A sweater and jeans work for most activities in San Francisco, but when I met viral creator Violet Witchel at Equator Coffee in Fort Mason, I instantly regretted my choice.
As we ordered rooibos chai lattes, I noticed her outfit — Lululemon and a high ponytail — which was engineered for movement and, subsequently, the male gaze. It is also the standard-issue gear for our assignment: strolling what Witchel calls “the sluttiest mile on the West Coast.”
Marina Green — the 74-acre waterfront stretching from Fort Mason to the Presidio — is one of the city’s most-loved spots to go on a run, walk a dog, or catch up with a friend, coffee in hand. But it’s also where eligible San Francisco singles are, apparently, getting slutty.
In Witchel’s most recent viral TikTok (opens in new tab), which has 175K views as of Friday afternoon, she describes the milelong path as an IRL dating app or “the Bridgerton promenade.”
“If you go at 9 a.m. on a Sunday morning, be warned!” she says.
On one particularly hormonal morning, she recalls, people were shirtless and everyone was checking each other out: “Twice someone gave me a full up-and-down look, then turned around from the back. I was with my husband, too, so I was like, ‘Oh my god! Calm down.’”
This behavior — routine in Miami’s South Beach or on the Venice boardwalk in L.A. — feels audacious in San Francisco, where men have a reputation for being introverted and women (at least some of them) wish they were approached in the wild more.
Witchel, an SF native, is known for her cooking content, specifically her dense bean salads (opens in new tab), which catapulted her to internet stardom in 2024 — and which she sells every Sunday at the Fort Mason Farmer’s Market. She is also married. So what does the 25-year-old know about dating culture in the city? A lot, actually.
I met her on a Tuesday at 1 p.m. to test her theory. At first, the action was slow.
“We should have come at a sluttier time,” she said.
But then, within minutes, she receives a lingering glance from a male passerby — not uncommon for the 6-foot blonde in a city with slightly uneven ratios, but clearly noticeable to her walking partner.
Witchel’s mother, who lived in the Marina after college, told her that the neighborhood has always been full of pickup spots. (Multiple sources mentioned the lore of Marina’s Safeway or, rather, “Dateway” — a legendary meeting place for locals since the ’70s.)
“She thinks it’s because it’s flat,” Witchel said. “If you’re walking up and down Divis and see someone hot, it’s harder to talk to them wheezing and sweating.” The elevation gain of Marina Green is less than 10 feet, so locals can flirt without panting uphill.
The neighborhood’s large rental market keeps it stocked with young professionals too. While buyers might be wary of homes built on artificial landfill (opens in new tab) after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the young and hot renters don’t seem to care. They have other things on their minds.
“It’s tough not to notice the handsome or beautiful people that are out here,” said Lorenzo, 31, who we encounter on the east side of the athletic field. He lives nearby and integrates Marina Green into his routine “hot girl walk” but claims to have had no such luck meeting other singles, despite being 6-foot-7.
Mick, 29, who we stop near Fillmore, said Marina Green has a “similar vibe” to the West Side Highway in New York City, but with better visibility. “You can see people from further away. As they get closer, you’re like, ‘Who are they? Are they attractive? Are they not?’”
Like on dating apps, people run into people they know, for better or for worse. Mick said introductions between mutuals — “for example, bumping into a girl friend and getting introduced to the girl she’s with” — happen all the time. “To me, it’s better than going up to someone cold.”
One major benefit to meeting this way? “There’s no financial barrier,” Witchel added. “You don’t have to buy anyone a drink or chat with someone just because they bought you a drink.”
“My wife has FORBIDDEN me from running there I’ll leave it at that,” wrote one user under Witchel’s video. “Met my husband here and we have a daughter named Marina 🥰” said another.
Other commenters agreed it was a good place for singles — but only in certain demographics.
According to Witchel’s unofficial survey, the Marina Green archetype is white, in their mid-twenties to early thirties, and walking a 35-pound Goldendoodle.
Up ahead, we notice a man who hits every mark. “I’m dead,” Witchel said.
She continues: They went to Cal Poly, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, or Stanford. They have familial ties in the Bay, work in tech, sales, marketing, or finance, and earn between $90,000 and $250,000 a year.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that a wealthy, predominantly white neighborhood is not an inclusive space and people of color or with different financial backgrounds might feel unwelcomed,” Witchel noted as we enter Crissy Field.
No men we spoke to would admit they had ever picked anyone up at Marina Green, but their answers suggest that it’s because gentlemen — or Marina bros — don’t kiss and tell.
“No comment,” one guy said with a smirk.
“Sunday morning … lots of people walking around recapping the night before. That’s my comment though. I don’t necessarily want to step too deep into it or take a wrong turn,” his friend offered.
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” the first guy said, cracking up.
However, Bridget, 27, who lives so close to where we stood that she pointed to her apartment, said she has plenty of friends who’ve been approached on the green — “specifically in line for the Philz coffee truck,” her friend, Alicia, chimed in. “I’ve had multiple friends get asked out in line.”
Witchel says that while San Francisco has a strong “date to marry” culture, it’s not exactly one of purity.
“People here are generally attractive,” she said. “They take fitness seriously, they get fresh air, they’re in the sun. They’re a bit less stressed than in New York. They have free time and money. Yeah, I think it’s a slutty city.”