Discover 8 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Daly City (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: San Bruno Mountain, Colma, and Holy Cross Cemetery. Also, be sure to include Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Daly City (California).
Table of Contents
San Bruno Mountain
Mountain in California. San Bruno Mountain is located in northern San Mateo County, California, with some slopes of the mountain crossing over into southern San Francisco. Most of the mountain lies within the 2,326-acre San Bruno Mountain State Park. Next to the state park is the 83-acre state San Bruno Mountain Ecological Reserve on the north slope. It is near the southern boundary of San Francisco, surrounded by the cities of South San Francisco, Daly City, Colma, and Brisbane.
San Bruno Mountain is topped by a four mile long ridge. Trails to the summit afford expansive views of the San Francisco Bay Area. Radio Peak (elevation 1,319 feet or 402 meters) is the highest point, hosting several radio broadcast towers, ION's KKPX television and NBC's KNTV television, serving a huge area that would otherwise have poor service in the hilly Bay Area region.
The mountain provides habitat for several species of rare and endangered plants and butterflies. The endangered San Bruno elfin butterfly inhabits this mountain and a few other locations. The distinct Franciscan fog zone plants of San Bruno Mountain set it apart from other California coastal areas.[1]
Colma
Town in California. Colma is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 1,507 at the 2020 census. The town was founded as a necropolis in 1924.
With most of Colma's land dedicated to cemeteries, the population of the dead—not specifically known but speculated to be around 1.5 million—outnumbers that of the living by a ratio of nearly a thousand to one. This has led to Colma being called "the City of the Silent" and has given rise to a humorous motto, formerly featured on the city's website: "It's great to be alive in Colma".[2]
Holy Cross Cemetery
Cemetery in Colma, California. Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, California is an American Roman Catholic cemetery operated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Established in 1887 on 300 acres of a former potato farm, it is the oldest and largest cemetery established in Colma to serve the needs of San Francisco. Several notable historical figures are interred at Holy Cross. Two of the three cemetery sequences in the film Harold and Maude were filmed here.
The cemetery contains one British Commonwealth war grave, of a Canadian Infantry soldier of World War I.[3]
Address: 1500 Mission Rd, 94014 Colma
Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
Memorial park. Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, established by Hamden Holmes Noble in 1892, is a rural cemetery located in Colma, California, a place known as the "City of the Silent". It is the final resting site for several members of the celebrated Hearst family plus other prominent citizens from the greater San Francisco area. The cemetery was among those profiled in the 2005 PBS documentary A Cemetery Special.[4]
Address: 1370 El Camino Real, 94014 Colma
Mussel Rock
Island in San Mateo County, California. Mussel Rock is a rock formation on the coast of San Mateo County, California, offshore from Daly City. It consists of one large and numerous smaller rocks of a type known as a stack, where a headland is eroded unevenly, leaving small islands. The rock itself is located 15 meters from the shore of Mussel Rock Park and stands 18 meters tall.
The coastal area adjacent to the rock is Mussel Rock Park, consisting of 250 acres of land stretching along the coastline. The park includes a beach area, a paragliding launch pad, hiking trails, and a parking lot.
It is best known for being the closest point to the epicenter of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and where the San Andreas Fault enters the San Francisco Peninsula from the northwest. An additional minor fault, the Mussel Rock Fault, was identified in 2000.
The area above Mussel Rock consists of steep cliffs with frequent landslides, threatening homes in a subdivision above.[5]
Thornton State Beach
Beach in Daly City, California. Thornton State Beach is a protected beach in the state park system of California, United States. It is located on the Pacific coast of Daly City in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 58-acre park was established in 1955.
The Mediterranean climate tends toward cold and wind, with fog common in summer.
The beach was named for the first white settler of the area, one Robert S. Thornton of Rhode Island, a blacksmith who had arrived in the San Francisco area in 1851.
The park was closed in 2009 due to damage and continued danger from landslides, but as of late 2021 is fully open.[6]
Olivet Memorial Park
Cemetery
Address: 1601 Hillside Blvd, 94014-2802 Colma
Congregation B'nai Israel
Synagogue. Congregation B'nai Israel is the only Karaite synagogue in the United States. It is located in Daly City, California. Malcolm Cohen served here for 19 years.[7]