My City By The Bay

There is nothing like a warm, clear day at Ocean Beach in San Francisco.  The waters are blue, clear and calm.  People are playing along the shore, flying kites and having picnic lunches.  There are swimmers and waders enjoying the always cool waters.  

There are dangerous undertows however along Ocean Beach.  You have to be careful when both swimming and wading.  Surfers ride the waves at high tide and every so often you’ll see a lone ship in the distance.

One thing you’ll notice is that there is always a slight breeze at the beach no matter the temperature that particular day.  As you can see from the above photo there are colorful kites adorning the clear skies.

The Park Police patrol the beach on horseback and actively patrol in the evenings.  The beach has been a popular spot for bonfires at night and have been previously banned until they enacted a compromise and built decorative fire pits along the sand specifically for bonfires.  Closer to the Cliff House out by Point Lobos the sands are cleaner and softer than the area closer to the zoo out in the Sunset District.  There are various days each month in which volunteers with gloves and bags in hand take to the shore and clean up the beach.

Although illegal in San Francisco fireworks at the beach can sometimes rival the professional fireworks along the embarcadero and marina green.

The beach is a calming and serene spot to visit with the Cliff House and Beach Chalet restaurants available for affordable dining.  Even in the fog, the beach provides some stunning photographic opportunities for all of you shutterbugs.  It is simply lovely.