It is the last sizeable location where you can see native dune plants of the kind that once covered the land on which the city was built. This drift, unparalleled elsewhere in the U.S., rose here some 700 feet above its origin at Ocean Beach and flowed around outcrops of Franciscan bedrock, the tops of which are still visible-dark red chert in opulently sculptured layers and volcanic greenstone that erupted millions of years ago when this region was the bottom of an ancient sea.īotanically, too, this hill is extraordinary. It is the highest point in the great sand drift that swept in from the ocean, blanketed the western portions of the city, and flowed through the passes to the bay over a period of several thousand years. The hill itself is a rare phenomenon geologically. Owing to its strategic location between the ocean and the bay, it is sometimes the meeting place of inland and marine weather conditions, and it was under these circumstances that this writer recently observed from there a rare optical phenomenon, the Specter of the Brocken, as related in this space a few weeks ago. It commands a sweeping panorama including Montara Mountain down the peninsula, immense expanses of the ocean, the Farallones, Point Reyes, Tamalpais, the Golden Gate and large parts of downtown San Francisco and the East Bay. It lies about a mile west of Twin Peaks and is the northernmost high point of the north-south ridge known as Sunset Heights or Golden Gate Heights. The peak has no name and is virtually unknown except to people who live nearby, yet it is in some ways the most remarkable of all the hills of San Francisco. Gilliam's vision of protected remnant natural areas has since become a reality.Ģ008 photo from hilltop of surrounding neighborhood shrouded in fog.īy Harold Gilliam, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 April 1967 Bowing to public pressure, the city reversed itself and in the mid-1970s finally purchased the lots for much more than what they had sold them for two decades earlier. When several lots were finally developed in 1967, the pioneering environmental reporter Harold Gilliam wrote an article (reprinted below) urging readers to protect the hilltop park from being undermined by construction on its lower slope. Park staff, declaring that the lots were not required or necessary for park purposes, allowed the sale to proceed. In 1952 the surrounding vacant lots were sold by the city for non-payment of taxes, but not before concerned neighbors urged the city to cancel the sale and expand the park. In 1923 an acre or so at the top became dedicated park land. The rare Franciscan wallflower ( Erysimum franciscanum) and the common beach strawberry ( Fragaria chiloensis) occur in sandy openings. The dune tansy ( Tanacetum camphoratum), once widespread in San Francisco, has one of its strongholds here. Its sandy slopes retain a good example of dune scrub in San Francisco. Great dunes climbed up and over the 700-foot hilltop on their way from Ocean Beach towards downtown.ĭune tansies growing on Grand View Peak, 1990s. The red bedrock of this outcrop is visible only at the top where decades of visitors-especially on the fourth of July-have trampled the vegetation that kept its sandy cover in place. The commanding views of northwest San Francisco are worth the steep climb up from the streets below. Photo: Private Collection, San Francisco, CA ** Pet friendly park **Pets must be kept under control and their waste picked up.Grand View Peak being graded in the late 1920s. If you have further questions please contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 61 or email of Grandview Heights Park Park Rules & Regulations Click here to see the various park rules and regulations. A map of the complete park system can be viewed here. Contact: Parks Superintendent Andy Responsibilities The Parks Department maintains approximately 45 acres of parks, green spaces, and trees.
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