Bernal Heights

Understand

Sister to the Castro, this neighborhood is or at least was very popular with the lesbian community, as much of the generation that once patronized the now-gone legendary Lesbian bars of Mission Street settled here in the 90s and early 2000s. However, Bernal Heights' reputation as a Lesbian neighborhood is definitely overstated now. In the 2010s, large numbers of tech workers bought up houses in the area, enjoying access to the Mission but looking for a quieter environment. If you see any Modernist construction on the hill, it's likely the product of new tech money.

Depending on who you talk to, including the authors of this article, Bernal Heights also includes the stretch of Mission Street south of Cesar Chavez. This is not a consistent belief among locals, with some only using "Bernal" to refer to the elevated areas on the hill itself.

Get in

The MUNI Metro -Church line runs along the western boundary of the area from downtown. From the J line you can just walk into the area or easily transfer to one of the following MUNI bus lines:

• 24-Divisadero from the Church and 30th Metro station. From the station, you can take the #24 east down 30th Street and Cortland Avenue through Bernal Heights before continuing onto Bayview-Hunters Point.
• 23-Monterey from the Glen Park station. From the station, the #23 heads up Bosworth and Mission Streets before turning right onto Crescent Avenue, running along the southern end of the district and into Bayview-Hunters Point.

Other bus routes which serve the area include the 14-Mission and the 49-Mission/Van Ness, which run right down Mission Street from the north and south, and the 67-Bernal Heights, which runs through much of Bernal Heights from the 24th Street BART station.