Sometimes the best editorial we can write is the simplest one: go outside.

The Presidio Loop Trail and the Palace of Fine Arts remain two of San Francisco's most stunning attractions — and they cost exactly zero dollars to enjoy. No permits, no reservations, no "convenience fees," no ballot measure required.

The Presidio Loop is roughly four miles of trails winding through eucalyptus groves, coastal bluffs, and historic military architecture, all maintained by the Presidio Trust — a rare example of a federal entity that actually operates with a degree of fiscal discipline. The Trust has been financially self-sufficient since 2013, generating its own revenue through leases and partnerships rather than relying on endless taxpayer subsidies. Imagine if the rest of San Francisco's public spaces operated on that model.

Then there's the Palace of Fine Arts, the last surviving structure from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. It's a masterpiece of Beaux-Arts architecture sitting on a tranquil lagoon — the kind of thing that makes you momentarily forget the city spent $1.7 million on a single public toilet.

Here's the point: San Francisco already has world-class public infrastructure when it's actually maintained and managed competently. We don't always need another bond measure or another blue-ribbon commission. We need to protect and preserve what we have, keep it clean, keep it safe, and let people enjoy it.

If you haven't done the Presidio Loop lately, put your phone down (after reading this, obviously), lace up some shoes, and go. It's a genuine reminder of what this city can be when bureaucracy gets out of the way and nature — plus some solid early-20th-century engineering — does its thing.

The best things in San Francisco are still free. Let's keep it that way.