What does Bernalwood have in common with our friends at 7×7 magazine? Obviously, we’re both ridiculously obsessed with glamour and style. So with that as our shared touchstone, we encountered an unpleasant surprise when we opened the July issue of 7×7 to find an article inside about the San Francisco’s “favorite dog parks.”
Favorite dog parks! Bernal Hill! Favorite! Bernal Hill! A slam dunk! Right??
Apparently not.
The gang at 7×7 gave props to Fort Funston, Corona Heights Park, Glen Canyon Park, and Chrissy Field. But Bernal Hill didn’t make the list. Yes, yes… Stray Bar got a shout-out in the sidebar as a canine-friendly place for humans to get plastered. But Bernal’s canine wonderland on the hill didn’t warrant inclusion on 7×7’s favorite list.
At first, we took some offense. “What, even a 4.5 star rating among the crankypants on Yelp isn’t enough to put Bernal Hill on 7×7’s fashionista map?
For example, after giving Bernal Hill five-star marks, here’s what one Yelper had to say on behalf of a doggy named Mochi:
We love this dog park and so does little Mochi!! We love the fact that it isn’t like any other dog park, where your dog is kept in a fenced off area…what fun is that?!
Dogs are free to run off leash here, and lots of running they do! The paved pathway is closed off to vehicles, so you don’t need to worry about that. There’s always lots of dogs here; small, medium and large and all very friendly.
With testimonials like that, what else does Bernal have to do to get the love? Do we need to offer an ergonomic doggy water fountain? Got it!!! Must we provide hipster minstrels who serenade dogs with song??? Will THIS suffice?????
Sheeesh.
But further reflection revealed that our omission from 7×7’s list is actually a blessing in disguise. Because, really, do we want all those hoi-polloi hounds from all over the City bounding around on Bernal Hill? Traipsing across our terrain with their dirty fur and slime-coated tennis balls? Frankly, no. We don’t. So it’s just as well that we didn’t make the list. Better to keep Bernal Hill an insider-only secret. In fact, we might even consider installing velvet ropes at both Upper and Folsom gates on Bernal Heights Boulevard.
Meanwhile, and totally coincidentally, Bernalwood is currently accepting nominations for our first-ever list of “favorite consumer-oriented San Francisco lifestyle publications,” which will appear in an upcoming post. Have at it in the comments.
Arf! Arf!
PHOTOS: From top: Telstar Logistics, Dunstan Orchard, k8itts, and Ed B
Bernalwood 
7X7 and “San Francisco Magazine” are such ultra-snooty mags that don’t really have a lot to do with the common folk. What this city could use is a more relevant magazine with emphasis on the many diverse neighborhoods and parks — you wanna read travel or celebrity articles, there are magazines for that. Let’s have more articles and pix about the people who are NOT filthy rich, various lifestyles, working class ‘hoods, interesting little local shops, farmers markets in different neighborhoods, etc.
That’s ridonkulous! I often prefer Bernal Hill to Fort Funston for a walk not only because it’s close, but because there’s less crowds, chaos, and sand. Hmmmm, maybe it’s good it didn’t get the mention – keep it from becoming too crowded. The Stray Bar shout-out is nice, though. I wrote about it on my blog recently as well. http://barsandtenders.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/stray-bar-bernalheights-sanfrancisco/ if you or your readers are interested.
I love this post! Seeing the pics of happy dogs on happy Bernal Hill makes me smile :).
That may actually be a blessing. I like our Hill the way it is for now. We don’t need a lot of people trying to find the hip new park to show off their dogs and take away from how great of a lil escape the park is for us. We know it’s sweet and that’s all that matters 🙂
Now, now. Bernal Hill is a nice little park if you live in the neighborhood, but comparing it to the dog paradises of Fort Funston or Glen Canyon is just silly. That’s no dis on BH — it’s just not the kind of dog park you would, for example, drive from the East Bay to get to.
People drive from the East Bay to go to Glen Canyon? Weird! I like Glen Canyon and all, but I wouldn’t cross the bridge for it…
Fort Funston and Chrissie Field, I might give you because of the ocean and Bay, but Glen Canyon and Corona Heights? Corona Heights is tiny and Glen Canyon isn’t even off leash. Plus Glen Canyon has way too many Foxtails.
Bernal isn’t off leach either you criminals!
@GG
What is this “East Bay” of which you speak?
Fun Fact: “East Bay” is pig Latin for “Beast.”
Stroke your chin and ponder that….
definitely a blessing in disguise.
Arf. Glenn Park has coyotes. And Bernal has a much cooler mayor. Arf.
Bernal had coyotes too until the dogs chased them away.
That’s right , Glen Canyon has vicious coyotes, way too many dog-life-threatening foxtails, and isn’t even off leash! Don’t go there! Don’t believe the magazine!
I’ll be there every day, keeping an eye on things, and if conditions change I promise I’ll let you all know. Really.
Eh i dont mind the no leash dogs but the owners need to step up when something goes wrong. Walking my small dog on the hill with my kids an owner and his German Sheperd are sitting. GS sees my dog and comes over and stands right over my dog. I let them get to know each other but the GS never moves…then gently puts his mouth around my dogs neck…owner sitting there doing nothing…GS starts to bite down and my dog yelps..I stick my hand into the GS mouth keeping it from biting down more…keeping my hand on her neck to protect her..owner still sitting there…kids freaking out…daughter in tears…owner still not doing anything…I punch the GS in the nose until he lets go and I pick up my dog…owner finally comes over and says ‘oh sorry” WOW…yeah choice words for him that I will not repeat here…:-)
If you can believe in the 70’s and early 80’s cant remember seeing dogs…any dogs on the hill when I was riding my bike…
Yes. The sane are being driven from Bernal along with the coyotes. This used to be a great town for people.