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Official San Francisco Hippie Hill Celebration Canceled for Third Time in a Row. Where to Observe 420 Around the Bay Area

Nisa KhanAzul Dahlstrom-Eckman
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A guy holding a 420 sign
San Francisco’s official 420 event is canceled for the third year in a row. Here are the alternative events planned in the run-up to the special day dedicated to weed.  (Lars Hagberg/AFP/Getty Images)

San Francisco’s official 420 party on Hippie Hill in Golden Gate Park has been canceled again this year due to a lack of funding.

For years, this April 20 tradition saw crowds of marijuana enthusiasts gather informally to celebrate cannabis by sparking up at 4:20 p.m. In 2017, after the statewide legalization of marijuana, the city began to sponsor the event, providing services like portable restrooms and medical services within a fenced-off security perimeter.

But there has not been an official 4/20 celebration at Hippie Hill “since 2023 as event organizers weren’t able to secure sponsorships due to economic challenges within the cannabis industry,” said Daniel Montes, San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department communications manager, in an email to KQED.

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He said that “city budget cuts have also impacted Rec and Park’s ability to cover staffing for the event, and it is paused indefinitely.”

However, the Bay Area is still a proud hot spot for pot. And even though the Hippie Hill 420 celebrations remain canceled, there are nonetheless plenty of festivals, parties and pop-ups to celebrate the day.

People wore pot-themed gear, like these marijuana leaf glasses, during a 420 celebration on 'Hippie Hill.'
Attendees of San Francisco’s annual 420 celebration on “Hippie Hill” gather on the lawn wearing sunglasses shaped like cannabis leaves. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Keep reading on where key 420 events with music, food and good vibes are happening over the next week in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area, and guidance on where you can smoke on public property. (And if you want to brush up on your local weed history, hear from KQED’s Bay Curious podcast how five San Rafael high school students apparently coined the very phrase “420” back in the 1970s.)

Where are alternative 420 celebrations in the Bay Area?

The SF Space Walk

Since 2024, the SF Space Walk — formerly known as SF Weed Week — has become known as the other organized 420 celebration.

Space Walk is hosting several parties in San Francisco and around the Bay Area in the week leading up to April 20, which this year falls on a Monday.

Space Walk events, some requiring a ticket or RSVP, include:

Other weed-themed and 420-adjacent events around the Bay Area

Can people still smoke weed at Hippie Hill on 420?

According to SF Parks and Rec’s Montes, for the third year, the meadow at Hippie Hill “will be reserved for Peace, Love, and Volo — a permitted event featuring volleyball and kickball tournaments.”

Peace, Love and Volo Field Day, which is free but requires sign-ups, is scheduled to run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on 4/20 itself: Monday, April 20.

A cloud of smoke rests over the heads of a group of people during a 420 Day celebration on “Hippie Hill” in Golden Gate Park on April 20, 2010, in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“Our parks are open to all,” Montes said. “However, anyone coming to Hippie Hill in search of a big 4/20 party will be disappointed, and much of the physical space will be taken up by the permitted event.”

Nevertheless, there’s a good chance that people will still roll up to smoke with others anyway, as participants did for years before the city started facilitating the event and before cannabis was even legal. Other popular spots for 420 in years past have included Dolores Park in the Mission District and UC Berkeley’s Memorial Glade.

It’s been a particularly rainy past few days in the Bay, so be sure to keep an eye on the weather if you are hoping to enjoy the outdoors over the coming week.

Remind me: When is consuming or possessing cannabis in San Francisco legal?

It is legal for anyone age 21 and older to buy and use cannabis in California. “But, like tobacco and alcohol, there are laws that you need to follow,” the city of San Francisco’s know-your-rights page said on consuming cannabis.

No matter your age, it is illegal to consume cannabis in public in California — including places like parks, sidewalks and beaches. The only place that legal cannabis consumption is permitted is in a private residence, like your home or someone else’s — or another place that has applied for the appropriate permits.

No matter your age, it is illegal to consume cannabis in public in California — including places like parks, sidewalks and beaches. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Official events, like the ones previously hosted by San Francisco for 420 on Hippie Hill, apply for such permits to allow the legalized consumption of cannabis.

It’s similar to how an event like Oktoberfest might apply for a permit to operate a beer garden, said Ken Seligson, the principal attorney at Seligson Law, a cannabis law firm, in a 2025 interview with KQED.

“ These designated events are given that leeway because there are security and safety protocols that are required to have an event like that,” Seligson said.

With no official 420 celebration happening on Hippie Hill this year, it will be technically illegal to consume cannabis in public in Golden Gate Park this year. However, as many San Franciscans know, the day-to-day realities in San Francisco can be quite different.

“ I think the risk would be low — but not zero — to show up on 420 and consume cannabis in Golden Gate Park,” Seligson said.

Seligson said that generally, people are less likely to get busted for consuming cannabis in public in San Francisco because “ police have discretion in enforcing these rules, and they have priorities. Cannabis is one of the lowest priorities for enforcement in San Francisco.”

The penalty for consuming cannabis in a public place is an infraction of up to $100 for adults. But that penalty goes up if you’re caught smoking cannabis in a place where tobacco is prohibited — or within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center or youth center while children are present.

“ That’s where you might see the discretion of a police officer,” Seligson said.

What about smoking or carrying cannabis on federal land like the Presidio?

The Bay Area is blessed with a multitude of scenic properties that are owned by the federal government, which could strike someone as the perfect place to (ahem) take a walk with some friends.

But Seligson said cannabis consumers should be aware that the chances of police enforcing cannabis law are much higher on federal property — and the penalty is much harsher.

Possession of any amount of cannabis on federal land is a misdemeanor offense and can carry a maximum sentence of 1 year in prison or a maximum fine of $1,000.

A person walks dogs through Crissy Field in the Presidio, a park and former military outpost, in San Francisco on Feb. 25, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

“ Do not bring your cannabis, and do not smoke your cannabis in the Presidio,” Seligson said.

Other notable federally owned properties in the San Francisco area include Alcatraz Island, the Marin Headlands and Ocean Beach.

“Cannabis remains federally classified as a schedule one controlled substance, meaning any cannabis use, possession or distribution on federal property is illegal,” Seligson said. “There is no leeway there, and there is enforcement as well.”

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