Quick, what’s the tallest hill in San Francisco? Perhaps you already knew, and perhaps you learned when you read the headline above.
If you still don’t know, spoiler alert: It’s not Twin Peaks or Mount Sutro.
You’ve probably seen the cross poking out from Mount Davidson’s green canopy, but unless you live nearby, you might not have checked it out up close. So what are you waiting for?
The green space of the mountain is compact, about 40 acres, but with 400 feet of elevation gain, tightly wound trails, quaint rock walls and staircases, and plenty of spurs and odd corners to explore, you could easily spend a morning or afternoon up there.
If that’s not enough, an amble through classic semi-suburban SF streets can take you to a much less explored hilltop nearby: Edgehill Mountain.
When you’re done, West Portal’s food and beverage bounty awaits. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s my exploration recommendation.
Winding up Juanita
Mount Davidson has a few access points. My favorite is the stone staircase, built in the 1930s, that winds uphill from Juanita Way. Start here if you want to max out the 400-foot ascent. In thick fog, the stairs might disappear into obscurity, as condensation drips from the eucalyptus onto ferns and brambles.
Soon you’ll hit the Juanita Trail, which can take you most of the way to the summit, but wanderers need not stay the course. Other paths lead out to neighborhood access points north and east; keep your eyes peeled for a sequoia tree at one of the junctures.
Further east, before the Juanita Trail switches back, is a connection to the Native Garden Trail, which forms a half-loop around the mountain’s eastern flank without reaching the summit. This is the place to be if the nonnative forest on Davidson’s west and north flanks, dominated by ivy and eucalyptus, gets your goat.
The open hillside, with sweeping views to the north, east, and south, gets plenty of sun. (When there is sun.) Here’s where you get your fix of eye-popping poppies and other California wildflowers in the late winter and early spring. A few private backyards also extend up the slope and can add to the varietals all year.
Cross roads
Depending how you reach the top, you might find more stone stairs and walls built by the federal Works Progress Administration program during the Great Depression. At the summit, the 103-foot cross is from the Depression too, built in 1934 on a site that had hosted annual Easter celebrations for years. It later provided a dramatic backdrop to a nasty little scene in Clint Eastwood’s bare-knuckled 1971 cop flick “Dirty Harry.”
Two decades later, it presented a pickle for the city government when the ACLU brought a lawsuit challenging the cross’s presence on public property as a violation of the separation of church and state.
The ACLU won, and the city came up with a clever solution: Sell the sliver of land under the cross — .38 acres to be exact — to the Council of Armenian American Organizations of Northern California. Voters approved the sale in 1997.
That also happened to be the year part of Edgehill Mountain came tumbling down. When you’re done with Davidson, you can go see for yourself.
Secluded city streets
Edgehill Mountain, just across Portola Drive from Mount Davidson, is one of the oddest corners of the city. It’s a tiny hill, yet at 742 feet it’s also tied for the city’s sixth tallest. It’s a skinny perch for a handful of fancy homes, an eyrie, a sliver of rock that gets slimmer almost by the decade. It also has an improbable pocket of open green space.
But to reach the open space, you have to enter closed space. Coming down from Mount Davidson, cross the pedestrian foot bridge over Portola Drive, go one short block on Kensington Way, and head east (uphill) on Ulloa Street. Edgehill will loom to your left.
The first street on your left is Knockash Hill, one of San Francisco’s few private streets. You can’t drive it, or at least you’re not supposed to, but you can walk it. Through the gate, you’ll pass the New Life Church of the Nazarene; check out the reinforced cliff to your right. It used to be the ocean floor. (The fact that it’s now some 500 feet above ground means it’s probably going to keep moving.) A bit farther are some townhouse condos, and you’ve hit a dead end.
A wooden sign marking the open space preserve is the only hint that you can continue.
The steep wooded slope faces west, and it takes just a couple minutes to traverse it. Past a bench, the neighborhood restarts with a house that’s about the last place on Earth I’d want to be when the Big One hits. But life on the edge must be worth it when, on a clear day, you can see the Farallon Islands and the Golden Gate Bridge in one swoop.
The neighbors aren’t immune to whimsy; a giant metal bear guards the entrance to their dead-end lane, which is informally known as Shangri-La Way.
Beyond the bear, there’s only one way up or down: Edgehill Way. I continued uphill, and a break between houses afforded a cool view of Laguna Honda Hospital, including parts you can’t see when you pass by at street level.
Another twist and turn, past an eccentric baby blue house, and a view of Mount Davidson opens up. So does a sheer drop over a concrete wall. This is where the road buckled and part of the exposed cliff, which was a quarry a century ago, came tumbling down in 1997, forcing the demolition of a house. (The hill’s history of landslides has mobilized neighbors to fight the construction of five large single-family homes on its western flank.)
Finally, another spur leads to a court of houses at the summit.
The day I ambled by, a cement truck trying to wedge into the court had blocked all traffic, so I stopped at the concrete wall to snap pictures of Mount Davidson. I noticed a woman, also on foot, eyeing me suspiciously. I tried to make chit-chat. She smiled with no discernible amusement and asked if I was “from this neighborhood.” When I passed her again after checking out the summit, she said, “I see you’re still here.”
Apparently Edgehillians aren’t used to visitors.
Heading downhill on the west side of Edgehill Way, the open space was below me, and a ramshackle greenhouse clung to the edge of the property above me to the right, giving the neighborhood, already isolated, an even more rural feel.
The street ends up in a triangle-shaped neighborhood that overlooks West Portal. A few minutes more, and you’re within arm’s length of a United Nations of food options. Or if you just need to sit and ponder all you’ve just experienced, there’s always the Philosopher’s Club.
How to get there
The 36 Teresita bus stops at Myra Way and Dalewood Way in front of the southern entrance to Mount Davidson’s open space. The 43 Masonic and 48 Quintara/24th Street buses will get you within a block or two. The best way to get to the general vicinity — or if you want to start your adventure with all the foods — is via Muni Metro. All lines except the J and N run to or through West Portal Station. (The L Taraval is currently a bus service while Muni does a major overhaul of the route through the Sunset district.)
Please double-check for COVID-affected schedules and routes.
If you drive, there is a small lot on West Portal, but you’ll probably have to find neighborhood street parking.