Billy Goat Hill and Twin Peaks

I used to despise San Francisco, but now I’ve come to truly appreciate all that it has to offer. Within a bustling city teeming with skyscrapers and traffic, there is also so much natural beauty and lovely hiking spots to be explored.

During our staycation, Mark and I spent a portion of our Sunday visiting the lesser known parks of San Francisco: Billy Goat Hill and Twin Peaks (they are only a few miles apart). The skies were cloudy and gray, roads were slick with rain, and there was a chilly breeze that’d send me seeking warmth in the deep folds of my jacket, but none of those conditions stopped us from trekking through new areas.

This post, like the one about Angel Island, will be quite photo heavy.

Billy Goat Hill – A small neighborhood park that’s ideal for a quick stroll with loved ones, kids, or your dog. It offers magnificent views of the city, even on a cloudy day, and has a tree swing for you to swing on. The play structure, unfortunately, is off limits unless you have kids with you.

There was sporadic drizzling throughout the day, but fortunately, not heavy enough to force me to stow my camera away. We parked our car a few blocks down and walked to the park. This street, its quaint buildings, and the greenery made me feel quite at home. I almost, just almost, could picture myself settling here one day. (This is probably my favorite photo of the trip.)

There used to be a tree swing located at the tree at the bottom of these steps, but it’s no longer there. There’s another one on the tree to the far right of this photo.

Lots of scenery to soak in!

We had too much fun on this swing! It was both an exhilarating and terrifying ride.

He’s pointing to the location of the swing.

Mark likes to photograph plants, and I always happen to just be in the background.

And when I get to the top, he’s still photographing plants…

What a beautiful way to end the trail.

Twin Peaks – A short hike that offers expansive panoramic city views.  It’s a bit more crowded than Billy Goat Hill as it is considered to be more of a ‘tourist’ spot. I unfortunately could not take as many photos of this one because the rain fell a little too hard for me to be comfortable with having my camera out. It was also way too cold for us to be out there for very long.

I’d say this sight was definitely worth freezing my butt off, wouldn’t you?