{"id":24264,"date":"2025-10-26T15:42:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T15:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/24264\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T15:42:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T15:42:18","slug":"the-sluttiest-mile-on-the-west-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/24264\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The sluttiest mile on the West Coast\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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. <\/p>\n

As we ordered rooibos chai lattes, I noticed her outfit \u2014 Lululemon and a high ponytail \u2014 which was engineered for movement and, subsequently, the male gaze. It is also the standard-issue gear for our assignment: strolling what Witchel calls \u201cthe sluttiest mile on the West Coast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marina Green \u2014 the 74-acre waterfront stretching from Fort Mason to the Presidio \u2014 is one of the city\u2019s most-loved spots to go on a run, walk a dog, or catch up with a friend, coffee in hand. But it\u2019s also where eligible San Francisco singles are, apparently, getting slutty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Witchel\u2019s most recent viral TikTok (opens in new tab)<\/a>, which has 175K views as of Friday afternoon, she describes the milelong path as an IRL dating app or \u201cthe Bridgerton promenade.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go at 9 a.m. on a Sunday morning, be warned!\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On one particularly hormonal morning, she recalls, people were shirtless and everyone was checking each other out: \u201cTwice 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, \u2018Oh my god! Calm down.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

This behavior \u2014 routine in Miami\u2019s South Beach or on the Venice boardwalk in L.A. \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

Witchel, an SF native, is known for her cooking content, specifically her dense bean salads (opens in new tab)<\/a>, which catapulted her to internet stardom in 2024 \u2014 and which she sells every Sunday at the Fort Mason Farmer\u2019s Market. She is also married. So what does the 25-year-old know about dating culture in the city? A lot, actually.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ADogs make the best wing men. | Source: Poppy Lynch for The San Francisco<\/p>\n

I met her on a Tuesday at 1 p.m. to test her theory. At first, the action was slow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should have come at a sluttier time,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But then, within minutes, she receives a lingering glance from a male passerby \u2014 not uncommon for the 6-foot blonde in a city with slightly uneven ratios<\/a>, but clearly noticeable to her walking partner.<\/p>\n

Witchel\u2019s 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\u2019s Safeway or, rather, \u201cDateway\u201d \u2014 a legendary meeting place for locals since the \u201970s.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe thinks it\u2019s because it\u2019s flat,\u201d Witchel said. \u201cIf you\u2019re walking up and down Divis and see someone hot, it\u2019s harder to talk to them wheezing and sweating.\u201d The elevation gain of Marina Green is less than 10 feet, so locals can flirt without panting uphill.<\/p>\n

The neighborhood\u2019s 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)<\/a> after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the young and hot renters don\u2019t seem to care. They have other things on their minds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough not to notice the handsome or beautiful people that are out here,\u201d said Lorenzo, 31, who we encounter on the east side of the athletic field. He lives nearby and integrates Marina Green into his routine \u201chot girl walk\u201d but claims to have had no such luck meeting other singles, despite being 6-foot-7.<\/p>\n

Mick, 29, who we stop near Fillmore, said Marina Green has a \u201csimilar vibe\u201d to the West Side Highway in New York City, but with better visibility. \u201cYou can see people from further away. As they get closer, you\u2019re like, \u2018Who are they? Are they attractive? Are they not?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AWitchel shows off the athleisure uniform expected on the Green. | Source: Poppy Lynch for The San Francisco<\/p>\n

Like on dating apps, people run into people they know, for better or for worse. Mick said introductions between mutuals \u2014 \u201cfor example, bumping into a girl friend and getting introduced to the girl she\u2019s with\u201d \u2014 happen all the time. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s better than going up to someone cold.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

One major benefit to meeting this way? \u201cThere\u2019s no financial barrier,\u201d Witchel added. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to buy anyone a drink or chat with someone just because they bought you a drink.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife has FORBIDDEN me from running there I\u2019ll leave it at that,\u201d wrote one user under Witchel\u2019s video. \u201cMet my husband here and we have a daughter named Marina \ud83e\udd70\u201d said another.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other commenters agreed it was a good place for singles \u2014 but only in certain demographics.<\/p>\n

According to Witchel\u2019s unofficial survey, the Marina Green archetype is white, in their mid-twenties to early thirties, and walking a 35-pound Goldendoodle.<\/p>\n

Up ahead, we notice a man who hits every mark. \u201cI\u2019m dead,\u201d Witchel said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s 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,\u201d Witchel noted as we enter Crissy Field.<\/p>\n

No men we spoke to would admit they had ever picked anyone up at Marina Green, but their answers suggest that it\u2019s because gentlemen \u2014 or Marina bros \u2014 don\u2019t kiss and tell.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AThe pull-up bar is a great spot to pull up on a prospective date. | Source: Poppy Lynch for The San Francisco<\/p>\n

\u201cNo comment,\u201d one guy said with a smirk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSunday morning \u2026 lots of people walking around recapping the night before. That\u2019s my comment though. I don\u2019t necessarily want to step too deep into it or take a wrong turn,\u201d his friend offered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that\u2019s what I was thinking,\u201d the first guy said, cracking up.<\/p>\n

However, Bridget, 27, who lives so close to where we stood that she pointed to her apartment, said she has plenty of friends who\u2019ve been approached on the green \u2014 \u201cspecifically in line for the Philz coffee truck,\u201d her friend, Alicia, chimed in. \u201cI\u2019ve had multiple friends get asked out in line.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Witchel says that while San Francisco has a strong \u201cdate to marry\u201d culture, it\u2019s not exactly one of purity. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople here are generally attractive,\u201d she said. \u201cThey take fitness seriously, they get fresh air, they\u2019re in the sun. They\u2019re a bit less stressed than in New York. They have free time and money. Yeah, I think it\u2019s a slutty city.\u201d<\/p>\n