As you know, on New Year’s Eve Xan and I along with another couple created a list of 16 new things we wanted to try in 2016. You can read more about that here.

We’ve slowly been checking things off the list and the one we completed most recently was going to the Seward Street Slides. I think this was one from my list and I can’t even remember how I found out about them. But, they are these concrete slides built into the hill of a teeny, tiny mini park on Seward Street on the edge of the Castro. And it was so much fun!!

We went on a gorgeous, sunny and warm Saturday and there was hardly anyone there, which is really strange for San Francisco. Even the best-kept secrets have crowds of people hanging around them. Especially if it involves being outdoors on a nice day. This city loves being outside in nice weather. I think that’s part of what made it so fun. There weren’t too many people there so you weren’t competing for time to slide or for the best Instagram picture.

After sliding we went for a picnic in Delores Park. We brought some wine and beer and relaxed in the sun with most of the rest of the city. They’ve finally finished the construction in the park with is great because there’s more space for everyone. It was still packed, but in a fun way. It’s such a quintessential San Francisco place that it’s a little sad when it’s not packed with hipsters, techies, dancing robots, and the coconut rum guy. It’s definitely a slice of San Francisco life.

A few tips if you’re going to go to the slides:

1. Bring cardboard – you’ll definitely want to slide with some both because it’ll help you go faster and because you don’t want to scratch up your behind. There is some cardboard there left behind by previous sliders, but just in case it’s a good idea to bring your own.

2. Sand! The slides are surprisingly steep and you can get going pretty fast which makes it all the more fun. If you throw some sand in the slides get some extra speed!

3. Bring a camera. You can get some hilarious pictures and videos (especially slow motion) when sliding. Check out our videos below.

The slides in the the Seward Street Mini Park at 30 Seward Street.