Excelsior/Mission
San Francisco, CA 94112
Glen Canyon Park is a city park in San Francisco, California. It occupies about 70acre along a deep canyon adjacent to the Glen Park, Diamond Heights, and Miraloma Park neighborhoods. O’Shaughnessy Hollow is a rugged, undeveloped 3.6acre tract of parkland that lies immediately to the west and may be considered an extension of Glen Canyon Park.The park and hollow offer an experience of San Francisco's diverse terrains as they appeared before the intense development of the region in the late 19th and the 20th centuries. The park incorporates free-flowing Islais Creek and the associated riparian habitat, an extensive grassland with adjoining trees that supports breeding pairs of red-tailed hawks and great horned owls, striking rock outcrops, and arid patches covered by "coastal scrub" plant communities. In all, about 63acre of the park and hollow are designated as undeveloped Natural Area. Elevations in Glen Canyon Park range from approximately 225 feet (69 m) above sea level at the south end of the park to 575 feet (175 m) above sea level at the north end and along the eastern rim of the canyon; the walls of the canyon are extremely steep, with many slopes approaching a length-to-height ratio of 1:1 (100 percent).
The Tompkins Avenue stairway runs along a block of open land that is approximately 60 feet wide by 140 feet long. The property is vacant city-owned land (an “unclaimed street”), running from Nevada Street down to Putnam Street on the southeastern side of Bernal Heights, just above the Alemany Farmer’s Market. The stairs are an important gateway connecting Bernal Heights and other San Francisco residents with the crown jewel of our neighborhood: the Alemany Farmer’s Market. For the residents who live on the side streets along Cortland Avenue, the stairs are the way for them to get to and from the Farmer’s Market on Saturdays, and the Flea Market on Sundays. In the fall of 2007, a group of neighbors came together to work on reclaiming and cleaning up the Tompkins Avenue stairs. None of us had ever met each other before. None of us had ever been part of a neighborhood organization before either. But we worked together and successfully applied for a Community Challenge Grant through the City of San Francisco, and with our fiscal sponsor San Francisco Parks Trust have transformed the stairway and hillside into a beautiful urban park. We invite you to join us in continuing this tradition of community involvement and participation in San Francisco. We conduct a workday the first Saturday morning of each month starting at 10:00 AM to help maintain our beautiful park, including weeding, sweeping, watering and socializing. It's a great way to meet some great people, and we look forward to meeting you too!
Bernal Hill Park is a semi-wild oasis in the city, a lovingly restored habitat for native plants, a beloved playground for dogs, a place to meet your neighbors, and a place to take in the breathtaking views of the city and the bay.