A Holiday for the Hippies!

Voicemail: Hey darling, it’s your father. I am with your sisters and they wanted me to call and make sure you were celebrating 4/20 in Golden Gate Park. (Laughing) They said San Francisco was probably a big cloud of smoke today. Well I hope you’re having a great day and I guess…be careful.Well that was by far one of the most ridiculous and funniest voicemails I have ever received, especially because it was from my dad. I cannot believe my dad called to make sure I was celebrating 4/20…does he not understand what that is? I mean he couldn’t possibly have been calling to make sure I was getting high? But I tried to look at it from his point of view: his baby daughter (me) went off to college and she is no longer that sweet little girl who tells daddy everything. The result: dad will bring up just about anything he thinks will spark a conversation. I guess it makes sense.

Anyway, yes I was in fact at Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park with the other thousands of people who were celebrating 4/20. If you are not familiar with 4/20, it is a (discreet) term used to reference the use of cannabis or marijuana. On April 20 (4/20) thousands of people gathered in GGP and I am sure many many other places to celebrate! Do not think that the only people who showed up to Hippie Hill on 4/20 were a bunch of stoners and pot-heads, while that is mostly correct…other people, from all walks of life came to enjoy and observe cannabis day. It was a beautiful day in San Francisco, a little windy but otherwise sunny and nice. Even if you are not a smoker, 4/20 in Golden Gate Park is a great place for people watching and relaxing.

At 4:20 on 4/20 everyone that had gathered in the park stood up and cheered, and of course smoked: a joint, a blunt, a spliff, a piece, a bong…you get the idea. A huge cloud of smoke hovered over the dancing, singing, cheering hippies. However now it is 4/21, the holiday is over and it is back to reality!

Herb Haven

San Francisco became something of a safe haven for hippies, hemp, and herb almost forty years ago when the members of the Grateful Dead, who would ultimately become one of the greatest bands of all time, bought a house on Ashbury St. The Grateful Dead basically created the framework for what we call the ‘hippie counterculture’ of the late 1960’s. A lifestyle based on the ideology of “peace, love, and personal freedom.” To this very day one would not have to look far to find a hippie, whether they are 17 or 75, snacking on ‘special brownies’ in Golden Gate Park or the nearby neighborhood known as Haight Ashbury.

Glorious Golden Gate Park is known for a million different things: beautiful lakes and waterfalls, gardens, museums, endless trails, and even a herd of buffalo. However, if you know where to look, somewhere in the midst of the 1017 acres you can find your one-stop cannabis super shop—hippie hill. Hippie Hill earned its name during halcyon days in the 1960’s when George Harrison could be found playing his guitar and free-thinkers and drum circles called it home.

An unsuspecting tourist may be caught of guard by the cloud of smoke that lingers above the grassy rise or the man dressed-up like Darth Vader drinking a 40 at noon on a Monday afternoon. However, locals find hippie hill an “amazing place to get away from the city and there is never a shortage of ganja” said the man in the Vader get-up, who wished to remain anonymous.

The days of the Grateful Dead and deadheads are long past, so one might wonder what they would find if they stumbled upon hippie hill today?

An average day on hippie hill--On the sun-swept hillside there would be an abundance of people playing bongos, guitars, frisbee, and soccer. Free-spirited homeless people lay relaxing burning some fern along with long lost hippies and misplaced business men. Cowboy hats, skateboards, dread locks, and boom boxes are just a few of the odd things a person might see on this holy hill. Fresh baked ganja cookies and treats can be purchased from fifty year old men, who are missing their four front teeth and their left shoe. A homeless man rocking a Cubs batting helmet might be throwing tennis balls into the 'crowd', like a spirit squad at an NBA game. And a plethora of people can be found merely enjoying the sun and the contact high they can experience on this city-park hideaway!

Want to relax? Want to get high? Want to experience a day like you did back in the 60's? Want to see homeless people heckling each other? If you answered yes to any of these questions then hippie hill in Golden Gate Park is the place for you!