Buena Vista Park is San Francisco's oldest official park, established in 1867. The 38-acre hillside rises steeply above the Haight, with winding paths through a canopy of Monterey cypress and eucalyptus. The climb to the top is short but steep -- and the payoff is a panoramic view from a lookout called The Window, stretching across Golden Gate Park to the Pacific Ocean on clear days.
Look down at the path gutters as you walk up the western side -- they are made from broken Victorian cemetery headstones, some with inscriptions still visible. The park featured briefly in Hitchcock's Vertigo, which is fitting for a place where the views make you dizzy.