Hundreds of flower children gathered on Hippie Hill in the 1960s. On this day, most of the hippies there sat and listened to the bands that were playing, but some, like this trio here, couldn’t help but dance. Photo: Bettmann/Getty Archives
In normal times, crowds of stoners would be descending and sprawling out in Golden Gate Park today to celebrate 4/20 and all things weed. That’s not happening for obvious reasons this year (get high at home instead please!) but that doesn’t mean we’re not nostalgic for past celebrations, so we decided to dig into the archives.
Hippie Hill, a sloping hill at the eastern end of Golden Gate Park overlooking Robin Williams Meadow, got its name when it became a main hangout during the Summer of Love in 1967 and the ensuing years, given how close it is to Haight Street. Here, the counterculture thrived as flower children got high on LSD and marijuana, danced (often nude) to drum circles, and generally, staked it out as their own.
So, get some weed and food delivered, and let’s live vicariously through these photos of hippies on Hippie Hill in years past.
Groovy, baby. People dance on Hippie Hill in 1968. Photo: Bettmann/Getty Images Archives[Left]: Man walking across Sharon Meadows with Hippie Hill in the background in 1969. [Right]: Musicians playing on a bench while a child walks by barefoot. Photos: Mary Anne Kramer via San Francisco History Center, SF Public LibraryA group of drummers plays for a large hippie crowd on April 20, 1969. Photo: Robert Altman, Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images[Left] Hippie Hill in distance, behind Sharon Meadows, 1967. Photo: San Francisco History Center, SF Public Library [Right]: A group sings together. Photo: FoundSF[Left] A man sits and listens to a band. [Right] Two men embrace a dog. Photos: San Francisco History Center, SF Public LibraryHibiscus of the Cockettes, an American theatre group, dances with a baby on Hippie Hill at Golden Gate Park on April 20, 1969, in San Francisco, California. Photo: Robert Altman/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
