By Peter Fish, Sunset editor-at-large

October is the glory month in San Francisco.

All summer, the city has been taunting tourists and residents both with foggy day after unrelenting foggy day. July? Don’t think shorts, think Polar fleece. August? Forget the backyard barbecue, how about some nice hot soup. Even September can be iffy, swiveling between sunlit and grim.

But in October San Francisco shimmers, sparkles, gleams like a Technicolor version of itself.

Of the venues where you can bask in San Francisco’s October surprise--i.e.sunshine and views-- one tops them all: a small patch of green, in the northwest corner of the city,  called Sutro Heights Park.

The park is named for  Adolf Sutro. The German-born “King of the Comstock,” he made a pile of money as a mining engineer in the Gold Rush, then parlayed his wealth into a San Francisco career as politician (he became mayor in 1894) and philanthropist. In the 1880s he built a large Victorian mansion on this promontory overlooking Land’s End and invited the public to enjoy its gardens. The house fell into disrepair after Sutro’s death and was eventually demolished, but the park is still there, now managed by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The bits of remaining statuary (stone lions,  Diana the huntress) and the ruins of Sutro’s belvedere should give the place a mournful air. But the lawns are too green, the romping dogs and children are too happy, and the views—across Land’s End and out to the vast Pacific—too astonishing to inspire brooding.

San Francisco is of course a city famous for its views. But most of these views are of San Francisco looking at itself.  Twin Peaks looks down on the Castro, Pacific Heights looks down on the Marina, and Nob Hill looks down on everybody. This helps nurture the city’s deserved reputation for narcissistic self-regard. At Sutro Heights Park you look out across blue ocean to the very edge of the world. It’s pretty damn exhilarating.

Afterwards, follow a dirt path down to another landmark in this part of the city, Louis’ Cafe. This brick-fronted shack perched over Land’s End has been serving All-American breakfasts and lunches (I like breakfasts best) for decades. It has cheery uniformed waitresses, fake wood Formica tables, and views almost as good as you get at Sutro Heights Park, but this time with eggs and coffee.