Great Highway

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The northern end of the Great Highway and Ocean Beach, as seen from Sutro Heights Park

The Great Highway is a road in San Francisco that forms the city's western edge along the Pacific coast. It runs for approximately 3.5 miles next to Ocean Beach. Its southern end is at Skyline Boulevard (State Route 35) near Lake Merced; it extends to Point Lobos Avenue and the Cliff House at its northern end.

The Great Highway also forms the western terminus of Golden Gate Park.

For approximately half its length, from Sloat Boulevard to Golden Gate Park, the Great Highway is both a highway and a parallel street. The highway is on a raised berm, which was built atop a pre-existing wall built to keep the road from frequent encroachment by sand dunes. Atop the berm is a gravel jogging path and a cement walking / bicycling path. The parallel street, also named 'Great Highway', is immediately adjacent below and to the east of the Highway, with buildings on its east side. The only access to the upper-level highway is at each end. There are crosswalks with traffic lights along this section to allow pedestrians to reach the beach.

The 'Dutch Windmill' is situated where Fulton Street meets the highway, and the 'Murphy Windmill' sits near Lincoln Way; both were built to pump water into Golden Gate Park. The N Judah, a San Francisco Municipal Railway streetcar line, ends at Great Highway and Judah, while the L Taraval, another streetcar line, ends two blocks from Great Highway at Wawona and 46th Avenue.

[edit] See also

• 49-Mile Scenic Drive

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