Stow Lake 'Lady in the Lake' legend

Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park is the focus of a longstanding local legend of a 'Lady in the Lake'-reports and retellings describe sightings of a white-clad woman or unexplained nighttime cries near the Boathouse. The story appears in San Francisco folklore collections, tour narratives, and newspaper features; accounts are anecdotal and treated as local legend rather than established fact. The site is a documented recreational feature of Golden Gate Park with a history of drownings and rescues that contribute to the legend.