The hills of San Francisco contain many treasures if you're willing to hike around on foot and discover them.  While walking up to the top of Corona Heights above the Castro one morning to find a great view of the city, I stumbled across a San Francisco treasure: the Randall Museum.  I came in, by accident, through the back exit to suddenly find myself in a tiny zoo housing native California animals such as owls, tortoises, hawks, tarantulas and snakes.  Exploring further I found art classes, a ceramics workshop and a small theater where a group was working on a play.  On a Saturday morning the museum was absolutely abuzz with activity.  A great place to volunteer, take your kids to learn about native animal life, or just to observe on your own, the Randall Museum is worth a visit, though I must confess, it's much more exciting when you find it by accident.

The museum is located at 199 Museum Way and is accessible by car (if you must).  Check the website for directions--even they admit it's sometimes hard to find the first time around.

--Natalie Stanchfield

(*Image: The Randall Museum, photo courtesy of Sr Viva L'Amour.)