Every year on April 20th, San Francisco faces its most pressing resource allocation question — no, not the budget deficit. Where should you park yourself to celebrate the city's unofficial high holiday?
The eternal debate: Hippie Hill or Dolores Park?
Let's settle this with some basic market logic. Dolores Park is the undisputed champion of San Francisco outdoor hangs roughly 364 days a year. It's got the skyline views, the Bi-Rite ice cream proximity, and enough microclimates within its borders to satisfy every blanket-dweller's temperature preferences. But on 4/20? Dolores takes a back seat.
Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park is purpose-built for exactly one day of peak performance, and that day is April 20th. The crowds descend, the haze rises, and for a few glorious hours, that patch of grass becomes the most densely populated — and possibly least productive — acre in the entire city. As one local put it: "Hippie Hill is the place to be on 4/20. Dolores Park is more popular every other day of the year."
Of course, San Francisco's famously unpredictable weather occasionally throws a wrench into the proceedings. One SF resident captured the mood perfectly: "Lighters don't work too well in the rain."
Here's our fiscally responsible take: the city spends a small fortune on cleanup for these events every single year. Golden Gate Park gets trashed, Dolores gets trashed, and taxpayers foot the bill regardless of which hill wins the popularity contest. Maybe — just maybe — if the city actually charged for the cleanup costs or let vendors bid for legitimate concession spots, we could turn this annual ritual into something other than a municipal expense report.
But who are we kidding? This is San Francisco. We'll spend the money, skip the accountability, and do it all again next year.
Wherever you ended up, we hope you had a good time. Just pick up your trash — the rest of us are tired of subsidizing your munchies aftermath.