Saving Money in San Francisco Is a Walk in the Park (print)
In this city, not much is free.
Some don’t think twice about paying $5 for a glorified piece of toast from a hipster coffee shop or forking over a cover charge to get into a college bar that serves tepid PBR in plastic cups. We’ve been conditioned to empty our pockets for entertainment. But in a place like San Francisco, you don’t have to spend a fortune to have a good time — you can take advantage of the more than 220 parks and public spaces the city has to offer.
Armed with my spring MUNI pass and the resolve to stop burning holes in my wallet, I set out this weekend to find the best public parks for a (relatively) cheap jaunt around the city.
GOLDEN GATE PARK
Let’s get this out of the way: Golden Gate Park is the king of San Francisco’s public spaces. It’s huge; there are 1,017 acres of public ground with sites like the Japanese Tea Garden and the de Young museum, and there’s enough variety to spend an entire day exploring.
Because of its size, there was no way I could see all of Golden Gate’s hidden treasures in one day, and I really liked that. Friday afternoon after classes, friends and I browsed the Botanical Garden, which featured flora from Chile, Australia, Japan, California, and more. There were picnickers laid out on the Great Meadow enjoying the last rays of sun, which, as we walked further into the park, began to slowly set just as we passed the Bison paddock. We reached Stow Lake right around golden hour, and I understood why it’s the backdrop of so many photos. We hiked up to Strawberry Hill, an island in the middle of the lake, and caught glimpses of the far away Golden Gate Bridge, trying but not succeeding to take decent pictures of it on our iPhones. As it neared dark and we finally left the park, I had a feeling that despite my greatest efforts, I had only scraped the surface of the treasures to be found there. It wasn’t my first trip to Golden Gate, and I’m sure it won’t be my last.
BERNAL HEIGHTS SUMMIT
This weekend, I found myself somewhere in the Mission at 3am and wasn’t quite ready to call it a night. After a completely necessary trip to a taqueria, I herded my friends together and lead the way to Bernal Heights Summit, a landmark I vaguely remembered an SF native telling me about. The 15-minute hike to the top wasn’t too strenuous, despite the fact that it was still mostly dark by the time we reached the summit. But like they say, the view from the top is worth it. The park has a 360-degree view of the city that completely blows Twin Peaks out of the water. However, the wind was pretty strong and most of us weren’t dressed warmly enough. As the sun began to rise, we quickly forgot about the chill and our inappropriate choices in footwear. The city became illuminated, and we were able to see Sutro Tower, Golden Gate Bridge/Marin Headlands, downtown San Francisco and the East Bay — completely worth braving the elements while we were waiting for the sun. The golden glow that shone over the tree tops and buildings softly reminded us that it was way past our bedtimes, and soon a Lyft was called and we were cozy in our beds. I recommend going to Bernal either at sunrise or sunset, as the light is truly something else.
DOLORES PARK
There’s nothing quite like Saturday afternoon at Dolores Park. Before I moved to San Francisco, I’d never seen a place where teenagers and grown adults can publicly get inebriated in such close proximity. It’s a total party, complete with “special” brownie peddlers and working professionals who drunkenly play games in the grass. Dolores Park is located two blocks south of Mission Dolores at the western edge of the Mission District, which makes it convenient to grab one of the many burrito options available or a sandwich from Ike’s and settle in for one of the best views of downtown in the city. Dolo’s popularity is also its downfall; it can be difficult to find a spot in the grass if you don’t come early enough. It’s also not for people who dislike large, boisterous crowds; it’s always packed. Since the renovations on the top portion of the park have been completed, it seems like Dolo has only become more popular.
ALAMO SQUARE
On Sunday, there was no better way for me to ignore sports (and the 2016 “Superb Owl” mess downtown) than to bring a picnic to Alamo Square, a park in the Western Addition and home to the Insta-famous Painted Ladies. I walked up through the entrance on Steiner Street for the best view (and so did the few other people there who weren’t watching the big game). The park has a playground, but there weren’t many kids running around; most of the visitors appeared to be mid-to-late twenty-somethings, many whom I noticed eating Whole Foods sandwiches and drinking gluten free beer, a classic reminder that we were near Pac Heights, after all. Alamo Square is no Dolo, and despite bringing a few beers of our own, my party and I didn’t feel the need to get too belligerent. The park was impeccably clean, a trend among many popular San Francisco parks, and I appreciated that it wasn’t too crowded. I also saw my first Bedlington Terrier there, along with lots of other bougie, but admittedly beautiful breeds of dogs. We spent a quiet Sunday together in a picturesque part of the city and went home reconsidering our career paths — maybe something in tech?
SUTRO BATHS
The ruins of the Sutro Baths are eerily beautiful, set against the perpetually dark clouds that hover over the sea. This is a different kind of park experience, where the remains of the bathhouse serve as the playground. Everywhere, people are climbing and exploring the few pieces of history left. The experience is fascinating and also educational; the park’s cliff house holds photographs and artifacts that took me back to the early 1900s, though there wasn’t actually much to do inside unless you were interested in buying souvenirs. Aside from the ruins themselves, the shoreline is dotted with dramatic, craggy rocks constantly being beaten by swirling, foamy waves. The place itself feels ethereal, especially at sunset. Peering over cliff faces into the green-grey seawater, I was hit by a sense of the sublime and fell silent for awhile. I went with a friend, but neither of us really felt like keeping up a conversation. The strange, almost melancholic feeling that surrounded us filled in the gaps.
This weekend, there was a distinct difference between each park– a park for every mood. I saved a little money but still took advantage of some of the things San Francisco had to offer (including some 75 degree weather in February). In a city battling displacement, there are still places that belong to everyone.
This article was created in the Multimedia Storytelling class.
