San Francisco Off the Beaten Path Tips by Karnubawax

San Francisco has somewhat of a reputation as having not-very-good museums. This has changed in recent years, fortunately. One of the best is the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. It is off the beaten track - in the NW part of the city. The building itself is a work of art - severely damaged in the '89 earthquake it was closed for several years for renovation. As the MH DeYoung museum is being torn down and rebuilt, much of it's permanent collection is now housed here. It has a very diverse collecion from aincient art to presen day pop art. Highlights - Rodin collection, a stunning collection of 15th c. paintings, pop art featuring Warhol and Rauschenburg, and several "art rooms" featuring 17th century panelling! Also, great views of the Marin headlands and the GG bridge!

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Phone: 415-863-3330
Website: www.thinker.org

What comes to mind when you think of your average Californa beach? Chances are it won't look anything like SF's Ocean Beach.

An average day at "OB" is gray, cold, and breezy - if not blustery. You may see surfers, but they won't be in bikinis... full-body wetsuits is more like it. You probably won't be tempted to go in the frigid waters, but if you are, be sure and read the numerous signs posted warning of the extremely dangerous undertow and riptides (these are no joke, either... people die here every year!)

Have I scared you off? Good! Then I can enjoy the true beauty of OB - which is taking a walk along the awesome Pacific shoreline, preferably during a light rain, when the place is indescribably beautiful! Watching the freighter traffic entering the bay, looking out at the Farralon Islands, hearing the crashing of the surf. This is the soul of Ocean Beach - not the crowds of gangstas and roller-blading yuppies and people yelling into cell phones who descend here en masse on rare hot days.

Between Lincoln and Fulton Streets - or, in other words, the north/south boundaries of Golden Gate Park - is the Esplenade, the most crowded section of the beach, mostly because this is where the parking lots are. If you're looking for the beach scene - such as it is - it's here. To get away from the hordes, you can walk north towards the Cliff House or south towards emptiness.

The Beach Chalet, where you can get food, is close by, as are the windmills and tulip garden - all just across the highway.

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Once you get away from the mobs of the Esplenade (the area bordered by Fulton and Judah Streets), Ocean Beach really starts to show it's beauty. And by beauty I mean absence of people.

South of the Esplenade is virtually deserted until you get to Sloat Street (down near the SF Zoo), where there is another parking lot with restrooms. This lot is smaller and quieter than the lots near GGP; most of the people here will be surfers.

Ocean Beach gets a bad rap but it really is a magical place - for walking in solitude and looking at shorebirds and contemplating nature and the vastness of stuff. It's a terrible place to do the "beach thing." If that's what you're looking for you should go up to Baker Beach, or Stinson Beach up in Marin County, or the Boardwalk down in Santa Cruz.

...Or L.A.

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Believe it or not, bonfires are actually allowed on Ocean Beach! Alcohol is not permitted - meaning everyone drinks heavily.

Bonfires are only allowed on the stretch of beach between Lincoln and Fulton Streets. Friday nights especially you can see several fires from the parking lot.

While beach bonfires with friends can be fun, I would not suggest that you go alone. The beach is not lit in any way and many unsavory types hang out here at night - from bikers to the local Asian street gangs. I personally know several people who have been assaulted on the beach - all of whom were alone when it happened (fortunately, nothing worse than a bump on the noggin). If you go, go in a group and don't wander too far off by yourself!

(Ocean Beach is perfectly safe during the day)

***UPDATE: New fire rings have been installed! This is great actually - makes it a lot less messy. For an article about the new fire rings and fire regulations click here.

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Slightly away from the tourist concentration of the Music concourse area, on the backside of the De Young on JFK Drive, is the Rose Garden. Almost as long as a football field and packed full of hundreds of different varieties, it's a beautiful sight in full bloom. If you've come this way to check out the museums or the conservatory, you might as well stop here, too.

Oh, yeah... it's FREE!

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If you drive through Golden Gate Park down JFK Drive towards the beach, at around 37th Ave. you'll see an enclosed grassy field on your right. And, if you're lucky, you'll see SF's resident herd of buffalo!

This herd has been here for over 100 years, and, though it's nice to think that there are bison roaming the park, most of the time they just hang out in their pen. Some folks call their enclosure inhumane, but at the time the paddock was started, it was needed to keep them from becoming extinct. I'll try to do some research and find out what time of year they are the most frisky.

Please don't feed or spook them.

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San Francisco is discribed in one guide book as "a loosely knit confederation of neighborhoods." Sometmes it will seem like every block has it's own neighborhood name, and the neighborhood will be called different things depending on who you talk to.

Just south of the Haight/Ashbury is a little enclave called Cole Valley. It's a bit more upscale than the Haight, is a lot cleaner, and much more family friendly. The world famous Tassajara bakery was the focal point of the neighborhood until it closed down a few years ago. Fortunately, there's a very good bakery on the same spot (Cole & Parnassus). There's some good eateries, some shops, and the great neighborhood store Cole Hardware, which has just about everything.

NOTE: Cole Valley also has one of the great hidden views of the city - Tank Hill. To get to it, go up the hill on Cole St. from Haight St., after you pass the bakery, turn right and then left on Shrader St., go uphill all the way till it dead-ends. Park and walk on the little dirt path to the left of the guardrail about 50 yards uphill and you'll get a view that extends from the bay all the way around to the airport!

To get to Cole Valley, drive or walk south on Cole Street from Haight Street, and in a few blocks you'll hit it. The 'N Judah' line stops at Cole & Carl St., a block from the bakery. This is also the closest metro stop to the Haight/Ashbury.

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Waaaaay off the beaten path - figuratively and literally - is the spit of land known as the Albany Bulb, in the city of Albany just north of Berkeley on I-80 behind the Golden Gate Fields horse track.

A former dump, then homeless encampment, the place is now a great walking and biking park. But what makes it special is the bizarre artwork you'll find all around, made mostly of the indigenous junk.

For more on the bulb, see my Albany Page.

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