Mission Dolores Cemetery

What you need to know

The cemetery at Mission Dolores dates to 1776, the same year Spanish missionaries founded the mission itself. It’s the oldest cemetery in San Francisco and one of the oldest on the West Coast. The small walled graveyard sits adjacent to the mission basilica on Dolores Street and holds the remains of early settlers, Ohlone Native Americans, Mexican-era Californians, and Gold Rush-era pioneers.

What’s There

The cemetery is compact, about 100 graves, many marked by weathered headstones with dates in the 1800s. A few are older, though many early markers have been lost. The graveyard appears in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo”: Kim Novak’s character visits a grave here in one of the film’s key scenes.

The adjacent Mission Dolores building is the oldest intact structure in San Francisco, a whitewashed adobe that survived the 1906 earthquake while the larger 1876 brick church next door was destroyed. The current basilica, built in 1918, stands on that site. The ceiling inside the old mission is painted with Ohlone designs. The mission and cemetery together take about 30 minutes to tour.

A garden walkway connects the cemetery to the mission.

Visiting

Address: 3321 16th Street, Mission District

Hours: Daily, 9:00 AM-4:30 PM (closes at 4:00 PM November through April)

Cost: Suggested donation $10 adults, $5 students. Includes mission and cemetery.

What to know: The mission is an active parish. Respect services if they’re in progress. Photography is allowed in the cemetery and garden.

Getting There

Transit: BART to 16th Street Mission, 2-minute walk. Muni 22-Fillmore or 33-Ashbury/18th stop nearby.

Parking: Street parking on Dolores and surrounding blocks. Tight on weekends.

Walking: Steps from Dolores Park, Valencia Street restaurants, and the heart of the Mission District.