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Mount San Francisco
By Craig Stoltz
Sunday, July 13, 1997; Page E04
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San
Francisco derives much of its beauty from its famous hills, but its highest one, curiously, is often ignored. Peaking 938 feet above the nearby Pacific, and towering over the more famous nubs that attract the tourists and the swells, Mount Davidson is the highest point in the city. Those who veer from the beaten path to climb it are rewarded, the weather of the city's persistent southern fog belt permitting, with panoramic views of one of the most visually arresting cities on Earth.
Since 1923, Bay Area locals have celebrated Easter at a sunrise ceremony on Mount Davidson, which is topped by a 100-foot concrete cross. While there is some ongoing controversy about the propriety of a cross in a municipal park, it's a characteristically ecumenical celebration. "A lot of the people who show up," a local confides, "are cappuccino sippers there to watch the sunrise."
If you're in S.F. on a multi-day visit, wait for a day when you're tired of the city and craving some green; you'll rarely have to share the verdant parkland with anyone other than a few neighborhood folks walking their dogs. Wear walking shoes. You'll climb a series of switchbacks cutting through a damp and loamy wood, some trails forming moody bowers and studded with wildflowers. After a 20-minute climb you'll ascend a set of handmade stone stairs to the top. To the east of the great cross you can look down on the nearby Glen Park and Noe Valley residential neighborhoods; in the distance you see San Francisco Bay, the Bay Bridge to Oakland and the city's old industrial waterfront. With luck and binoculars, you'll make out Coit Tower, Alcatraz and a few of the tonier, better-known hills many believe to constitute the heart of the city.
From downtown, take 101 south to 280 west; exit at Monterey Boulevard, and go straight and then to the right until you're circling the park. Or follow Market Street south and west; take a right when it intersects with Portola Drive. There's a small parking area on Portola, or you can take the steps leading from 919-925 Rockdale Dr. Ask the locals; it's a friendly neighborhood and folks are rightfully proud of "their" park.
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