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    Balboa Park

    4.2 (50 reviews)

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    Tristan L.

    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.

    This is the apex of Balboa Park's scenery
    Wes M.

    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.

    New park benches by the newly fixed up tennis courts
    Elyse N.

    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!

    K L.

    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.

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    Photo of Jboogie L.
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    14 years ago

    A neighborhood type of park. There is a new swing/play area for children. Plenty of street parking.

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    13 years ago

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    16 years ago

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    13 years ago

    great comimg here with kids and walking the dogs

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    11 years ago

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    Review Highlights - Balboa Park

    I like to play tennis here, or just hang out on the swings and chill with friends on the play structure.

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    Presidio Heights Playground

    Presidio Heights Playground

    4.9
    (20 reviews)
    4.4 mi

    Super fun and interactive playground, one slide, and many water activities. Walk across the side…read morewalk and road to the most beautiful kid friendly beach. Such a fun location!

    This is probably one of the best playgrounds in SF…read more After my sons doctors appointment we decided to go to a playground in the area and this one of the closest and highest rated in the area, so we popped on in. We also had his behavioral therapist with us and she spoke highly of this playground. They have a tiny area for smaller kids under 5 which includes a sandbox with toys folks in the area "donated" or left behind. My little boy was in love with the sandbox area. There's another huge play structure for bigger kids and lots of benches and shaded areas for parents and nannies to hang out and unwind while the kids play in the area. Bigger kids can also play in the basketball court. What's neat about this playground is that there are tons of toys such as bikes, balance bikes, toy structures that parents either left behind or donated. My little boy loved playing with some of those toys. There's also a multi purpose room that you can probably rent out for birthday parties etc. As well as a decent bathroom for folks to use while they're in the playground. I highly recommend stopping by if you're in the area. It's a wonderful playground. The only negative is that it can get pretty crowded and sometimes parking is difficult but overall definitely a great place to visit.

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    Presidio Heights Playground
    Presidio Heights Playground
    Presidio Heights Playground

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    Presidio Tunnel Tops

    Presidio Tunnel Tops

    4.8
    (150 reviews)
    5.4 mi

    This is our second most favorite place to visit in the city…read more Only disadvantage is the 25 min drive for 6 miles into one end of it. But every minute spent here is worth all the gas and time! Our toddler loves it. We love it coz of the views and variety of things we get to do. The outpost park is one of the best playgrounds out there. Here they are enjoying sliding / swinging/ climbing rocks and trees and walls without any plastic involved. The sand play area the hit ever single time. The local shrubbery and flowers in spring and summer, the giant green lawns with big red chairs, ones looking over golden gate and magnificent views of the city, food trucks offering variety of food all around the world, gender neutral restrooms, presidio field station for little ones to explore--- you have everything in this beautifully maintained area. It's truly one of the gems in the city. If you are visiting or bored of same four famous places consider visiting presidio. Bike, fly kite, play catch, /slide down the stone slide, enjoy views. Paid parking all around but it can be tricky. SF weather is chillier and overcast in summer ( thanks to fog), always layer up!!

    From here you have beautiful views of Golden Gate Bridge, Crissy Field, and of Alcatraz. It's also…read morenear the Main Parade Lawn. There are restaurants here, as well as food trucks. A picnic area, rest rooms, etc. Great spot for locals and tourists. Located on Lincoln Blvd.

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    Presidio Tunnel Tops
    Presidio Tunnel Tops
    Seating to avoid the wind

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    Seating to avoid the wind
    Alta Plaza Playground

    Alta Plaza Playground

    4.7
    (34 reviews)
    4.7 mi

    This is a wonderful Park ! It has soft playing surfaces and many slides for all needs. The view…read moreis so beautiful from up there.

    This place brings me happiness and sadness when I come here. I used to go to school as a kid across…read morethe street and while at the crosswalk heading towards the playground, one of my classmates got hit by a car. He didn't make it. I still remember him wearing his green overalls. It was quite tragic and I don't want that happening to anyone else. Please be careful when you cross the street to this playground. If you arrive at the top of the hill, cars coming up can't see you and often times people drive like they're driving a manual car and they end up in the crosswalk before they actually stop. Remember where there term California roll comes from. Drivers often don't stop at all despite the top of the hill intersection at Scott and Jackson being a 4-way stop. This is one of the few playgrounds where the trek to the playground itself is part of the experience. The proximity of a playground to the street is always an important aspect of the design. It impacts safety in a big way. It's often a challenge to balance the distance to be close enough to be seen as a public place but not so close that passersby and people who don't really belong there get exposure to your kids. Safety rating of this park is a 5 out of 5. This is the first and currently only 5 out of 5 rating I've given to the other 11 playground reviews I've written so far. The clearly identified entrances/exits to the playground further the safety measures. Aside from the ingress/egress gates, the structures are surrounded by a gate. The hill part of the perimeter is also a grassy field where lots of parents oversee their kids. That in itself is a good thing. When parents are actually watching their kids, paying attention to where they are and who they're interacting with is good company to be in. No true for every park, I can assure you that. The vantage point from the grassy hill also allows all parents to see kids that aren't theirs. This is great for safety. The structures are far apart enough where parents have vantage points between the structures to be able to see most of the playground. Density plays a bit role in safety of playgrounds as well. Some are so close together that it pretty much creates a wall where parents can only see their kids from one side. Again, the grassy area being on a hill provides a great view of your kids particularly with the higher elevation looking down into the playground. Kids ride their bikes along the perimeter. I assume kids will continue to do that even after the playground itself opens up from Covid closure. So watch out when walking along the path or entering/exiting the play structure area. I've seen on more than one occasion where kids smack themselves into the gate and fall of their bikes. Luckily they didn't hit a 2 year old. I'm doing playground reviews for two reasons. I have kids of my own and am on the search for playgrounds to take them to once the 95% of them that are currently closed (this one included) open back up. The second reason is that I'm on a trek to find the best FPV quadcopter flying site and so far this is my top choice. These particular structure designs are great for navigating through. The length of the playground is also perfect. Width isn't too tight either so plenty of space. Ideal seating areas all around for best video signal and view of the quad if flying line of site. Before anyone gets caught up in me flying quads in a playground, note that my quad is well under the 250g that's internationally recognized as toy grade. I'm also only planning to fly for the duration that parks are closed during the Covid shutdown. Once these playgrounds open up again, I'm gone. In the unlikely event that my quad hits you, it won't hurt more than a Halloween sized pack of Skittles slapping you. I've got propeller guards too so it literally won't feel like anything more than possibly an annoyance. These tinywhoops are quiet as ever so I haven't had any issue with anyone so far. Most are just curious and excited to watch. For those that aren't aware, the video quality on what's typically an analog feed to the goggles, is no better than looking at a bad 80's VHS tape. So don't you worry about privacy. The video quality is pretty poor by design. Reducing latency is much more important than improving video quality when flying and for that reason, anyone seen in the video can't be recognized as it's all just a blur. In other words, I'd have a hard time deciding whether to swipe right or swipe left on you if my drone footage was a replacement for Coffee Meets Bagel.

    Photos
    Alta Plaza Playground
    Alta Plaza Playground
    Spiderweb

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    Spiderweb
    Koret Children's Quarter

    Koret Children's Quarter

    4.7
    (115 reviews)
    3.1 mi

    We absolutely love this place for the whole family. My son enjoys the Carousel, the sand play area…read moreand of course the slides tucked in the back! There are plenty of parking nearby and the place is fairly accessible. There are restrooms nearby and the coffee kiosk. Also adjacent to the giant meadow if you're into frisbee, drum circle or flying a kite.

    This park is across the street from our condo, so we're here a lot. Like, daily when we're home in…read morethe city. It's got clean restrooms w flushing toilets, walking paths and a ton of playground stuff that my kids still love even though they're getting older. It's good for all ages. There's always a place to sit and watch your kids. Not sure about parking bc we always walk or bike over. There's coffee places across the street towards haight. This reviews only for the specific, Koret playground - I'll have to do another for the other sections and attributes of Golden Gate Park. Many ppl don't realize, but GGP is bigger than Central Park. We have bison here lol it's crazy interesting lol. Multiple children's playgrounds throughout as well. My oldest is in her 30s now, and we've been taking her here since she was little. Now I feel old. Bring a big piece of cardboard if you come w your kids - you'll understand when you get here. Lol I'll try to find a picture of the hill you'll need it for.

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    My hubby on their vintage carousel!
    My hubby on their vintage carousel!
    We brought a banana box to slide down their concrete slide!
    We brought a banana box to slide down their concrete slide!
    Awesome park

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    Awesome park

    Balboa Park - parks - Updated August 2026

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