5 miles in Lower Pacific Heights

I needed to fly into San Francisco for work this month so I talked my mom into coming with me to help and then as her "prize" take a 5 mile walk in Lower Pacific Heights before we headed back to the airport.

The reason why the word "heights" is in the name of the neighborhood is that there are some hills, especially between Clay and Broadway.  I sort of didn't share this information with my mother when pitching her the idea of walking with me.

And as a result she was not exactly pleased with me.  But she was a trooper and hoofed the entire route because THE VIEWS.

The bay views from every intersection along Broadway make the incline up to the top totally worth it.

Lower Pacific Heights is a mostly residential area lined with Victorians but this route also zigzags through...

The Fillmore...

Western Addition (this library has public bathrooms, if you need one)...

and ends in Japantown.

This neighborhood also has some extremely beautiful church buildings like this Church of Christ building on Clay and Divisidero and St. Dominic's Catholic Church on Bush and Steiner.

The doors were open, so I took a peek inside St. Dominic's and WOWZA. My camera does not do the stained glass justice.  If you get a chance, go inside on a sunny day and enjoy them.

So, in conclusion, even my mom had to agree that this walk was great.  It is moderately intense with inclines north of Clay Street but traffic is light so you you don't feel rushed, though I wouldn't recommend pushing a stroller on the hills.  The views and breezes are worth hoofing to the top of the hill each block.  There are points of interest throughout the route which offer bathrooms, food, and photo ops so you won't get stranded if it takes you a few hours to finish the walk.