The Daly City Dunes History Walk | South SF

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Imagine a 300-foot deep sand dune system that dates back about 125,000 years when San Bruno Mountain was almost an island, and it’s 2 miles from the ocean.

Located at the mouth of lower Colma Canyon, the dunes are a remnant of the Ancient Colma Dune Formation that once stretched from Colma to the Presidio, but now is fragmented by development in western San Francisco and Daly City.

A piece of this site is relatively intact and supports a specific ecosystem not usually found at such a distance from the coast. Of great interest is the presence of San Francisco lessingia (Lessingia germanorum) an endangered dune plant now found only in the Presidio and the Dunes, its only known population in San Mateo County.

Also present at the dunes is San Francisco spineflower (Chorizanthe cuspidata), dune suncup (Camissonia strigulosa), contorted suncup (Camissonia contorta), miniature suncup (Camissoniopsis micrantha), California suncup (Camissoniopsis bistorta), and blue beach lupine (Lupinus chamissonis). There should be a great bloom of farewell-to-spring (Clarkia rubicunda) on the backside and a population of California pipe vine nearby (Aristolochia californica), which means the sighting of beautiful Pipe Vine Swallowtails (Batus philenor) and their larvae is a distinct possibility. Wear sturdy shoes suitable for sand. Thiers Street intersects Hillside Boulevard about halfway between the Mission Street/John Daly Blvd intersection and East Market Street. Turn onto Thiers Street and meet at the Hilldale School at the junction of Thiers and Florence Streets.

Leader: Doug Allshouse

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