If you want one more bonfire at Ocean Beach this year, you have until Saturday night, which is also Halloween.
Fire rules
The National Park Service allows fires at Ocean Beach from March 1 to Oct. 31, and only in the provided fire rings between Stairwells 15 and 20. You can't build your own ring out of rocks, logs or anything else from the beach. No fires are allowed from Nov. 1 through the end of February. The NPS says the no-burn season lines up with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's winter Spare the Air season. Fireworks are banned on all NPS land.
The beach
Ocean Beach runs 3.5 miles along San Francisco's western edge, next to Golden Gate Park, with no high-rises in sight. It's part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and Muni Metro reaches it at the Judah and La Playa stop, according to Wikipedia. The NPS says September and October are the sunniest months for a beach walk, and the beach is usually foggy in late spring and summer.
Water safety
The NPS calls the water frigid and the currents hazardous for all but the most experienced surfers. Wikipedia notes that rip currents, cold water and sneaker waves have swept away and drowned both swimmers and people just wading. Surfing at Ocean Beach began in the 1940s at Kelly's Cove, near the north end.
Dogs and snowy plovers
Threatened western snowy plovers spend the winter here. From July 1 to May 15, dogs must be on a leash no longer than six feet in the Snowy Plover Protection Area, which runs from Stairwell 21 to Sloat Boulevard. The NPS also asks visitors to stay off the fragile dune plants and to pack out their trash. Beach wheelchairs are available on request.
For the history of the old amusement park across the road, see our Playland at the Beach story.