Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Photo by: Nafrea (Stock Exchange)
Hello, everybody!
Here at the Disabled Travelers blog, we’ve been incorporating your recent feedback, and I’ve got a whole bunch of new information for you based on the latest questions folks have been asking. In addition to our usual assortment of access guides and handicapped travel information, I’ll be pulling one of these questions out of the hat every month to provide up-to-the-minute answers to the questions that are on your mind lately … and today’s special topic is: disabled access San Francisco!
As it turns out, San Francisco has all kinds of accessibility options, and providing a look at the disabled access San Francisco is a pretty rewarding topic. As you’d expect from such a progressive area, the city has its own official access guide: you can download the complete 2007 version or contact the good folks at Only in San Francisco for the latest version in print. The guide offers all kinds of information on accessible hotels, and attractions such as museums, parks, shopping areas, and other great things to see and do. On a separate, but related note, the San Francisco Transit Authority operates a number of programs for riders with special needs and elderly commuters.
The Only in San Francisco guide is fantastic, but odds are you won’t be spending your entire trip in just one city (although you can do so – San Francisco International Airport takes in flights from all over the place, and offers disabled parking services). If you plan to see the area, you’ll want to check out Access Northern California, which has even more information on accessible bed & breakfasts, wheelchair accessible preserves, and all kinds of great tourist haunts fitted for mobility impaired access.
For those who like to be out in nature, the State of California Coastal Conservancy has a guide to the San Francisco Bay coast for wheelchair users, which you can download here free of charge. Its neighbor, the California Coastal Commission, has information on communities offering free beach wheelchairs, many of which are motorized and self-propelled. There’s also a privately operated website for wheelchair accessible nature trails that seems to be updated on a fairly consistent basis. They offer maps, a park index, ratings, and other resources.
For the gourmand, check out this user-reviewed index of wheelchair accessible dining establishments in San Francisco. Frommer’s, one of the most respected makers of travel guides worldwide, produced this very recent article: “The Able Traveler: San Francisco’s Cultural Treats for Wheelers and Slow Walkers.” They have some great resources linked inside, like wheelchair taxis and various kinds of tours with accessibility features. Last but not least, Golden Gate Transit has a thorough guide to accessible bus travel around the state, and even includes information on paratransit and ferry service.
Well, it’s been a pleasure looking at Disabled Access: San Francisco! That’s it for this time, but keep your eyes peeled for our next post, and the other special editions that are sure to follow. Keep those questions flowing in, and most importantly, keep adventuring!
Si
