Excelsior!

SF mural and mosaic stairway walk

Some of San Francisco’s most outstanding art isn’t found inside museums. It’s seen on city streets in exuberant neighborhoods. Among the most vibrant: Excelsior. Go on a 1.2-mile (round-trip) urban ramble through this cool and colorful part of the city, and be treated to murals galore and a hidden mosaic stairway.

For the most art-intensive route, start from the Excelsior Branch Public Library and finish at Kenny Alley, an enclave that’s been revitalized into a secret succulent garden with a beautiful mosaicked stairway. As you head south from the library on Mission St. through the Excelsior’s commercial district, each block you encounter reveals a new sprawl of inventive paintings. Garages, businesses, schools, and urgent-care centers each showcase an addition to the colorful landscape. At the corner of Mission Street and Francis Street, see “Music Is Freedom” by artist Delvin Kenobe Leake, a celebration of culture and diversity that highlights how music and dance can unite a community.

Shortly after, at the Excelsior Avenue intersection, see “Waiting for the 52 Excelsior,” a mural by local artist Marta Ayala presenting a fishbowl vantage of the neighborhood. Across from it, find the 2007 Precita Eyes Muralists’ “Excelsior Love,” with quotes like “Education is the key,” and “Follow your dreams!” After 0.6 mile of murals, come across Kenny Alley, a quiet garden and mosaicked stairway, renovated to reflect the bright community in which it rests. An extension of the neighborhood’s cleaning-and-greening-through-art philosophy, here you can spy a garden of native plants, a nature-celebrating mural, and water-inspired tiled steps. The project, a City Arts and Tech High School and community team effort, was created as a welcoming space for visitors and residents alike. It’s a sanctuary on a city street. Muralaculous!

Tip: Double your mileage by starting just beyond the 280 overpass at the Mission-Bosworth intersection. You’ll cross a portal into the Excelsior (the 280 overpass), painted with the highly international street names within the district and celebrating its diverse cultural history.

The Excelsior Branch Public Library is located at 4400 Mission St. The Kenny Alley Stairs are located between 4941 Mission St. and 4945 Mission St., connecting London and Mission Streets. Street parking. Dog-friendly!

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Afternoon on the Island

    What is it about tiny islands in the middle of lakes? There’s something that just draws you in. It’s even more fun when getting there is half the adventure because you have to reach it by canoe, kayak, paddleboat, or a ranger-guided boat tour!

    View
  2. Hiker in the forest at Mount Sutro in San Francisco

    San Francisco's Middle Earth

    No need to travel to New Zealand to visit Middle Earth. San Francisco’s Mount Sutro Open Space is practically Hobbiton—a hidden “shire” in the middle of the city. Okay, maybe not quite as magical, but still an incredible place to take a hike in city limits.

    View
  3. A group of people clamored around the summit marker at Mission Peak in the Bay Area

    Your Mission Is Less Crowded

    Mission Peak is one of the Bay Area’s most popular mountains, with many hikers climbing every weekend. Skip the crowds with this 6-mile loop up the less-traveled southern route.

    View
  4. Hike top Angel Island Mount Livermore San Francisco Bay

    Good Heavens

    The 4-mile hike to the top of Angel Island offers Bay-mazing scenery. Some people claim you get a five-bridge view: Richmond-San Rafael, Bay, Golden Gate, San Mateo-Hayward, and Dumbarton bridges.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. Locals' Feature: Jim Litchfield, Owner of Reno Fly Shop

    If there's a river, you're likely to find Jim Litchfield there. As the owner of Reno Fly Shop, Nevada's premier fly fishing outfitter and shop, Jim's passion for rivers knows no bounds: he's fished in places near and far, including Alaska, Bolivia and Christmas Island. But home is beautiful Reno, where he has been running Reno Fly Shop and leading tailored river float and fly fishing adventures (including beginner-friendly options) for over a decade.

    View
  2. Bear Hug

    This 5.5-mile loop through Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park explores one of the newest segments of the acclaimed Bay Area Ridge Trail, one redolent with trees ranging from madrone and manzanita to buckeye and blue elderberry (with a bubbly post-hike bonus).

    View
  3. Easiest Best Hike in the World

    Choose the easiest and most view-rewarding hike in Yosemite. Okay, we’ll go first: the combination of hiking to Sentinel Dome and Taft Point. Both of these lookouts are within a couple miles of each other on Glacier Point Road

    View
  4. Bikers and walkers on the Bay Area Ridge Trail with the Golden Gate Bridge behind them

    National Park City Walk

    See San Francisco the way locals do by hiking the Presidio, a national park right in the city! Wooded trails, secluded beaches, and epic views of the Golden Gate Bridge feature on this 5.5-mile out-and-back on the Bay Area Ridge Trail. It’s a lovely slice of the City by the Bay.

    View