In a region where a mediocre brunch costs $45 and parking will run you $12 an hour, it's worth remembering that some of the best experiences in the Bay Area are still completely free.

Mt. Hamilton Road — the winding, 19-mile route up to Lick Observatory east of San Jose — remains one of the most spectacular drives in Northern California, and it costs you nothing but gas and a little nerve on the switchbacks. The views from the climb are staggering: rolling golden hills, the entire South Bay sprawling out below, and on a clear day, a panorama that stretches from the Santa Cruz Mountains to the Sierra Nevada.

Lick Observatory itself, perched at 4,209 feet, has been operating since 1888 and is still an active UC research facility. It's a genuine piece of California scientific history sitting right in our backyard — no $35 museum ticket required.

So why bring this up in a news outlet that usually spends its time grilling City Hall over budget overruns? Because Mt. Hamilton is a quiet reminder of what public investment looks like when it actually works. The road is maintained. The observatory is functional. Nobody formed a $200 million oversight committee to study whether the mountain needed a "community engagement framework" before letting people drive up it. They just built something great and kept it open.

If you haven't made the drive, block out a weekend morning. Bring water, watch for cyclists on the narrow stretches, and leave your phone in the cupholder for a couple of hours. The Bay Area has a way of making you forget that nature doesn't charge a convenience fee.

In a city obsessed with spending more to get less, Mt. Hamilton is a refreshing exception — proof that sometimes the government's best move is to build the road and get out of the way.