For months we’ve been hungrily eyeing that prodigious patch of blackberry bushes near the parking lot at the entrance of Bernal Hill Park. After all, what says “It’s summer on Bernal Hill” more than picking and munching your own blackberries while admiring the view of the bay?
But alas, it’s been the same thing since June: lots of unripe red berries, plus a smattering of still-unripe black ones. A recent visit revealed that a considerable percentage of the fruits have shriveled up. We’ve been hoping against hope that for some wacky reason, this year’s crop is simply taking its own sweet time. But the above shot was taken on Labor Day, so our hope is withering on the vine. Whither shall we go?
PHOTO: Aaron Ximm
Bernalwood 
Sorry, my daughter and I cleaned out all the ripe blackberries last weekend and made a blackberry pie. Yummy!
I do hope they are not using pesticides up here as they apparently wanted to in order to kill the feral radishes…
FWIW, I have a secret blackberry bush in my back yard that’s totally competitor-free, and it has also yielded a disappointing crop this year.
If you’re willing to travel outside of the neighborhood there is a gigantic patch of them running up Twin Peaks Blvd on the right side (right after you turn off Portola heading up to the peaks). There’s a bunch that are behind the roadside barrier if you’re timid, and even more that are right alongside of the road if you go early when there aren’t many cars.
It would require a potentially dangerous incursion into foreign districts, but blackberry pillagers might have some luck along the non-pedestrian friendly stretch of Twin Peaks Blvd above Portola. Blackberry bushes grow along the east side of the road, and when I walked there a week ago, there were ample sweet ripe ones.
Hmmm… every time I walked by there the last month-ish, there were always a few people in the bushes picking blackberries. Maybe people just keep picking all the good ones? They always seem pretty happy with their pickings.
We got quite a few good ones 2 weekends ago. Also found loads in Glen Park Canyon.
Ah, clearly I’m just not fast enough. Thanks for the tips on Twin Peaks!
I suggest posting a sign saying “Danger, RoundUp insect fumigation area”, after which you should have many a berry…
There are blackberries all along the hillside above the top of Folsom St, not just by the parking lot, dense enough in parts to be impassable. The more inaccessible and thorny, the more berries you can find that your friendly neighbors haven’t already picked. Even so, though, it’s still no walk in the park.