The Sunset District is the largest district within the city of San Francisco. Golden Gate Park forms the neighborhood's northern border, and Ocean Beach forms its western border. The Sunset District's southern and eastern borders are not as clearly defined, but there is a general consensus that the neighborhood extends no further than Sigmund Stern Grove and Sloat Boulevard in the south and no further east than Stanyan Street (just east of the Parnassus campus of the University of California, San Francisco) and Laguna Honda Hospital.
The Sunset District is further divided into two main neighborhoods, the Inner Sunset, the Outer Sunset (also known by locals just as "the Sunset"). The Outer Sunset is generally considered to begin at 19th Avenue and to extend to Ocean Beach, with commercial areas on Irving Street from 19th to 25th Avenue, Noriega Street and Taraval Street. The southern half of the Outer Sunset is sometimes recognized as a separate neighborhood known as Parkside. The Parkside District extends south of Ortega Street (or at certain points, Noriega Street) to Sloat Boulevard and from about 15th Avenue to the Great Highway (including part of Ocean Beach).
The western part of the Sunset borders the cold north Californian Pacific Ocean coastline, so it tends to get much of San Francisco fog San Francisco is famous for. The Sunset (particularly the outer Sunset) can be foggy for many consecutive days during summer. Consecutive days of sunshine are quite rare at this time. The fog typically retreats toward the west in late afternoon, presenting a pleasing sunset. The Sunset's finest weather is usually from mid September through October, when regional air patterns transition from onshore to offshore weather and the area is free of fog. Sand can be found on roadways and driveways within the first 5–10 blocks east of Ocean Beach, carried by Pacific Ocean winds.
The Outer Sunset/Parkside area is more suburban in character complete with a suburban-type mall, the Stonestown Galleria, located just beyond the southwestern corner of the neighborhood on 19th Avenue, near Stern Grove.
The strip near the Pacific Ocean has a notable population of surfers who take advantage of the sometimes excellent surf conditions of Ocean Beach. Because of the cold pacific current that brings ocean water down from Alaska, it is always necessary to wear a wetsuit when surfing at Ocean Beach.
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