While 4/20 at Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park has been canceled for the past three years due to budget cuts and low sponsorship, a few thousand diehards still show up annually to mark the occasion.
San Francisco’s official 4/20 celebration at Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park remains not an official thing, amid funding shortfalls and stalled sponsorships, but organizers hope to be able to bring it back one day. The event, which for many years was an unsanctioned gathering, once drew roughly 20,000 people at its peak after the city took it over in 2017, but the sanctioned version has been on pause since 2023.
In its place, the area surrounding Hippie Hill has been "reserved" for the past three years for a permitted “Peace, Love, and Volo” field day with organized sports tournaments, as KQED reports.
SFist reported that in 2024 — the first year the city officially canceled the event — between 3,000 and 5,000 joint-sparking revelers still turned up to Hippie Hill, with the 4/20 crowd drastically outnumbering the tournament participants and spectators sprinkled along Robin Williams Meadow. The smaller crowd reportedly made for a much more peaceful afternoon compared to the previously chaotic city-sanctioned events.
Last year, according to KPIX, the crowd on Hippie Hill was even bigger, as 4/20 fell on Easter Sunday.
For those who intend to venture there Monday, FunCheapSF is urging basic etiquette: pack out trash, skip prohibited items like glass and generators, don’t sell anything without a permit, and respect the park's neighbors.
Per KQED, public cannabis use is illegal under California law, which applies to the park without a permitted event, and violations carry a fine of up to $100. However, cannabis enforcement is typically a low priority in SF, and there were only about a dozen law enforcement officers present at the event in 2024, as the crowd was calm, per SFist.
KQED mentions that revelers have also been known to congregate at Dolores Park and UC Berkeley’s Memorial Glade on 4/20.
Per the Chronicle, some other 4/20 highlights include the 21+ “Smokers Dream” festival at the Midway in SF’s Dogpatch, with performances from Berner, B-Legit, The Luniz, and Ted Budz, alongside vendors, food, and indoor-outdoor programming.
SF Space Walk, launched in 2024, expands 4/20 into a week of events across licensed cannabis lounges, dispensaries, and galleries.
Over the weekend, the three-day Psychedelic Culture 2026: A Chacruna Conference at Brava Theater features panels, workshops, and performances focused on plant medicine and psychedelic research.
Rain is also likely in the forecast for Monday, so plan accordingly!
Image: Joe Kukura/SFist
