Most Moving Garden

Even when Golden Gate Park is crawling with kids, frenetic with Frisbees, and alive with residents at play, the AIDS Memorial Grove succeeds as a living monument where people can honor, reflect, remember, and mourn those lost to the disease. Tranquillity and pensiveness set in the minute you come upon the east entrance's dogwood grove, where flowers, candles, and notes are scattered around a sandstone monument. Following the wooded and shady path along a dry stream bed to the Fern Grotto, it's not uncommon to pass someone grieving silently or reading poetry aloud. Even those who have not experienced a loss from AIDS are struck by the undeniable emotion that is as lush and alive as the flora within this touching and well-tended tribute.