Bernal Heights Hill

This was the perfect followup, to exploring the Mission neighborhood. So many great views in every direction, plus it even gave me a chance to see towards the area where Candlestick Park stood (demolition begun on that as I heard back in early 2015, and my visit was spring 2014). You can see miles around, north to downtown, and also east towards the Port of Oakland and across the bay. Also a little artwork and graffiti, when you get to the top and are finished admiring the views all around.
Can’t remember how my brother heard about this place, but however he found it, it’s just as well he picked it over Twin Peaks. Didn’t get to Twin Peaks, but maybe I will on another SF trip? I bet this place would be amazing for sunrise pictures, as well! Sat on this review unfinished for too long, so I just wanted to finish it once and for all almost a year later.

Amazing views!!! Definitely try to go during sunrise or sunset. Take some amazing pictures. Post to instagram and facebook. Immediate bragging rights! :-)

I’ve been to Bernal Heights Hill a few times now and I must say I fall in love with it more each time. My two toy poodles love hiking up to the top and meeting all the friendly dogs in the area. The views from the top are breathtaking and makes me realize how wonderful the simple things can be.
The hike up itself isn’t too strenuous and I regularly see people running to the top. There are also many spots to lay out a picnic blanket to eat and enjoy the views of the city.
Pros: Friendly dogs, amazing view, great picnicing, friendly people
Cons: None
Bottom line: Doable dog friendly hike in a very dog friendly neighborhood

I never review landmarks, but this spot is mind-​blowingly beautiful. This is the quintessential San Francisco spot to bring family and friends who are visiting. The view here beats Twin Peaks’ by a landslide. Why isn’t this place more well-​known than Twin Peaks?! I guess it’s unpopularity keeps the tourists away, which is fine by me.
From afar, the summit looks a bit bleak and bland. Due to the drought, the grass hasn’t been as green and healthy. However, up close, the hill is quite charming. It’s in the perfect location to give you a 360 view of the entire city. You feel closer to the city up here. There isn’t really a paved pathway to get up the hill (at least, I didn’t see one), so you should wear good shoes when you visit. It’s a great spot to take in the scenery, drink some wine and relax.
I have to admit, my initial reason for visiting this summit was for the instagram worthy swing on top of the hill. We had initially visited Billy Goat Hill and the swing there was cut off! I was ecstatic to see that the one here is still in tact. I think the ideal time to visit is during sunset or sunrise, since there isn’t much protection from the sun up here. Overall, I freaking love this hill so you should visit!

What a great view. It’s an amazing place to take SF newbies!

The view from this hill is fantastic and getting up here is a good workout whether you walk, run or bike. If you’re in the Mission and the weather is nice (which it almost always is) you shoud definitely take the time to get up here and maybe bring some food for a picnic!
On the 4^th of July the Mission puts on quite the fireworks display and Bernal Heights provides a perfect view.

A great view of the city if you wait until the morning fog clears. There are dozens of dogs running around, in addition to runners and walkers. The walk up is fairly easy and there are benches and a cute tree swing at the top!

This is a great place to walk your dog, take a nice little hike and just to enjoy the beautiful San Francisco views from every side of the hill. A bit windy on some days but well worth the chill.

Everyone has their own way to deal with a thing called «life». Some people shop. Some people gorge. Some people romance the bottle. Admittedly, I have done all these things for therapeutic purposes but they got me absolutely nowhere except broke® and fat (ter) with a bad hangover.
Welcome to my new therapy:
and it’s FREE! I was born and raised in San Francisco, and never even heard of Bernal Heights Hill. After searching for dog parks to bring Tater Tot, I stumbled across this place, and it has quickly become my favorite spot in the city to retreat to. Tater Tot’s too!
The only thing that sucks is the drive to get there. The streets are tighter than a virgin’s whoo haaa, and you have f*cktard drivers who will NOT stop to let you cross the street despite a florescent yellow sign that says, yield to pedestrians. San Francisco Recreation and Park, I hope you’re reading this review. Please add a stop sign at the entrance of the park!
Parking is limited. There’s 5 parking spots in front (1 handicap). I usually get lucky with parking, otherwise, I park on the dirt enclave to the right.
Once you step through those gates, it’s sensory bliss without the calories. The fresh air brushing against your face as you take in the 360 degree, sweepingly stunning views of San Francisco is unparalleled. I love that they have benches to plop my hiney on and get lost in the views so I can forget about the BS that life brings.
In the last 3 months, we’ve visited Bernal Heights Hill close to 30 times and I have encountered nothing but awesome people here. People smile and actually say, «hi». I’ve even exchanged numbers with a girl so we can meet up for walks.
The trail from start to end takes about 15 minutes and another 15 minutes back but it takes us 45 minutes… one way because Tater Tot has a Napoleon complex. He feels the need to mark every corner of the 8+ bench posts, not to mention every corner of the 20+ posts in the surrounding area. Argh.
Unlike some dog parks I’ve been to, furparents here are responsible and clean up after their furbaby drops a deuce or two. No poopy bags though so kindly make sure to bring your own. At the end of the trail, there’s a water fountain for human and furbaby. I’m iffy about communal water bowls, so we always bring our own water.
Most furbabies are off leash but I always keep Tater Tot on a leash for safety purposes. I was talking to another furparent and she told me some f*cktard set off fireworks on top of the hill one day, and several dogs took off running and got lost so please be careful!
Tater Tot was scared at first but after a few visits, he’s now a champion butt sniffer at Bernal Heights Hill:
. There’s always plenty of furbabies for him to see, smell, and play with. His favs are yorkie sisters: Mochi and Pepper. They always get him feeling some type of way, if you know what I mean. *wink wink*
If life has you feeling in the dumps, I highly recommend paying a visit to Bernal Heights Hill. It’s the best therapeutic medicine you’ll find in San Francisco… that’s costs nothing at all! Free of debt, free of calories, free of hangovers, and most importantly, free of STDs. Because we all know people make the best decisions after 2 am right?

Absolutely beautiful.
My cousin’s partner walked us all the way up to the hill (my cousin drove and met us there haha) from their house. It was an exhausting climb, but very rewarding once reaching the top. It was beautiful weather with cute dogs running around. The fog made the view hazy, but beautiful to look out nonetheless. The view is stunning from the top.
It seems less crowded than Twin Peaks, also.

One of the least effort, most gain-​type walking spots in San Francisco. For the price of a single steep (but paved) hill up Folsom Street, and a moderate fire trail walk up to the top, you’re treated to a lovely 360-​degree view of San Francisco and surrounds. There are other ways to get up to the base of the park (via Bernal Heights, for example, where about 3 other main roads converge), but Folsom is the most direct from the Mission.
On a clear day, you can see: Downtown SF, Bay Bridge, the East Bay, Candlestick Point, the planes flying into and out of SFO, parts of the South Bay, Sutro Tower/​Twin Peaks, all the nearby local neighborhoods, and the Marin Headlands/​Golden Gate bridge.
On a foggy day it’s pretty windy, and on a clear day it can also get windy. Layer like your San Franciscan self ought to for optimal satisfaction.
Nighttime can feel a little creepy because it’s nature in the dark, but it’s perfect on any fireworks holidays (sans fog) or for some rudimentary stargazing (you’d have to get pretty far out of the city to avoid light pollution entirely), but it’s dark enough in the immediate vicinity for basic constellation-​identification.
Bernal Hill also a very popular dog playground, so if you’re nervous about 4-​legged creatures (or excited!) it’s something to be aware of.

Love this park. I was just trying to kill time before meeting my brother for lunch, when I stumbled upon this park. The incline/​hill makes it a decent workout (but not vigorous) and the view is beautiful. There are also a few benches along the trail, so you can just relax, soak up the view, and collect your thoughts.
This would be a cute date, guys! Just sayin’. Good photo opportunities along the way.

Okay I need to give this hike a try during the day time because the one time that my friend and I went was pitch black at midnight and it was terrifying and I thought I might die. That being said, it does offer absolutely breathtaking views of SF from the South. Twin Peaks is great and all but that’s so cliché and hackneyed. Why not go for a real night adventure by driving up to the base of this peak and then taking the 5 minute ascent up? Be careful though since there are a lot of loose rocks and also one of those life-​size stone mazes up here. The view of FiDi and Mission/​SOMA area are wonderful – when you look at SF like this at night you begin to realize how grid-​like the place actually is despite Market just cutting down the diagonal. It’s crazy how when you’re standing at the top of the mountain you can actually hear almost everything that’s going on in SOMA…
tldr; awesome place to go for a light hike to get some beautiful views of SF from a different perspective

This place was great! Full of nice people, great view! Of leash plus dog fountain. & An amazing pano view of the city.
The only thing is just be careful if you go off the paved path, as the dirt paths are very slim, and it seems you can easily slip off the side and get extremely injured or even die.
Other than that, everything else was great.

Perfect place to sit down and have one of the best views of San Francisco. If you have dogs bring them as well, it is the best place to have them unleash and have fun since it is safe and there is a vast of green area to run around. Just be aware of bringing a wind breaker jacket, it can get a little chill up there.

Awesome park in the city to let your pooch run loose while you take in the amazing view of SF.
It’s a short hike — you have to go around the hill a few times or back and forth to really give your dog a good workout. Typically not that busy, can get incredibly windy.
Not a daily park (imo) but a good «let’s venture out to bernal today» type of park to take in the view of grab brunch in bernal afterwards.

The hike up here wasn’t too bad, considering I did it in a Maxi dress. lol.
Also, take into account that it was soooooooo windy!
A lot of people bring their dogs here for walks.
We ran into a snake along the path, it wasn’t a small snake either. It was a good size, just be careful!
Up at the top there are several benches & places to post up & soak in the view.
I have yet to go here at night but I have seen pictures & the view with the city lights is AMAZING! It is definitely on my list of things to do.
I recommend this short hike for an amazing view of the city.
Not much effort for something that is truly breath-​taking.

It was fun walking up the hill.
It’s a pretty short hike. The longest hike would be about 15minutes long from Ripley street to the top and less than 4 minutes from Anderson street.
If you’re afraid of dogs this is not a place for you or I would suggest taking the shortest route to the top which is from Anderson street.
You’ll see a lot of gorgeous dogs here big and small.

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN!
Yes — to get to the MICROWAVE tower — you «gotta» climb, and climb, and climb! We’ve been here several times, and each time, our dogs beat us to the top all leash free. There are plenty of side, rocky roads where you can escape the jogger traffic. Bring water bottles folks even though there is a water fountain for humans and dogs at the entrance, cause once you get up there, it’s a good hike down. There are a few benches but it’s all about the hike. If you enjoy a good sweat, a good workout, target them cardio going, enjoy nature and being around the outdoor elements, enjoy getting a FIRM ASS BUTTOCKS, this is the place. :p
PROS
–excellent photography view choice
–lots of hills to explore
–great for joggers
–great for hikers
–excellent for «well behaved dogs» (off leash)
–water fountain (humans and dogs)
CONS
– limited parking
–can get super busy during peak times (3−7PM weekdays)
–weekends pretty busy
PS — bring your own pooch bags! :p
Cheers! ~

Great place for thinking
(5 stars)
Sometimes you just need to marvel at something and THINK. Always high view points are the best. Take it in and let it out. In hale and exhale. Pay no mind to those random dog walkers!!!
After coming here to think I leave with clarity. Ready to let go of 2013. Ready to move on to a new career. Ready to have the future unfold. Ready for that moment I waited for years to happen. I get all emo, weird, and nostalgic at view points… They bring the best out of people. Go here. Be you with the world. Try it one time, you’ll thank me later. Trust!
I’m ready to do this!!! Aaahhh!!!