Bernal Heights Park in the Fog: Hilltop Views Over San Francisco

Bernal Heights Park sits on a bare hilltop in the south-central part of the city. The hike from Bernal Heights Boulevard to the summit takes about ten minutes on a steep, unpaved trail. There’s no shade and no handrail. You just walk straight up.

On clear days, the summit gives you a full 360-degree view. Downtown, the Bay Bridge, Twin Peaks, the Mission rooftops, even San Bruno Mountain to the south. On a foggy day, all of that disappears.

We went on a day when the fog was thick enough to erase the skyline. The wind was cold and steady. The city below was just gray in every direction. Sound carried strangely up there, muffled and close.

The Salesforce Tower was the only thing that broke through the fog layer. Its top glowed white while the rest of the building vanished. Dogs were running everywhere off-leash, which is the norm up here. A red-tailed hawk circled above the hill, riding the updraft.

There’s a rope swing tied to a metal post at the summit. People take turns on it. It’s been cut down and replaced a few times but it keeps coming back.