January 21, 2022
10 Best Things to Do in San Francisco in 2022
READ TIME: 11 MIN.
Food, drink, wall-to-wall history, and pride in abundance: Where can you find so much of all these things but in San Francisco? The city's new guide the San Francisco Traveler will help you find the hottest, coolest, and queerest attractions. EDGE takes a few leaves from the book to present our favorite SF picks.
Skystar Wheel
Installed in Golden Gate Park last year as part of the park's 150th anniversary celebration, and slated to remain in operation until March of 2025, the SkyStar Wheel whisks visitors 150 feet (50 meters) into the heavens for peerless views of the iconic city. The $18 General Admission tickets don't require a reservation, but the VIP Experience, at $50 a head, allows you to skip the line and take flight in the VIP Gondola, a luxurious cabin with leather seats and hardwood floors.
"Dear San Francisco" @ Club Fugazi
Acrobatic troupe The 7 Fingers may be based in Montreal, but they have a bona fide hit with "Dear San Francisco: A High-Flying Love Story", which the travel guide notes is "told through original music, breathtaking choreography, and death-defying acrobatics." The show has been extended through March –�and you can only see it at San Francisco's Club Fugazi.
San Francisco Pride
Expected to return "in person" this summer, San Francisco Pride is an experience to savor once in a lifetime... or plan for every single year. The event's 52nd edition will unfurl across the weekend of June 25-26 this summer.
National AIDS Memorial Grove
Source: Flickr/Haydn Blackey
Located in Golden Gate Park, the National AIDS Memorial Grove remembers the past, honors the fallen, and shines a light toward the future. The Grove became "the nation's sole federally-designated National AIDS Memorial" in 1996; since then, the Grove's work has continued, with the states intention that, as the Grove's website says, "never again will a community be harmed because of fear, silence, discrimination, or stigma."
Rainbow Honor Walk
Tended to entirely by volunteers, the Rainbow Honor Walk, located in the historic Castro District, celebrates equality pioneers and resists ongoing attempts to erase our history with a series of "bronze, sidewalk plaques that honor Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer individuals," the Walk's website explains. "Discover how these brave individuals persevered while facing immense oppression and adversity."
GLBT History Museum & Archives
Focused more locally on San Francisco's own queer history – and the LGBTQ+ heroes who forged it – the GLBT Historical Society protects our past in its comprehensive archives and displays the impact of our community's contributions at its museum, which marked its first decade just last year.
Harvey's
What better place to raise a libation "to absent friends" than at Harvey's, named after the trailblazing politician who gave our community so much hope? Located in the very heart of the Castro, Harvey's resounds with history, is located in the same space where The Elephant Walk –�itself a nexus of the city's LGBTQ+ history –�once stood.
The Castro
After checking out the History Museum and enjoying a bite at Harvey's, why not stroll around The Castro on a self-guided tour as long as you're in one of the world's great gayborhoods? Home to the annual Castro Street Fair, which takes place each October, the district is a draw any time, with landmarks like the Castro Theater, Harvey Milk's Castro Camera (now home to The San Francisco Human Rights Campaign Action Center), and the Rainbow Honor Walk (see above). Follow the self-guided tour route set out in the San Francisco Traveler, or put yourself into the capable hands of Wild SF Walking Tours.
The City's Many Historic 'Hoods
Source: Getty Images
As storied as it is, the Castro isn't all there is to San Francisco. Check out the Mission District (and its namesake burritos); climb Nob Hill for an up-close look at its venerable architecture; or venture into the rich cultural diversity of Haight Ashbury to get a more comprehensive lay of the land.
Summer Fun
Plenty is going on in San Francisco year-round, from the San Francisco International Beer Festival in April to the San Francisco International Auto Show in November, but summer is an especially busy season. Treat your ears to the Union Street Music Festival and indulge your inner cineaste at the Frameline LGBTQ Film Festival in June; celebrate Independence Day at the 4th of July Waterfront Festival or, later in the month, trawl the Renegade Craft Fair at Fort Mason Center; greet the dog days of August with the Niohonmachi Street Fair and the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival; and bask in September's Fringe Festival, the San Francisco Opera Opening Gala, and Chinatown's Autumn Moon Festival.
If you're seeking art, culture, community, history, or sheer beauty, you'll find it in San Francisco, no matter when you go.
