Wednesday, March 28, 2018
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This leisurely urban hike heads westward for a scenic clockwise loop through some of the alley mural arts from the Mission District out through the city’s diverse neighborhoods to Grandview Park at Golden Gate Heights in the Sunset District. The return includes a walk down the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps; a sea to stars themed mosaic stairway.
Begin at the 16th St BART Station in San Francisco and head south along Mission St to Clarion Alley.
Clarion Alley Mural Arts
Inspired by Balmy Alley and other murals around the neighborhood, Clarion Alley is known for community and arts activities. This collection of murals reflect a variety of art styles and often depict themes of social inclusiveness.*3
Valencia to 18 th St
Women’s Building at the corner of 18th & Lapidge St-Mural Arts
The Women’s Building is internationally recognized for its MaestraPeace Mural, which honors women’s contributions from around the world. Painted in 1994 across two walls, this mural is the result of multi-cultural, multi-generational collaboration between seven women artists.*3
Mission Playground
Southbound on Valencia St
Westbound on 24th St
Douglass and Clipper Sts up to Portola Dr, Woodside Ave and Dewey Blvd
Northbound through the Forest Hill neighborhood on Pacheco St with views of Sutro Tower
Continue on 11th Ave to Noriega St
Moraga St steps up to Grandview Park-enjoy the views!
Sandy path up to the top of Grandview Park
Grandview has a small trail network, consisting of 0.2 miles ascending to the top of the park hill. The majority of the climb is made up of wooden stairs. The short trail around the hilltop is made up of soft sand like soil.*1
Arrive at Grandview Park
This aptly-named hilltop park in the Sunset District has stunning views stretching from downtown San Francisco and Golden Gate Park to Pt. Reyes and around to Lake Merced. The park features a dune plant community atop 140-million-year-old rock called Franciscan chert, which was first formed when the region was part of the ancient sea floor. Most carbonate shells dissolve in ocean waters before they reach the sea floor, but radiolarian shells are silica-based and do not readily dissolve. Millions of years ago, countless radiolaria combined with mineral dust blown from inland deserts to form layers of chert, which were later uplifted to land.*1
The predominant plant community at Grandview Park is coastal scrub (bush lupine, dune tansy, beach strawberry, bush monkey flower, and coyote brush). The hill is a harsh environment for plants; the sand retains very little moisture and the plants must survive without rain for six months of the year.
Enjoy the glorious 360-degree views!
Descend the wooden staircase to Noriega St and 15th Ave
Descend the 16th Ave Tiled Steps
The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps project has been a neighborhood collaboration to create a sea to stars themed mosaic flowing up a 163 step stairway located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Heights Neighborhood. *2
Continue on 16th Ave to the Hidden Garden Steps
16th Avenue steps to Judah
Eastbound on Judah and Parnassus to Clayton St
South on Clayton to Market St
Market to 18th St
Return on Valencia St-Sycamore St Mural Arts
Return through Clarion Alley
Mission St to 16th St BART
This is a fabulous city walk through the diverse neighborhoods around San Francisco. You’ll enjoy the colorful mural arts along the alleyways and buildings around the Mission District, the phenomenal 360 views at the hilltop Grandview Park and the gorgeous sea to the stars themed tiled steps! There’s plenty of places to stop for a quick bite or a caffeine boost and public transit is the best way to go!
*1 http://sfrecpark.org/destination/grand-view-park/
*2 http://www.16thavenuetiledsteps.com/
*3 http://www.sftravel.com/article/guide-san-francisco%E2%80%99s-mission-district-murals
9.8 Miles with 1029′ of elevation gain
Max elevation: 657′
Time: 4 hours with multiple stops
Hike: Moderate
16th St BART, San Francisco
Facilities & water at Mission Playground and Mission Dolores Park
Bring water & food/snacks > plenty of food options available along the city hike
Dog-friendly
Ride Chronicles 