'Mom is starting to scout'
By Anna FitzGerald Guth, Science and climate reporter March 25, 2026 - SFGATE
A monogamous pair of coyotes is preparing to raise new pups in their San Francisco den, leading to the partial closure of two popular trails.
On Friday, the Presidio Trust is set to close parts of the Park Trail and the Bay Area Ridge Trail to dog walkers until October.
Conflicts with coyotes typically increase during pupping season, which runs roughly from spring until fall throughout the Bay Area.
“Coyote behavior is often misinterpreted during pupping season,” San Francisco Animal Care and Control spokesperson Deb Campbell wrote to SFGATE. “Parent coyotes can do some scary looking things to encourage dogs with people to move along. … This isn’t aggression so much as protective behavior. They just want dogs to move away from their pups.”
Until this fall, when the pups will be finally big enough to venture out on their own, visitors won’t be able to bring their dogs, on- or off-leash, to the Park Trail between Mountain Lake and the Presidio Promenade or to the Bay Area Ridge Trail from Rob Hill Campground to the Presidio Golf Course.
One coyote family will partially close two San Francisco trails for six months
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