On a foggy day or any other day, a hike on Mt. Davidson, San Francisco’s natural rainforest, is just what the doctor ordered. Nestled in the beautiful woods of this unassuming little mountain in the sunset district of San Francisco, quiet and peacefulness reign. It’s an easy hike with trees, ferns, and other bits of nature surrounding the trail. If you stop and listen, you will hear… nothing. You would think that being in the heart of San Francisco would make it busy and noisy, but the opposite is actually true.

Mt. Davidson and the cross that sits atop the highest point in San Francisco is a memorial to all the Armenians who lost their lives in the genocide perpetrated by the Turkish government during WWI in an effort to eliminate the Armenian people from their homeland.

Every year on April 24th, Armenians congregate at the Mt. Davidson cross to remember the victims of that genocide and to symbolize the determination of the Armenian Americans to achieve official recognition of that act of genocide. The cross is lit each year on Easter and on April 24th (Armenian Genocide Memorial Day) and can be seen all around the entire city. 

Despite the sad history, the cross on Mt. Davidson is a sight to behold, standing at 103 feet. It is made of concrete and was dedicated in 1934. It’s the best of all culminations to a beautiful, peace-inducing hike.

Go. You know you want to.