A lil’ history of the Sunset District

You have to love, the quiet side of San Francisco. Head West until you hit the Pacific, big wide windswept beaches. Quiet neighborhoods, the Great Highway, one of the most beautiful roads to drive in the area. You can get to this area easily taking one of several different available MUNI lines. It’s not as walkable as so much of SF, but MUNI will drop you off right at the beach. 

This neighborhood is called the outer Sunset. There is some legit surfer culture here, it’s a prominent pass time on these chilly, beautiful waters. This wild stretch of coastline is called Ocean Beach. 

At night, the national park service sets up bonfire pits people can enjoy. 

These ever tempestuous, super cold, shark filled waters can produce 20-foot waves in the winter. Making it a surf spot classified as world renowned. Surfers who live here came for easy access to the awesome beach, and their vibe persists through the entire outer sunset neighborhood. Several really cool surf shops and a newly renovated Pitts Pub, local surfer owned dive bar, call this neighborhood home. 

In 2011, the greatest competitive surfer of all time, Kelly Slater, won his last world title here at Ocean Beach. 

Surfing, like skateboarding, is one of the last cultural staples of San Francisco that hasn’t been over run by gentrification. 

The history of the Sunsets surf culture dates back to the early 60s. With that boom of The Beach Boys and surf culture immortalized in iconic movies, Ocean Beach was an absolute hub. 

 Outer sunset neighborhoods are made up of blocks and blocks of pastel stucco houses. They are mostly two-story row houses with a garage below and living quarters up above. 

At Sloat Boulevard off the Great Highway you’ll find San Francisco Zoo and gardens. They’ve got a gorilla preserve, African savannah, and Grizzly Island. It’s awesome for all ages. 

Near there also Sloat Boulevard, is Pine Lake park. It’s beautiful, with great nature walks to enjoy. Weekends get a little louder though, as it hosts several music festivals and a summer series of music in the park. 

Mollusk surf shop on Irving St, pedals all sorts of surf gear to the wild and crazy outlaw surfers, ready and willing to ride waves as heavy as refrigerators. The pacific currents bring in frigid waters from Alaska, and most surfers here require a wetsuit. The extreme cold and many dangers involved with surfing here have given this community a bad ass, bad boy kind of vibes. Mollusk also hosts art shows and live music. 

Right down the street is Hook Fish company. Their fresh crab cakes and fish tacos have received high praise. It’s all served with a killer, bright and delicious house made pick de gallo. 

An outer sunset institution since 93, get your coffee fix at the Java Beach café. They’ve got a great patio right across the street from rolling beautiful, sand dunes. The two most highly recommended drinks are Bernie’s Brew or the Judah tunnel espresso. Get you some. 

If you consider yourself a surf rat, if you love to surf extreme, it’s not hard to find community here. Outer sunset offers lots of counterculture and other walks of life. 

But this is what it’s famous for. And if you’re living that kind of life, it’s a truly special place to be. 

If it’s not your jam to freeze in wild waters, I'll tell you what, it sure is fascinating to watch.