2020’s COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a unique set of experiences — leading or attending meetings and classes from your couch; awkward air hugs with friends you haven’t seen for months; the itchy, red rash dubbed “maskne” (mask acne) and, for many, a blanketing feeling of isolation. But amidst this mixed bag of challenges float new opportunities for adventure and exploration, even in one’s own city.
San Francisco’s Sunset District, affectionately called “the Sunset,” is bordered on the north by Lincoln Way, on the west by the Great Highway and on the south by Quintara Street and Sloat Boulevard. The far eastern reaches of the Sunset end just west of Mount Sutro. Locals and maps refer to the Sunset’s two parts. The district is split by 19th Avenue/Park Presidio — everything to the west (towards the ocean) is the Outer Sunset and everything to the east (towards downtown SF) is denominated the Inner Sunset.
Though the Sunset might not grace the covers of brightly colored tourist brochures and is largely residential, it offers a variety of fun activities to fill a day off — good eats at quaint cafes and bakeries, views of the city from Mount Parnassus and the ever turbulent waters of Ocean Beach.
The Sunset is not necessarily a prime destination for tourists. Neighboring Golden Gate Park — which contains the iconic Conservatory of Flowers, Japanese Tea Garden, the California Academy of Sciences, the De Young Museum — and the famed Summer of Love intersection at Haight and Ashbury tend to attract most visitors to this part of the city. However, with a little willingness to explore, and the right information, the Sunset can be transformed into a magical adventure.
The N Judah MUNI line, though almost guaranteed to run at least ten minutes behind schedule, is your best bet to cut straight through the Sunset.
Not only will the N take you past crepe shops, cafes, bakeries and boutiques, but you might also make a new friend as well! From the hoards of young medical students necklaced with their lanyards who are commuting to UCSF, elderly women with pull carts overflowing with mysteriously filled plastic bags, groups of twenty elementary schoolers bubbling with the excitement of a field trip, to at least one pair of tourists (usually lost) trying to make their way to Golden Gate Park, the cast of characters on the N is an attraction unto itself.
The more urban Inner Sunset is abundant with food and coffee to warm your chilly, fog soaked bones.
The well-known Crepes on Cole, at Cole Street and Carl Street, is a longtime local favorite and ideal for a filling breakfast, brunch or lunch. Two iconic SF bakeries also make their home in the Inner Sunset. Tart to Tart, on Irving Street and 8th Avenue, is perfect for an espresso and fruit tart. Arismendi, on 9th Avenue and Irving, a bakery for the people owned by its co-workers, is an excellent stop for home-style, hand-baked pastries, delicious bread and veggie pizza. The local secret The Game Parlour, on Irving and 15th Avenue, is a fun family-friendly comfort food eatery and game room with over a hundred board games for customers to enjoy with their food and milkshake.
Photo by Ethan Rendon
Deboard the N at Carl and Cole and take a lovely stroll, stopping to eat along the way, to appreciate some quintessential San Francisco residential architecture.
The Outer Sunset is a largely residential neighborhood along San Francisco’s western coast. Edging the roaring waters of the Pacific is the Great Highway: a two-mile, four-lane, straight-shot highway along the margin of the beach that, while normally bustling with traffic from Golden Gate Park to Lands End, during the pandemic has been closed to car traffic to give space for people getting outdoor exercise. Pedestrians (appropriately socially distanced) walk, jog and run. The only wheels allowed are bicycles, skates and skateboards.
Pre-pandemic, Ocean Beach drew throngs of locals and tourists alike to shiver and enjoy its damp, foggy shores and rough tides. From beach-goers enjoying quiet picnics in the mild sunlight, joggers dodging the lapping waves, to wetsuit clad surfers carrying their boards to launch out through the shore-foam to ride the big waves, all manner of people find enjoyment on the broad expanse of the shoreline. During the pandemic, Ocean Beach is still a hot (or cold) spot for those looking to get out of the house. The opening of the Great Highway enlarges the range of leisure possibilities.
In the fresh morning, while the chill of dew still hangs in the air and the sky is barely pink, the Great Highway offers an excellent path for a morning run. With its four lanes and smooth pavement, inviting a couple of friends for a quick two or four-mile jog in the cool of dawn is an energizing way to start off another week in quarantine. Both the beach and the highway are a popular venue for the LWHS Cross Country Team workouts. “Every week we run from Golden Gate Park and end up at the beach, and I think running to it makes you appreciate it more because of the work you put in to wake up in the morning and go for a run to end up there,” said Cross Country Captain Ananya Sridhar ’21. And if you’re in need of a quick break, the beach awaits just a couple of steps to the side. “Diving in the cool water is almost like a reward,” Sridhar said.
Photo by Ethan Rendon
On days when the sun rises high and cuts through the morning fog, and even on days when it doesn’t, bikers and skaters traverse the length of the highway with ample room on both sides and without the confines, and danger, of San Francisco’s bike lanes. Along Ocean Beach you are free to glide down the tarmac at your own pace, breathing in the salty air and watching the quaint Outer Sunset houses pass by.
Sunset District resident Raya Shveyd ’22 believes sunsets from Ocean Beach or along the Great Highway to be among the most spectacular. “It’s super quiet, you can bike anywhere, and sitting on the beach, watching the sunset is truly mesmerizing,” she said.
Photo by Ethan Rendon
As the sun dips below the horizon, an ominous wall of white-gray fog billows its way in from the Pacific, up the shore and shrouds the Great Highway and the entire Outer Sunset District in mystery.
On the wide, sandy beach, rowdy, tipsy teenagers might be reveling in a midnight bonfire, but the shoreline is not the only place to enjoy the cool night air.
I have spent many a night during the pandemic strolling six feet apart down the Great Highway with friends playing music from our speakers into the darkness. The fog hangs heavy, the beds of succulents along the roadside glisten in the yellow streetlights. At intersections, respites of light amidst stretches of haunting, dark road, the red and green lights hang in the air and cast long disappearing shadows. It feels as if you’ve been transported to another world entirely. Though a little bit spooky, the otherworldly atmosphere is well worth a long walk in the deep of night, with the occasional sleepless biker hurtling out of the fog and back in again.
