Feature Pieces

If these SF anecdotes prove anything... it's that nature is, in fact, healing (and great for bolstering our collective mental health). It’s almost comical at this point to say that the world is churning in uncharted waters, plunged into a daily riptide of what-if statements that ebb and flow between economic collapses and housing shortages, to climate crisis woes and the (potential) takeover of artificial intelligence. But... yea... here we (still) are. But that’s not to say you can’t still find pockets of cool calm to escape the detritus of an increasingly entropic world— especially here in the Bay. Access to Mother Nature and the great outdoors is essential to human health; walking through green spaces and outdoor venues is literally proven to increase our moods and general outlooks...

The Upper Market Stairway Walks in San Francisco is a digestible walk around some of SF's most gorgeous vistas — ones that are especially pretty to sponge up on a sunny day. One of the joys of hiking the San Francisco Crosstown Trail — an almost 17-mile passageway that weaves through the city, beginning at Candlestick Point and ending at Lands End — is being able to sponge up SF’s numerous superb viewsheds. But again: that path is more than twice as long as the Bay to Breakers race course. From past experience, it takes close to seven hours to complete the trail at a brisk walking pace… sans any water breaks or scenic pauses. Alas, tackling the SF Crosstown Trail is a commitment I’d wager not too many of us are eager to adopt on a consistent basis. I know I’m not. But the thought of intr...