadowed by massive civil engineering.
What it's like
You'll find the cemetery off McDowell Avenue near Crissy Field, tucked in a hollow below the highway structure. There's minimal signage, so look for a small white fence enclosing a wood-chip path. Expect a quiet, reflective 20-minute visit reading the faded inscriptions while highway traffic hums directly above you. Once you finish walking the rows, step out toward the Crissy Field shoreline to catch the bay view military families took in when visiting their pets decades ago.
The move: Wander the wood-chip path reading a few hundred handmade epitaphs for dogs, cats, birds, even a hamster or two, then continue down to Crissy Field for the view the pets' owners would have had.
- 📍 Presidio, San Francisco
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: Near Crissy Field, off McDowell Ave, Presidio of San Francisco, CA 94129
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- The Wave Organ — Follow a walk through a military pet graveyard with a visit to an acoustic jetty built partly from salvaged human headstones along the Marina waterfront.
- The Interval at Long Now — Shift from fifty years of pet history tucked under a highway to Fort Mason, where you can drink cocktails beside a 10,000-year clock prototype.
- San Francisco Columbarium — Continue exploring San Francisco's unusual burial grounds at this 1898 neoclassical rotunda built after the city outlawed traditional cemeteries.
Good to know
Is there an entry fee to visit the pet cemetery?
No, it is free to access and open to the public as part of the Presidio park grounds.
Can members of the public bury pets here today?
No. Burials ceased when the military base closed, and the plot is preserved strictly as a historic site.
What kinds of animals are buried in the plot?
While dogs and cats make up the majority, headstones also mark graves for parakeets, canaries, pigeons, macaws, rabbits, hamsters, and rats.
How do I find the cemetery?
It sits off McDowell Avenue near Crissy Field, situated directly underneath the Golden Gate Bridge approach overpass.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · nps.gov · kqed.org
last checked: 2026-07-20