Any San Franciscan worth their salt in dinner party-friendly factoids keeps a few secret spots and urban quirks in their back pocket to be deployed when one finds themselves engaged in a round of conversational one-upping. So in order to help our readers win at dinner, we again hand over our platform to the fine folks at the Tenderloin Geographic Society who would like to remind you that the best way to discover the city's unique environs is to start looking at it a little differently. Or just read about it on the Internet. Same difference.

By Tenderloin Geographic Society

Oh to have a piece of land to till or to be-hammock, a stretch of grass upon which to lay out a Slip 'n Slide and frolic in the mid-summer chill. For those of us who have spent so many years in San Francisco, we do not know what it is to have backyards, front yards, or even side yards. A lucky few have opportunities to go at a patch of soil or an over-shady few feet, but even in posh Seacliff, the closest anyone comes to that suburban idyll is public sidewalk and a little token pruned greenery.

Socialists that we are, we can instead enjoy a great many public parks and parklets in which to perform our exercises. That we have so many open spaces, we can feel lucky. But while these verdant nooks are much , we’ve seen precious little ink spilled about the dry landscape gardens of San Francisco. Come then, on a walk with us through these little-known paths and experience the peace of looking at set stones.