Is it hot at Lombard Street?

Lombard Street sun: a steep block where the mild weather does the work

San Francisco does you a favor here. Lombard Street's famous crooked block drops down Russian Hill with eight tight switchbacks, and while it is fully exposed to the sky, the city's summer barely climbs into shirtsleeve weather. July afternoon highs sit around 63°F, and the warmest month on the calendar is September at just 71. Heat is not the problem on this hill; the sun angle and the crowd are.

At 3 PM on a July day the sun stands about 62 degrees up on a west-southwest bearing near 240. Lombard runs east to west as it descends, so that afternoon sun comes almost straight down the length of the switchbacks, lighting the flower beds and leaving little of the roadway shaded. Morning light comes over the top of the hill from the east and throws the whole descent into softer, gentler illumination.

Best time to walk it

• Early morning, after the roughly 5:59 AM July sunrise, gives you low crowds, cool air, and long shadows across the curves.
• Late afternoon toward the 8:31 PM sunset is the photographer's window, when the sun sinks toward the bay and the light on the hydrangeas turns warm.
• Midday is the busiest and the brightest, with the sun overhead and tour traffic backed up at both the top and the bottom.

Because this is a residential street with the bay beyond it, an afternoon fog or the steady onshore breeze can roll in and drop the temperature and the glare within minutes. That is a San Francisco constant worth planning around: the coast is often cooler and grayer than the forecast high suggests.

Where any shade actually is

Do not expect real shade on the block itself. The switchbacks are open pavement and planting beds with no canopy over the road, so the shade you find comes from the buildings and garden walls lining each side. As the sun moves west through the afternoon, the north side of the street picks up a strip of building shadow while the south side stays lit. If you want to stand out of the sun while you wait your turn to walk down, hug the shaded sidewalk edge rather than the middle of the curves.

The steep climb up from the bottom is the part that will actually warm you up, mild air or not, so pace it. There is no water on the block; bring your own, especially if you are pairing Lombard with a longer walk through the neighboring hills.

For a sense of how the surrounding houses cast shadow across the curves at your planned hour, the satellite shadow view shows it for any date. On Lombard Street the honest advice is short: the weather rarely fights you, so come early or late for the light and the quiet, and let midday belong to the tour buses.