Look, we normally spend our time here yelling about budget deficits and bureaucratic incompetence, but sometimes a story comes along that reminds you why San Francisco is actually worth fighting for. And that story involves phasers.

If you're a Star Trek fan planning a visit to the city, you might already know that SF is canonically the future home of Starfleet Academy and Starfleet Headquarters. What you might not know is just how much Trek-related stuff you can actually do here beyond snapping selfies at filming locations.

Let's start with the obvious: the Golden Gate Recreational Area and the Presidio are where Starfleet HQ and the Academy are supposed to sit in Trek's timeline. The Parks Conservancy even has hiking routes that take you through future Starfleet locations. It's free, it's gorgeous, and you don't need a government permit to enjoy it — yet.

Over on 46th Avenue in the Outer Sunset, there's the so-called "Starship House," a private residence that looks like someone beamed a starship into a residential lot. You can't go inside, but it's worth the detour.

For Voyage Home fans — and honestly, who doesn't love the one with the whales — the corner of Kearny and Columbus is where Kirk and Spock famously asked for directions to the "nuklear wessels" in Alameda. As one local put it, the intersection "still looks the same." If you want the full experience, one SF resident suggested you "wear all leather and spikes and blast Careless Whisper out of a boombox on a bus." We neither endorse nor discourage this.

There are also movie location tours that hit multiple Voyage Home spots while screening clips from the film in the van — a solid use of an afternoon.

Down in the Mission, Big Finish on 16th Street is a wine bar with some Trek-adjacent vibes worth checking out. And if you happen to be a California resident, the SF Public Library cards feature a Starfleet design. Your tax dollars occasionally produce something cool.

San Francisco's future may be Starfleet. Its present is... a work in progress. But for a weekend, you can pretend we've already figured it out.