Golden Gate Heights, San Francisco

Marked by the little lake, Laguna Honda, this tiny little slice between Inner Parkside and Inner Sunset has way more character than its size suggests.

This isn't for the faint of limb. The whole place is a hill (hence the heights in the name!). Roads wind up the side, breaking the familiar grid pattern that covers most of the rest of SF. The peaks are marked by fun little parks – Grand View and Rocky Outcrop—that are great to bring kids (or dates) to on days without fog. The views of the Sunset and Golden Gate Park are spectacular from here, and the best part is that nobody but local-locals (the folks who live up here) bother to come see it. A lot of the time, you've got these great spaces all to yourself.

Just don't expect to get any shopping done up here – you have to go downhill to do your daily splurging. But that sort of fun isn't too far away. Just descend the 15th Avenue Steps (also a park!) and head up to Irving Street to hit up San Tung's Chinese for dinner, JJ Ice Cream for dessert, Terry's Lodge for some drinks, and Andronico's awesome grocery store for anything else you might need. And don't forget to switch it up with Sakura Japanese, Little Bangkok, Little Eritrea Bar & Grill, and the Blackthorn just a little way further down the road.

Golden Gate is a great place to live. It is full of great retail and shopping malls. The community is quiet and peacefull with walking trails througout the neighborhood. The school system is great with many ways of transportation and great after school activities. The community is involved with many block parties and activities. The home values stay great because of the demand for the neighborhood. We loved it and miss it very much. A great place to live, just watch for traffic delays at specific times of the day. It is overall a wonderful environment to live in.

Golden Gate Heights is highest point in the Sunset from what I can see. Granted the Sunset District is full of hills (where you can get narrow views of parts of the Sunset), but Grand View Park in Golden Gate Heights is a hill like no other. And the name of this small park is for real. You will great the best view ever of the Sunset. There are several ways to get to this park, one would be climbing up the highest and longest set of stairs you will probably ever encounter, which happens to be right on Moraga Street. Don’t underestimate this flight of stairs, I did when I first saw it, I thought it would be a breeze, but after three-fourths way up, I was so tired. Maybe that was back in the days when I was out of shape, who knows. You can also reach Grand View Park by car but only on the other side of the stairs by going on Noriega Street and 14th and 15th Avenue.

This is also the best place to chill with friends, take panoramic pictures of Sunset, have a picnic, or be with a lover. It’s also really quiet up here, because all the traffic from 19th Avenue is a couple blocks away. But on a windy day (San Francisco windy most of the time, especially at the altitude of Grand View Park) you’ll get a nice breeze, and the sound of peace from the wind/breeze.

This district features some really great nature right in the middle of the city throng. On the north end of Golden Gate Heights, You can enjoy Grand View Park and on the southern end, Sunset Heights Park is right there, bordering the nearby Forest Hill.

As a matter of fact, if you prefer the trains to the busses and you want to cut across town, you can use the nearby Forest Hill station to make your way.

Regardless, this area, unlike much of the grid like terrain in the Sunset District, breaks from that tradition to have more twists and turns than is commonly found on the west side of the city.

Golden Gate Heights rise above the vast, relatively flat terrain of the Sunset, and offers stunning, panoramic views of the city. But, a priceless ocean view is about all this neighborhood has to offer.

Characteristics of this community are streets so steep they are anything but stairways with huge retaining walls that wind around the 725 foot high bluff. The homes on the curvy lanes are relatively new with pockets of quainter dwellings facing Forest Hill.

Pastoral, foggy, and a little remote, Golden Gate Heights Park is worth the uphill climb for a quiet game of tennis or an afternoon at the playground. Parking is plentiful and the workday commute to downtown is effortless.