Bernal Heights neighborhood

If what you want in a yoga studio is a lot of hot, tight young bodies bending away in spandex, well, Bernal Yoga has that. But it's also got a lot of older practitioners, less fit practitioners, moms-to-be and moms-returning-to-shape, and a set of instructors that really know the meaning of "all levels classes." The soulful, welcoming, peaceful community is run by sister-and-brother team Savonn and Bill Wyland, who keep things varied with frequent guest instructors and quarterly literary events, which attract nationally-known poets and fiction writers.

The top is more than 40 acres of grassy open space, with views of the San Francisco Bay and Mt. Diablo to the east, downtown San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, Twin Peaks and Noe Valley to the west and a rise of hills leading up to San Bruno Mountain in the south. Atop the hill is telecommunications tower. People come and run their dogs here and watch eclipses, sunrises, sunsets, the Blue Angels and wildlife. Two coyotes were reported living here in 2018. There are nooks and crannies and stairs and weeds and it's a big, big, well-loved back yard. If you're lucky, there may be a rope swing attached to one of the trees, but these are taken down regularly. A stone labyrinth has been built into the side of the hill.