One man in Dolores Park told a reporter who admitted to not being intimately familiar with the scene, “You’ve never been up here? I find that hard to believe.” However, others, including police, are unaware of how much it still happens. The fact that men still visit the parks to hook up is likely common knowledge to many. Often, the men said, they’re just looking for oral sex. Among other reasons, they find the Internet inefficient, and they like being outside. Based on interviews with several gay San Francisco men and visits to the city’s parks, men of all ages are still cruising in the city’s outdoor spaces. Now, with more acceptance of gays, and the ease of hooking up via mobile apps like Grindr and websites like Adam4Adam, it may seem like visiting the outdoors for sex is a thing of the past.
There were bars or places like city parks, but wherever they went to find each other, there was often a risk of police harassment and arrest. Decades ago, men in San Francisco who wanted to hook up with other men had limited options.
