If you haven't done the Great Highway and Golden Gate Park cycling loop yet, what are you even doing with your weekends?

Let's set the politics aside for a moment — we'll get back to them, promise — and just appreciate what this route actually is: a roughly 7-mile loop of car-free (or car-light) pavement hugging the Pacific Ocean on one side and cutting through one of the greatest urban parks in America on the other. No admission fee. No reservation system. No app required. Just you, your bike (or your legs), and some of the best scenery in the entire Bay Area.

The loop connects the Upper Great Highway's ocean-adjacent stretch with the park's network of paths running east, letting you cruise past the Dutch Windmill, through the bison paddock area, and along JFK Drive before circling back. On a clear day, it's legitimately world-class. On a foggy day, it's still better than whatever you were going to do on your couch.

Now, the politics. The Great Highway has been a battleground for years — car commuters from the Sunset versus recreation advocates, neighborhood groups versus City Hall, everyone versus the bureaucratic timeline that turned a "temporary" pandemic closure into a multi-year saga. We've covered the Prop K fight, the coastal erosion questions, and the seemingly endless environmental review process. The city has a remarkable talent for taking something people genuinely love and wrapping it in years of process and millions in consulting fees.

Here's our take: the loop works because it's simple. It didn't need a $50 million redesign or a blue-ribbon commission. It needed the city to stop running cars on a road next to the beach. The fact that San Francisco has managed to make even this controversial tells you everything about how local government operates.

For those looking to mix things up, the Bay Area has no shortage of great loops — one local cycling enthusiast pointed out that "the Bay Ridge trail starting in Alviso has a 12-mile loop" with water views and wildlife, and you can extend the Berkeley Marina route all the way to Richmond for a solid 12-mile out-and-back, "paved the whole way with water views nearly the entire route."

But the Great Highway loop is ours. Enjoy it while the city figures out how to spend $200 million studying it further.