Balboa Park is also the name of a park in San Diego...weather is nice...there's a skateboarding semi half pipe..looks fun...somebody watches u...unattended..tennis group and party...near the bart K line..first time..near the high school...a list of high schools big places...the van ness goes by this park...strange place...rollercoaster...makes me happy Review #3111 read more

A large nice park in SF. I noticed they have tennis/basketball courts, and playgrounds for children to play. Also many people bring their dogs for a nice stroll or play fetch. Plenty of parking available around the park and a short walk to the BART. read more

Balboa Park - Parks Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Plenty of things for kids to play on. Clean, spacious and ground is couched to prevent serious injuries. Restrooms are maintained and parking is available. read more

The tennis courts are usually empty because it gets pretty windy. The field and playground seem nicely maintained, though I haven't used them. read more

Great park with tons of facilities! This park is huuuuuge. - A pool (with a sick view) - Several tennis courts - A field just for picnicing/dogs/informal sports games (kids soccer game) - Several baseball diamonds - Big playground! The playground main area has pretty large structures, one for toddlers and one for bigger kids (with lots of rock-climbing), though my 2.5-year-old can play on both. She can't climb up some of taller structures on the "big kids" area but there's still plenty for her to do. There's also a big play bus and swings. Plus, the playground extends beyond this main area to a 'bonus' area with a large spinning structure, even more swings, and a rope/climbing structure. The whole playground has a rubber flooring (no sand). There isn't a lot of shade on the playground, FYI! One side of the playground main area has a gate, but the other side is open. There is a bathroom, not the cleanest but I've seen worse. There's a small dedicated lot by the pool, but plenty of street parking near the playground (on Sgt John V Young Lane and San Jose Ave). read more

Beautiful park. Always clean for our neighborhood kids and their parents. Directly below our SF Police Department. Always feel safe walking early in the morning. read more

A big park with lots of things to do. Our main focus when visiting is the playground, it is a 3 level split playground with rope climbs, spinners, lots of slides, swings, more climbing equipment and a fun bus. All levels are easily accessible with a stroller. There are also bathrooms close by, nothing spectacular but they get the job done. I haven't needed to park for the playground but there is a side street nearby where I see spots open regularly. It is along the J muni line and down the road from Balboa Park Bart. read more

See all

One of my favorite parks in the city. Plenty of parking, not overrun by sunbathers, large lawn for dogs running around, a soccer field, large enough for FOUR baseball games, a pool, basketball, playground... I'm sure I'm missing something. Oh and they have great spawns if you play Pokemon Go. I love that it's clean and close to public transport as well! read more

Oh Balboa Park with your unpredictable weather. Whatever shall we do with you? We've been playing softball at Balboa Park for now the second season of the Yelp Battle of the Bay Softball Game. It's easy to get to by Public Transportation and there are always plenty of seating and room for our BBQ set up and such. The Softball and Baseball Diamonds don't really look regulation, but they are good enough to play. The grass is okay, just as long as it hasn't been overly raining. The bathroom situation since has been fixed, so I can't really complain about that. They used to close them at 3pm - even though our reservation was until 6pm. Note: It's funny how the bathrooms stayed open until 6pm - yet some chose to hit the bushes instead. Toilet Paper and clean water are essential at any BBQ, especially when we were paying to rent the facilities. Although we are moving our games to greener and sunnier pastures, we will always have Balboa on back-up and will have fond memories there. read more

This is a big park. Soccer fields take up most of the space. There's also a large open grassy field. A few dogs here and there and families having picnics. Plenty of parking nearby. I never had a problem and didn't feel unsafe leaving my car on the street. There's a small play structure next to the police station and a short hill leading up to it with parking available there too. Didn't realize there's a skate park here as well! Pretty decent sized and frequented by not just skaters but parents and their 4-7 year olds on 3 wheeled scooters. I was going to take my kids here to do the same today but too many people at the time. I'll come back later. Don't want to take up the space from skaters that these ramps are intended for. I know my place. I'll return when it's less crowded. Don't want my kids getting trampled anyway. Pro tip? If you're going to run your r/c monster truck here, you're going to have a blast, but careful of the perimeter. Depending on the size of your car, it can get stuck. My 1/16 scale remote control truck landed in the cracks a couple times and in both cases, it was almost unretrievable. My real reason for being at this park as an adult without kids with me at the time? I'm exploring playgrounds all over the City to use as FPV quadcopter flying grounds. Perfect during this Covid crises as 95% of them in the City are closed. Fun obstacles and no one to bother. A few areas at this park with trees to fly in between. I'll be back for more flying. For the cops that are reading this review? My quad is under 250g which categorizes it as toy grade and therefore doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of the FAA to be registered. If my quad hits you, it'll feel like a Halloween fun-sized pack of Skittles being tossed at you. I don't fly over people. I stay away from dogs that sometimes get hyped up and I always scout for the most empty areas before taking out my quad. Not here to make enemies. Safety rating of the park? 9 out of 10. The playground is next to the Ingleside police station. That's always a good thing. read more

Parking is not awful (Dolores Park, I'm looking at you) and this place isn't awash with hipsters lounging away their youth/faux-youth (Dolores Park, I'm looking at you). This place is great for little kids and little kids at heart and is always full of kiddos having a great time. Just a note: If, perchance, as an adult you decide you want to go on the swings, one of them makes a sound so loud it can be heard all over the city. This is, I repeat, not the sounds of a swing hinge groaning under your weight, but is instead, the sound of a hinge that needs lubrication. I second the WTF? regarding closing the restrooms at 3:00 PM on Sunday. read more

No reviews yet? Well, can't say I'm surprised... Balboa Park, along with the adjacent Balboa Park BART/Muni station and CCSF, forms a sort of hub within the OMI/Excelsior neighborhood. But there's surprisingly little commerce here; it's concentrated farther west on Ocean and over on Mission. The park looks sizable on the map, but the majority of it is taken up by a set of baseball/soccer fields that could probably accomodate 3 games simultaneously. Not sure where the demand for that comes from (maybe CCSF?). There's also tennis courts, a playground, and an indoor swimming pool. However, if you're simply looking for a place to take a stroll or a jog, don't bother as there's very little in the way of paths here. Neighborhood is working-class but perfectly safe (by daylight anyway). One good way to familiarize yourself with the park would be to grab an awesome sandwich from Roxie Market across the street and find a picnic table. read more

See all

The greatest no field fenced I've played on, still room to have uninterrupted games guaranteed. Beautifully kept! Nice field want to play here again read more

Though the weather in this part of the city can be pretty gruesome during the summer months, the park itself is great! And it makes you appreciate those sunny, windless days even more! This is a big park and has different "sections". There is the baseball field area, the kids playground area, the tennis courts, the basketball hoops, the field, and the indoor pool area. The entire park has recently been redone, which was really really needed. It was pretty shabby, and there were always mounds of trash and wood debris near the pool and basketball courts for some reason. There are now park benches and tables, new tennis courts, new hoops, and an updated playground. All that trash is gone, and the overgrown vegetation is now being maintained. Looks much better! read more

See all

Parking wasn't hard to find. Lots & lots of grassy area for baseball or football http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=CAveDmi9tYg3Gbs9VVnm2Q&select=iam4g-cg6aywDwaqfRN1fw. We played baseball on the baseball diamond. I believe there's a couple of them. Across the street are 4 tennis courts, 6 old looking swings, & one new looking kid park http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=CAveDmi9tYg3Gbs9VVnm2Q&select=n4EHqLlBjd5HU7Ff2ZetIw. The tennis court here was empty, which is rare in the Sunset. Maybe residents in this area don't play...I wonder why this area is so empty. The old swings were empty too. The only area that had A LOT of people was the new kid park. I guess that area looked the best, it had bright colors, & lots of play structure to play on. read more

Balboa Park - Parks Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Wonderful park! I used to not like being in the area as it was kinda sketchy.. but after a recent renovation, I don't mind coming here anymore! Kid-friendly park :) Located close to MUNI bus station, BART, and freeways. There are different play structures that can be divided into different age groups. I took my niece here and she had lots of fun! There is also a grass field where kids play soccer or football. Next to that is an indoor swimming pool but I've never been inside.. so I'm not sure if you can go in. Police station is also close by. There's also a skate park for teenagers. Tennis and basketball courts for everyone! Everyone gets some sort of benefit ;) read more

5 stars since I grew up right across the street and provided me many hours of fun and mischief. My brothers, block folk, and company used to roam the brush that is Balboa Park. We'd claim trees in the little forested area right next to the play ground. We'd scale those trees and hide in them and pull pranks on people (not bad ones). Played hide and seek in there as well. Attempted to make one a club house, but that failed as soon as the winds kicked in. The playground that USED to be in there was an all wooden structure. Complete with a bridge, monkey bars, slides and the other park type of stuff. Playing tag on that thing was the best. Especially when you made it so you couldn't touch the ground. If you were a realy gangster you knew how to get around without touching the ground ; ) Fun times. Tennis court is pretty big. We used to play roller hockey in there when it wasn't full of people playing tennis. And let me tell you. The Filipino's that used to "try" and occupy all the courts on the weekneds were MEAN! I swear. I don't know what's up with that. I'm Filipino myself, but they were evil. Even my mom would get mad at them. Even trying to go in there and play tennis, they'd shoot you the stink eye and give you nasty looks. A few times they told us that we had to sign up for a court. I went on to say that this is a PUBLIC tennis court. It's not private. Then we'd get our game in after a group finished. I don't know if they do that still, but if they do, give'em a piece of your mind for me if they try to pull this same shit with you. There is plenty of open field areas for you to get your game on, and for your dog(s) to roam and play catch. We preferred the open area right behind the tennis courts. The "forest" as we called it seperated it from the main park area. So it felt somewhat private. The basket ball area could be improved. When we played there the hoop was so damn high up. I think even higher than regulation NBA backboards and hoops. The ground there was uneven too. So if you bounced the ball on a crack, small rock, slanted portiong of the black top, your basket ball would go rogue on you. The pool is nice. I can't say that I've been in there too much, but I do remember that it used to cost only 25 cents to get in when I was a kid. Can't find that nowadays there. Also, the neighborhood High School, Balboa , goes there for P.E. since the High School doesn't have a swimming pool of their own on school campus. read more

Dear Irresponsible Old Lady with Disobedient Dog, How can you ignore your dog when he goes right next to the children's playground? If your dog doesn't come when you call him put him on a leash. I was not put on this planet to clean up your dog's shit. Sincerely, Jennifer P. read more

This is an update review specifically for the Balboa pool. For $4 you get an hour of fun. $1 more dollar you can take a class, on Tues Thurs evenings I am a fan of water aerobics to some jams. The class is fun - the instructor is welcoming and helps people stretch, which may be weird for some people so just let him know. The facility is old - the lockers are old, bring your lock, and the showers are just for rinsing - but its not a gym or spa so its good I live close. BRING EXACT CHANGE. read more

It's best feature by far is it's accessibility whether by car, BART, MUNI or however else people get around these days. The next best thing is the space. We seem to always score a decent field for softball games. Field + bleachers = excellent time! The people who pass by to filter out recycling from the trash are nice sweet folk who enjoy getting a chuckle out of bad plays. I swear, I think I could get heckling lessons from a particular cute little old man if I could only figure out what he was saying. The park features truly San Francisco weather. I've only been here twice when layers weren't required. I would recommend packing snow gear just in case. It would also behoove you not to have a bladder or a need to pee after 3 PM as the bathrooms are locked. Despite that, would I come back? Helll yeah!! read more

This post is from a neighborhood resident who has lived in the area since I was born. I love the recent renovation that was completed a year or two ago at Balboa Park. It made a adequate park into a marvelous open space to enjoy. I really like the addition of picnic areas as well as the basketball courts. For the longest time, I disliked the fact that I needed to travel to Crocker-Amazon or Stonestown to play basketball as Balboa Park never had a hoop. Now they have two courts that are never crowded and almost always available when I go to play. I must also say that I liked how they fixed the tennis courts. I cannot wait to try them out. Overall, I think it is a great park and a wonderful benefit for the area. read more

The new Balboa Park Playground is surprisingly nice. It has just undergone a makeover from a decrepit, dangerous pile of doodoo to a spanking-new modern playground. You can get a hint of the old '70s' stuff by looking at the swingset outside the gated playground -- ick. Now there is recycled rubber surfacing for the play structures and new concrete paths. There is a cute little yellow school bus next to the 2-5-year-olds' play gym. The 5-12-year-olds' jungle gym is surprisingly large, and some parts of it are negotiable by a 2-year-old: the walking ramp, stairs, and lower slides. The large gym has a big slide, and you have to crawl through a bumpy tunnel and then climb up to get to the slide top -- fun! There is a short steel slide next to the tallest slide to give you a taste of yesteryear's fast slides. The playground is mostly enclosed; there is the entrance (not gated) and the grassy field area where the entrance is rather large. I can't attest to the dog-poopy level of the field because I didn't go in and run around, but I saw a few dogs in there. The play structure is orange, green, and purple -- now, who doesn't love that? The missing elements are the following: sandbox and water play area, more swings, and little ride-on toys. There *are* swings on the playground, but there is only ONE bucket swing for babies and toddlers, which is a huge oversight. Next to the bucket swing is some giant yellow contraption that looks like a rollercoaster seat you slap over you to lock you in. For the missing elements I have to deduct a star because you just don't feel a playground is truly complete without sand and water play and rocking ride-ons like horses, cars, or rockets. Parking on the side directly next to the playground is small; you have to go further back in the lot to find parking, and I should mention that an SFPD police station is also back there in case you need help. It's a fun idea to have a police station in a park because it increases the park area's safety. If you have time to read up on the playground's history, you'll see that residents of the area have needed a new playground for ages and that the renovation was made possible with help from Kaboom. Residents also chipped in to raise funds. One of the factoids about the park stated that the district was the most dense with kids in all of SF. It's so sad that the most needy get short shrift. I hope that people use this playground wisely and keep it clean. It is a gem for this neighborhood, and gems should be kept shiny. read more

Balboa Park - Parks Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Playtime. Lots of space for running around (humans or dogs) and fields and equipment for playing sports or just playing around (humans). For those looking for a quiet spot to have lunch in the shade and playful conversation you'll find that too. Hours can pass quickly. Make sure you have plenty of time to play. read more

While still a work in progress, obviously lots of vision -- not just tons of money has gone into renovations here. Kids playground renovations done right. Lots of fun for locals or families passing through from the Peninsula. read more

Balboa Park - Parks Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

I made my first visit to Balboa Park this morning to get my 16-month-old daughter in the swimming pool. And I was not disappointed. The Balboa Park pool is clean, warm, and very big. While the facility itself is a little gritty and rusty, everything feels sanitary and maintained. During recreational swim time, about 80% of the pool was available for just swimming around. A lifeguard was on duty, and a small section of the pool was roped off for lap swimmers. At the peak of Saturday business, it was only moderately busy. Entrance fee is $4 for adults, $1 for kids. Lockers are available, but bring your own lock. And while the pool is heated, the locker rooms are chilly, so be prepared! read more

Great park! My sons in the phase of escaping the fenced in areas and luckily we found this park which isn't just fenced in but has gates! Great parking, clean, new, updated, safe, padded ground, good for all ages. read more

Great addition to the mission terrace and is kept fairly clean with janitors picking up garbage. I came here looking for somewhere to eat and they do indeed have picnic tables with an ample amount of trash bins! SO KEEP YOUR EARTH CLEAN! The tennis courts are nice and big and the renovated playground looks very clean. Grass is kept green and free of animal feces (where I walked at least) Dogs were seen running around off leash but all dogs (and their humans) were friendly. Plenty of parking spaces around and plenty of public transportation nearby. read more

Been coming to this park for years and it has had major improvements. It's wonderful for the kids to play in a clean and safe park . 4 starts for the park it self . But unfortunately today I found my self discussed by a women and her dog . As she walked out the playground area with her dog , she picks up her dog to the water fountain and puts its mouth on it to drink water from it ! Wow how nasty can that be . Children play here and am sure there's times where they may just drink from the fountain . Unsanitary ! Yes it is a public water fountain and many won't let there kids drink from there . But doesn't mean a dog needs to drink from there ! Yes I had to tell her how unsanitary and nasty that was . read more

I like to play tennis here, or just hang out on the swings and chill with friends on the play structure. I used to come here a lot because I taught kids to swim at Balboa Pool. Fun times :) read more

Nice pool, lots of equipment (some are old/broken though) but the locker rooms and the pools can be cold at times. Rare occasions when the pool is so hot that it's steaming. Showers are warm, at least. Lifeguards are nice. Bleachers for friends/spectators. A good pool, but not as modern as Sava. read more

Balboa Park is a tiny park which is friendly for mostly little kids. They have a tennis court, soccer field, baseball field, pool, play ground, and swings. Not much, but it is mostly clean with some littering every now and then. On nice days, I like to play in the pool, buy a sandwich at Roxies, then chill in the park with my friends. Oh, summer memories. If you're planning on driving there is 4 hour parking available AND theres a mini-lot in the front of the pool where you can park. read more

I had not been to this park since the renovation, I always passed by it and thought it looked nice. But I was finally able to visit yesterday because that's where we hosted my nephew's birthday party. We had reserved two tables that were the ones "closer to the park" (we were given the choice of two tables closer to the pool). There were four tables, so we assumed we had the two closer to the park. But we realized there were tables inside the playground area. So we moved there because they were vacant, maybe those were our actual reserved tables, who knows! The kids had a blast on the playground. It had a lot for them to do, slides, monkey bars, rock climbing walls, rope structures they can climb. Kept them entertained for hours. I gave 4/5 stars because of the wind. It was ridiculous by our seating area. We had to stay there to make sure things didn't fly everywhere. read more

Balboa park is not really a park. It's like a baseball field with sprinklers and grass, surrounded by the police.

This park is awesome, my son loved it. Completely redone, they have great play structures and a twirly climby thingy which is pretty incredible. We were here so early in the morning that everything was still so wet from the night before we couldn't take advantage of everything. Can't wait to come back! read more

Love this place great for kids over 6 and under 6 separated play areas and sits next to the Ingleside police station! How safe are you doesn't get better than this. Remember no DOGs allowed! Love it read more

Having a park right across the street is great when you have dogs, I take mine right in front of the pool, there seems to be more dogs there, There are signs which tell you to keep them on leash but if your dog is at least somewhat obedient then you should be ok. The only thing I don't like about the park isn't really the Park's fault. Every time there seems to be little league baseball games there is a ton of trash left over, stop being filthy people or I will pick it up, and shove it down your throat. =) read more

For the most part, its good tennis courts. It would be nice too if they have lighting for night games.

It is a beautiful day out and what better way to spend it then to take the kids out to the park? The play structures are safe and massive. There is a small kids area and a big kids area. There is no sand, but the "floors" are made of foam. The reason why I mention the safety aspect is because I remember at Golden Gate Park when I used to haul cardboard and sand to slide down the slide, and saw others just EAT IT lol! Well at Balboa Park if you pay close attention, you will notice that the slides have grooves at the bottoms to slow kids downs towards the end of the slide. Warning: This is such a parent thing to put in a review, but hey...now I care about these things lol. There are also tons of kids playing baseball and softball. Another bonus is the park is super close to Roxie's so you could buy sandwiches before or after playing! Good, wholesome family fun! read more

So glad this place exists! Parking on the street wasn't bad on a sunny Sunday afternoon. There's a structure for toddlers and a bigger structure for the bigger kids. Will definitely go back here! read more

I like this park it is clean. Also it is safe because it is near the Ingleside police station. One thing bad about about this area is that it gets really foggy and cold from the morning to the afternoon. Than the fog goes away. So try not to come to this park too early in the morning. read more