Mount Davidson for kids
The Giant Cross on the Tallest Hill. The true story of Mount Davidson, near San Francisco, CA, told for kids.

Read along
Look up, look up! You are near the tallest hill in all of San Francisco! It's called Mount Davidson. It's 928 feet high. That's taller than a stack of about fifty school buses!
On top there's a giant concrete cross. It is one hundred and three feet tall. That's about as tall as six giraffes standing on each other's heads! That would be a very wobbly giraffe tower. Every year, on Easter, people gather there for a prayer service, and the cross is lit up.
Mount Davidson is also one of San Francisco's original Seven Hills. Here's your job. Can you find the tall hill out the window? Look for the tippy-top, and wave hello to it!
Quiz the back seat
What is the very tallest natural hill in San Francisco?
Show the answer
Mount Davidson. Mount Davidson! It beats the Twin Peaks by just three feet.
3 fun facts
- Mount Davidson is the highest natural point in San Francisco at 928 feet.
- A 103-foot concrete cross stands on its crest.
- It is one of San Francisco's original Seven Hills.
For grown-ups
Every Tumbly story is checked claim by claim against the sources below before it's published; stories that don't pass stay off the app and this site. Narration is pre-recorded, and nothing you do on this page is tied to your kids.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Davidson_(California)
- maps.apple.com/place?place-id=IE2E69C2ACC45B446
- 7x7.com/iconic-sf-hills-hiking-views-1787084057.html
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Peaks_(San_Francisco)
- kqed.org/news/11867090/why-theres-a-cross-on-san-franciscos-highest-peak
- sfrecpark.org/facilities/facility/details/Mt-Davidson-Park-190
- sf.funcheap.com/sfs-103-ft-tall-cross-lit-up-for-easter-atop-mt-davidson-2024
- ktvu.com/news/mount-davidsons-easter-sunrise-service-sf
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