Best Parks In San Francisco Near Me

4worldlovers: Encompassing nearly 16 acres, Mission Dolores Park is one of San Francisco’s most popular parks, the vibrant heart of its equally vibrant, culturally diverse neighborhood. Here you’ll find lush green lawns shaded by tall palm trees, a soccer field, six tennis courts, one basketball court, a multi-use court, a playground, and two off-leash dog play areas. Yes. Many festivals, performances, and other cultural events are held here, and on sunny afternoons people flock to the park to play, picnic, lounge, walk their dogs, and enjoy spectacular views of the city’s skyline and beyond.

Named for nearby Mission Dolores, the park is situated on land that was once a Jewish cemetery. The City bought the property in 1905 and established the park. In 1906 it served as a refugee camp for more than 1,600 residents made homeless by the earthquake and fire.

Following a major renovation project in 2016, a community effort was launched to encourage park users to pack out their trash and recyclables to the curb. Thank you for helping to keep our park clean!

Mission Dolores Park is bounded by Church, Dolores, 18th, and 20th streets. The Muni Metro J-Church Line runs along its western edge.

4worldlovers: These incredible images capture a special year, from Presidio Tunnel Tops and across the GGNRA.

Will you join us before the month is over so we can hit our goal? You can get an exclusive chocolate tin.

Your support helps ensure these places will be here in the future—please give now.

Did you know? Fun facts and big stories from the GGNRA

Do you know the link between Monterey jack cheese and these parks? From interesting tidbits to era-spanning stories, we look back and look forward as the GGNRA turns 50.

4worldlovers: Mission Bay Parks offers beautiful public parks and recreational opportunities in a dynamic, new neighborhood. Located on the edge of San Francisco Bay, it’s a place for everyone to enjoy.

Today you’ll find shoreline parks, pocket parks, kids’ parks, and even parks made just for dogs. When completed, the Mission Bay Parks system will include 40 acres of planned open space.

A one-of-a-kind park for tots to school-aged children that’s united around natural themes of water, exploration and discovery.

It’s all about dogs and fun featuring an expansive gravel play area, trees, dog water fountains, seating and more.

A great new addition to Mission Bay Parks featuring a dog play area with a ton of tail-wagging amenities.

An idyllic tree-lined park cradles each side of Mission Creek with areas of respite, recreation and events spaces.

A favorite place for lunch, lounging, meet-ups and casual sports, with on-leash dog walking.

Featuring an expansive sundrenched lawn with a trellis-shaded plaza where people of all ages can play and enjoy.

Bordering the Chase Center Campus, this park offers visitors places to relax, picnic, play chess + shoot hoops.

Our pocket parks, pathways and green places provide a respite to relax with green relief from the urban landscape.

As a perfect venue for an event, the Pavilion features floor-to-ceiling windows with great views of Mission Creek.

4worldlovers: The rumors are true. Golden Gate Park is as fantastic as they say. Explore this iconic park’s 1,017 acres, from bucolic lakes and meadows to vibrant activity destinations. Golden Gate Park has something for everyone.

Golden Gate Park Car-Free Route In an effort to create safer spaces for everyone to enjoy our parks, we're providing a virtually car-free route from one end of the park to the other. Find out more

Visit our Accessibility Questions page for more information on accessibility resources in our parks, including Golden Gate Park.

4worldlovers: SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- On Memorial Day weekend, a San Francisco tradition was revived after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The annual ceremony was held to honor the memory of the USS San Francisco in the battle of Guadalcanal during World War II. The event also honored a sailor who was commended for his bravery, even as he battled racism...

Those who served aboard a warship with special significance to the Bay Area were honored not far from the Golden Gate Bridge. The USS San Francisco took part in some of the most significant fighting in the pacific during the World War II battle of Guadalcanal.

This website is open to all who wish to learn about this unique warship and the men whose lives are inextricably linked because of her, and have grown over time, as new information has been gleaned from numerous sources. The intent is to tell as many of the stories as possible about the sailors and Marines who knew her, and to that extent, the USS San Francisco Memorial Foundation welcomes any and all information about any aspect of the ship’s history, from the men who served on land and sea, from their families and friends, from historians and hobbyists.

Become a member and help us preserve the faces, photos and stories of these brave Americans for generations to come.

No matter how much the site grows, however, not every story will be told here. Volumes could (and have) been written about the USMC who fought for every square inch of ground in invasion after bloody invasion, and while this site commemorates those battles, there are numerous websites devoted to their efforts at Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and other islands in the campaign. But even focusing on the USS San Francisco is a daunting task, since thousands of men were touched by her.

Some stories have been lost forever, as the players in those dramas have passed on. Time is of the essence, as the people and events depicted here are passing into history. Please help us in preserving these faces, photos and stories for generations to come by joining or donating to the Foundation today.

Established in 2005, the USS San Francisco Memorial Foundation is dedicated to preserving the history of the storied WWII heavy cruiser and the 100 sailors and 7 Marines killed in action during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal 75 years ago on 12/13 November 1942.

Collected from the national archives, families and friends of those who served aboard USS San Francisco (CA-38), these photos will help preserve the memory of this great ship and the important part that it and its crew played in defending our country’s freedom.

Instead of a symbolic statue, the USS San Francisco memorial displays something far more visceral: a shell-ridden section of the San Francisco’s bridge. The site of heavy gauge steel perforated like paper captures the fury and horror of the Battle of Guadalcanal.

There are probably more untold stories about USS San Francisco (CA-38) than we have on record – but it is our mission to preserve and archive as many as we can. From sailors to Rear Admirals, experience the real stories from those who lived it.

Search the list of all of the men and women who served aboard USS San Francisco (CA-38) from the time it was launched in 1935 until it was decommissioned in 1947. And if by some chance someone you know is missing, you can send that information here.

Our mission is to inculcate patriotism, defend the United States of America and its Constitution, and conduct a memorial service each year on the Memorial Day weekend, honoring those men who served and who died serving America.

By Chief Petty Officer Richard Jon Gordon (known as “Chief Johnny”)

4worldlovers: Bernal Hill provides visitors with a breathtaking 360-degree panorama and clear views of San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, downtown, San Bruno Mountain, and the hills of the East Bay. These windswept slopes are still sunny when Twin Peaks is shrouded in afternoon fog. Red-tailed hawks soar overhead, the breeze sends waves undulating through the native grassland community, and visitors hike around the hill’s peaceful summit to escape from the complexities of urban life. As one of the few remaining natural refuges in San Francisco, Bernal Hill is a special place for the city’s human and wildlife inhabitants.

A paved limited-access road and a network of well-defined dirt trails wind around the hill’s flanks and provide access to the summit.

Bernal Hill was originally part of a 4,446-acre land grant awarded to José Cornelio de Bernal, a soldier in Juan Bautista de Anza’s 1776 expedition. The grant extended south from current-day Cesar Chavez Street to Daly City. The Bernal region became a squatter’s paradise over the next several decades, until the Van Ness Ordinance of 1855 decreed that these illegitimate tenants were in fact bona fide landowners and citizens of the city.

In the mid-1800s, as San Francisco began to outgrow the capacity of the downtown district, the Bernal Heights neighborhood emerged. The streets were laid out and many small - to moderate-sized homes were built. A tight-knit community, including many Irish, Scots, and Scandinavians, took up residence in the shadow of the hill, which residents used extensively for cattle and dairy ranching.

One of the most dramatic tales of Bernal Hill took place in May of 1876. The Bernal Heights community caught the California gold rush fever after Frenchman Victor Resayre announced his discovery of gold on the Bernal summit, ore that he claimed would fetch $1 million per ton. For several days the hill was the site of extensive mining efforts, until it was revealed that the original discovery consisted of the considerably less valuable quartz.

During the 1906 earthquake, homeowners in Bernal Heights were some of the luckiest in the city because of the hill’s stable rock. Few homes here were damaged, compared to those in parts of the city that were built on landfill or former sand dunes.

Bernal Hill’s steep slopes support a thriving grassland community, suggesting how much of the northern San Francisco peninsula might have looked 250 years ago. In the summer and fall its grasslands are dry and parched, and Bernal appears from a distance to be a tawny, uninhabitable monolith. The native grasses and wildflowers have dropped their seeds, which wait patiently in the soil for the winter rains to awaken them. By early February, the hill is transformed into a palette of brilliant colors as a multitude of native wildflowers bloom, including footsteps of spring, sun cup, blue-eyed grass, checkerbloom, and shooting star. Native purple needlegrass and red fescue blow in waves from the almost constant ocean breeze.

With a diversity of plant life, an assortment of native animals can survive. More than 40 species of birds are known to use Bernal Hill, including Anna’s hummingbirds, dark-eyed juncos, American kestrels, western meadowlarks, and Townsend’s warblers. These birds forage and hunt in the grasslands in search of a tasty meal of seeds, berries, nectar, or invertebrates. The American kestrel effortlessly hovers above the steep slopes of the hill, waiting patiently for its next meal to reveal itself among the lupines, fragrant coyote mint, and red fescue.

4worldlovers: If you're downtown, go down the Embarcadero to Rincon Park! This landmark has nice groomed patches of grass along its promenade and there is a large sculpture of a Bow and Arrow known as "Cupid's Span"; in addition, the view of the Bay Bridge is unforgettable and worthy of a photo! Rincon Park is owned by the San Francisco Port.

4worldlovers: The 200ft high bluffs on the most western edge of San Francisco, Fort Funston is one of the premier hang-gliding spots in the country. Networking trails make it ideal for accessible hiking, horseback riding, and dog walking. Please be advised that if your pet gets stuck on the bluffs, do not go after it, the risk of falling is greater for you than your pet.

Keep a close eye on the kids, as the surf and undertow are extremely dangerous.

Be aware that it's a steep, strenuous hike down to the beach and back up.

The loop trails at Fort Funston are paved and wheelchair-accessible; the trails down to the beach are not.

Help grow native plants for vital restoration projects in our parks; volunteer at the Fort Funston Native Plant Nursery.