Local photographer Travis Monson recently captured some stunning shots from a walk through Bernal Heights, and honestly? They're a reminder that the best things about this city have absolutely nothing to do with government programs.

Bernal Heights remains one of San Francisco's most underrated neighborhoods — a hilltop gem with panoramic views, a tight-knit community feel, and streets that still manage to feel like a real neighborhood rather than a theme park for tech money or a cautionary tale about failed policy. The hill itself is one of the few spots in the city where you can get a genuine 360-degree view without paying a dime or standing in a tourist line.

What makes Bernal work is largely what government hasn't done to it. The neighborhood has resisted the kind of heavy-handed development schemes and over-regulation that have hollowed out character in other parts of the city. It's kept its quirky, independent spirit — the kind of organic community identity that no amount of municipal "placemaking" grants could manufacture.

Of course, Bernal isn't immune to SF's broader problems. Property crime, housing costs, and the general dysfunction that radiates out from City Hall touch every corner of the seven-by-seven. But the neighborhood continues to prove that when people invest in their own community — not through taxes and mandates, but through genuine care and presence — good things happen.

So here's to Bernal Heights: beautiful, free to visit, and blissfully unbothered by whatever the Board of Supervisors is arguing about this week. Nature and community doing what billions in city spending somehow can't.