Holly Park

August 26, 2026

I went to Bernal Heights in the morning to attend my first-ever Pilates class with my friend Izzy, who lives in the neighborhood. It was tough and a fantastic challenge. On the way back to my studio, I decided to swing by Holly Park, a mounded circular park that Izzy had said some great things about. I approached from the south side, walked up the steps, and was struck first by the view.

In what seems like a full 360 degrees around the park, I could see the city, the bay, Karl (the fog rolling in from the ocean side of the city) and the hills. It was a bright sunny day with hardly any clouds. I felt giddy walking around and looking out onto the city, so I walked the loop a few times. Giant tall conifers sprouted up from the top of the hill. I walked underneath them, catching whiffs of the now familiar sweet dry eucalyptus leaves as they crunched under my feet.

Because the views were so good and the paths were not all flat and even, I nearly tripped more than once. When I say nearly, I mean that I did trip, but I didn’t fall all the way down onto my face.

One of the things that made me happiest during my visit were the bees. I saw at least 10 bees pollinating flowers. One in particular seemed basically drunk as it wiggled around inside the petalled cup of a bright orange poppy.