Dolores Park

What you need to know

Dolores Park covers 13.7 acres in the Mission District, bounded by 18th, 20th, Dolores, and Church streets. The land held Jewish cemeteries before the city bought it in 1905 and opened it as a park in 1906. After the earthquake that April, it served as a refugee camp.

What to Expect

The park is built on a slope, and the lawn on the south side faces north toward the downtown skyline. Most people come to spread out a blanket and eat food bought nearby. The Bi-Rite Creamery line runs down 18th Street on weekends, and vendors walk the grass selling tamales, drinks, and other goods. Weekend afternoons are the busiest stretch, when the sun hits the upper slope. Weekday mornings are quiet. The park cools off quickly once the fog comes in, so bring a layer.

What Is in the Park

Dolores Park reopened on January 27, 2016 after a renovation with a $20.6 million budget, $13.2 million of it from the 2008 Clean and Safe Neighborhood Parks Bond. That work rebuilt the 18th Street entrance, added ADA access and new pathways, put in new restrooms with expanded capacity, renovated the tennis and basketball courts, added a multi-use court and bike racks, formalized two off-leash dog play areas, and built the overlook in the southwest corner. There is also a sports field.

Helen Diller Playground

The playground on the Dolores Street side is split into a preschool area for ages 2 to 5 and a school-age area for ages 5 to 12. Its main feature is a 45-foot slide set into the hillside with an elevation change of close to 30 feet, reached by stone stairs or an accessible walkway. The school-age side also has a ten-foot play mound with an accessible slide and climbing nets, a shipwrecked boat structure, a natural stone climbing rock, and a swing set that includes a therapeutic seat. The preschool side has a smaller hillside slide, a boat with a wheelchair-accessible lower tier, and a sound garden with chimes and drums. A sand garden with an elevated sand table sits between the two. The playground was funded jointly by the Recreation and Park Department and the Friends of Dolores Park Playground with the Mercer Foundation, and renamed for Helen Diller in recognition of that gift.

Visiting

Cost: Free. There is no gate and no admission.

Address: Dolores Street at 19th Street, San Francisco.

Best time: Weekday mornings for space and quiet, weekend afternoons for the crowd. The upper slope holds afternoon sun longest.

Getting There

The Muni J-Church runs along the western edge of the park with a stop at 18th Street. The 16th Street Mission BART station is about a half mile east, a walk of roughly 10 minutes. The 33 Ashbury/18th bus runs along 18th Street at the north edge. Street parking around the park fills up on weekends, so transit is the easier option. Check SFMTA for current routes.