There are plenty of places to hike with your dog in San Francisco. I’m not sure any of them are as spectacular or dog-friendly as Fort Funston.

Dave told me before we arrived that there would be a lot of dogs. Right, of course, yes, this is San Francisco, the city with more dogs than children.

And yet. This hike is basically a dog park along ocean cliffs. The dogs are aplenty; it’s often hard to figure out which dog goes with which human.

Fort Funston is located just south of Ocean Beach (close to the San Francisco Zoo and across Great Highway from Lake Merced) in the southeastern edge of San Francisco. It was a military installation during the two world wars; interestingly, it was a nike missile site during the Cold War. Like the Presidio, Fort Mason, Lands End, and the Marin Headlands, it is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The hike is spectacular for humans too, don’t get me wrong. It is a San Francisco version of the Marin Headlands. Wide open vistas, waves crashing down below, with wonderful and unexpected views of the tiny pastel houses of San Francisco. The landscape is a flat cliff covered in sand and ice plants — perfect terrain to let your dog off leash. It’s a long way to a roadway, so no matter how far they run, they’ll be fairly safe.

It would make for an swoon-worthy hike on a sunny day; the kind of day that makes you realize how lucky we are to live here.

(If you’re wondering how this all fits with the National Park Service’s new dog rules, Fort Funston is listed as a site open to On-Leash and Voice-Controlled Dog Walking.)

(A warning that the bathroom facilities are essentially nonexistent (all three Porta-potties overflowing with toilet paper and sewage the day we were there) and it’s a drive to anywhere nearby. So, arrive prepared for that.)