Bayview Park

Bayview Park is one of the best kept secrets in the city, even though the majority of the San Francisco population has driven past it a million times. Drive up Key Ave from 3^rd and you’ll find the trailhead. The views of the city and the bay are stunning, and the trail is very well maintained. It was fun to look down on Candlestick Park from the top of the hill, before they tore it down, but there are still many other spectacular view points, and other things to explore! The Eucalyptus grove at the top of the hill is a very peaceful place to get away from the city and enjoy a quiet moment. There are a few small rocks up here perfect for bouldering, and I have had a great time monkeying around on Bayview Hill. Bring the dogs, and enjoy the serenity of this beautiful park.

Love this park. Close to my house and a hidden gem. Love to take walks here!

Great park with awesome views. Not many people around. Definitely a good recommendation if you want to avoid big crowds on holiday weekends and such.

neglected park, difficult access

This is a nice park if you live around the area, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. It’s pretty small and the trails are limited. To get more than a mile run in, I had to go around the loop at the top a couple times. The views are nice, but in a city like San Francisco, there’s very stiff competition! On the upside, it wasn’t crowded. Other than me and my dog on our run, there were just a few groups of people going for a casual walk to watch the sunset.

We started a 14-​mile «outer edges of SF» walking adventure here. (
) It is easily accessible from the Muni T line.
The hike up the steep hill is 110% worth it for the gorgeous views of the city. Don’t forget to bring a camera.
Wonderfully peaceful and tourist-​free. At 9:30 am on a Sunday morning, we only passed one other small group of people, who were on their way down as we headed up so we truly had the park to ourselves.

Game on.
Walk the circular path and you’ll see Candlestick Park to the south and a complete view of the brilliant San Francisco skyline to the east.
49ers are moving away. You’ll want to stay right here.

Bayview Park! A great park with a lot of history,
It is a steep climb to the top but well worth it for the views! I believe once Candlestick is torn down and commericial and housing development starts in the area you will see a revived interest in Bayview park as a hiking trail with great panoramic views of the entire Bay!/Users/Artist/Desktop/15 790_​4658514555128_​1708­448 307_n.jpg

The best thing I liked about this park is it has access to a little beach of the bay where your dogs could swim and run. However you do have to watch out for the fox tails. Fox tails are every where.
It is a good place to throw a family party or BBQ, however there is no camping allowed. The park gives you a beautiful view of the bay area and Mount Diablo. The price to reserve a spot is fairly cheap.
They also allow bikes on the trails. I’ve taken a few people here to learn how to bike since the trails are fairly easy.
There is bathroom facilities as well as some shady areas.
I would recommend this park to people who want to BBQ in less crowded well known area.

This park is an awesome semi-​secret, so it’s mostly free of people. Spectacular views, aggressive elevation changes, unimproved trails, and less litter than I’d expect for a city park. Did I mention there’s almost nobody there?
The trails could be done on a bike, but probably not on a fixie.

Bayview Park has views of the city from a different perspective. A path leads you on a roundabout trail that takes about 20 – 25 minutes to walk. I would check it out but unless you live in the neighborhood, I don’t think it’s worth frequenting simply because there’s no seating. I personally love to go to parks to picnic, but this one is for hiking only. It’s not a square where you can layout a blanket and relax with friends. The secludedness can be both endearing and scary (considering the neighborhood). If anything were to happen to you… nobody would hear your screams O.O. All kidding aside, there aren’t any street lamps on the paths so don’t come here at night unless you’re brave and/​or bring a flashlight.
I hiked here this past weekend with my cousin and her husband and there were only 2 other people I saw: 1) Man laying down on the paved road & 2) Another man zipping past on his electric scooter/​bike. You cannot drive your car up here, so plan on parking and hiking up. Some parts can be on the steeper side, so wear your comfy shoes. Bayview Park is a great way to see the city in an entirely new light, different from the typical Twin Peaks experience. I definitely enjoyed getting a glimpse of Candle Stick Park & Sutro Tower! My one complaint is that the path goes right by the 101 freeway, so expect to hear the sound of cars and traffic in the background.

Looking for a place to get fantastic views of the city and the bay? Or are you looking for a free workout for those legs of yours? Look no further, Bayview Park is your answer.
I’ve been coming here almost everyday to walk my dog, or he walks me rather, and he loves it. It definitely gets me tired, not too sure about him (he’s not a normal dog really). I see the usual dog walkers also at different times of the day, and occasionally, very rarely, I’ll see someone exercising or a couple having a picnic.
The trail to the top of the hill is pretty steep, and that pretty much gets me tired. But once you get to the top, the trail circles around the hill, offering beautiful views of the city, the bay, and just a tad bit of the stadium. The distance must not be too long if I can run the whole thing, definitely not a mile. Run a few laps and back down the hill and you’ll be pumped.
There is some poison oak off trail so keep that in mind if you let your dog run loose. Also, if you go during the evening it can get pretty dark in some areas as the trees do cover the moon. If you don’t like walking/​running in the dark then be sure to visit while it’s nice and bright.

Thank God for Unilocal!Otherwise I would have never found this hidden gem.
There’s no designated parking area, so you have to find street parking which isn’t bad.
This park is huge with beautiful views of the bay. Lots of trees, a trail, nice fresh air almost makes you feel like youre somewhere else.
It’s pretty empty, I’ve only seen two people at the most here and both were there exercising. Definitely a work out to walk up the first hill, which makes this a great place to walk your dog and give him/​her the kind of exercise that knocks them out once they get to the car.
Don’t miss out on this place.

I’ve been to almost every park in San Francisco but I hadn’t been to Bay View park. I knew I wanted to go once I saw it on the map. Honestly, I was a bit worried about walking through the neighborhood from the MUNI station since it is the Bay View district. However, once I got there I realized it’s just a quiet residential neighborhood.
It’s just a short walk along Key Avenue up to the entrance. After that, there’s a gently-​rising path up to the loop trail amongst the trees. I spent about a couple of hours there but I did not see anyone the whole time. It was nice. It’s not the best maintained park but I kind of like it that way, it makes it seem a little wild.
There’s views in all directions but I was hoping to get a good view of Candlestick. That wasn’t possible due to the trees. However, the views of the city more than made up for it.

So, my boo and my 2 year anniversary was coming up, and we were about to part ways and go back to being long distance :(We wanted to explore a new part of SF (as if we haven’t been to enough scenic viewpoints already!) and have some romantic time to ourselves (which is also endless) and so he came upon finding this place on Unilocal!
I was going over what special thing to do for him and my friends suggested a picnic. It’s what every couple does at some point in their lives and although we’ve seen many couples have one at our past scenic spots, we’ve never had one ourselves. And so, I decided I would plant a cute picnic for us.
Only a few days later, I receive a HUGE picnic basket as a gift from a mom (at my job site). This basket is filled with all kinds of yummy CHEESE, crackers, Ghirardelli chocolates for dessert, even muscato wine (which is my FAVE dessert wine!), sausage, more types of desserts, you name it. WHAT a blessing/​sign for us to proceed with our picnic adventure! So, all I did was take the already premade basket for my boo (yes, he knows I didn’t make it myself).
We go on over here, decide lugging all our food is getting heavy, and drop it off in some bushes as we make a circle around the viewpoint. It’s short and easy-​so grab someone’s hand and explore the place already! Then we headed onto some grass and sat as we ate and took in the breathtaking sight of the city of good olé’ SF. The place was pretty desolate, we saw one couple pass us by, but that was about it. GREAT place to go to! Oh and, my boo has a thing for sunsets, so go then ;)

I want to thank the original reviewer of this park for getting it on Unilocal.
I’ve lived in San Francisco for the better part of 20 years and I have always wondered about that park on top of the tall hill by Monster Park you always see when traveling north on 101 into the city.
After living in the Bayview for a few years my curiosity regarding this hidden park was sparked further as I could tell the park was accessible by some lone road. out in the desolate Bayview… somewhere.
Finally I just found the location of the entrance this last Monday. Only one entrance. at the end of Key Avenue which is off 3^rd, unmarked and fenced off, marks the beginning to one of the city best-​kept secrets…
A long hike up a rather steep hill leads you into a Eucalyptus filled park that looks like it has not been maintained in many years. I mean so severely neglected that nature has decided to take over. and take over she has!.. with amazing «nature takes over» results
beautiful, sweeping views of the entire bay, both bridges, and most of the city await you. When I was there there was NO ONE around anywhere, I felt like I had the entire, abandoned city park to myself, if fact. I did!
Go there with your dog. be ready for a hike. Be ready to go back!

You might as well hang a «Welcome to San Francisco» sign from the radio tower, as it’s the first part of the city anyone sees coming in from SFO. And yet, no Unilocal reviews. Well, I had to put Candlestick Point on the map myself, so no surprise, really.
I know what you’re thinking: «*Bayview* Park? McLaren Park is sketchy enough, thanks.» But actually, Bayview is a pristine gem of a hill; on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon we didn’t see another soul, and hardly a scrap of litter. No doubt that’s because you can’t just roll your car up to a picnic table here: there’s no facilities, and not even a single dedicated parking spot. You just park on Key Ave and start walking up the path. And mind you, it’s fairly steep.
At the top you’ll be rewarded with a eucalyptus forest, and views in every direction, including downtown, across and down the bay, Mt San Bruno, and even (if you look hard through the trees) the inside of Candlestick Park. And walkers and bikers can have it all to themselves. Amazingly, parks. sfgov even drummed up a pdf trail guide for the place (see the link). My only complaint is that there really ought to be a stairway up from the Candlestick Park side of the hill. Maybe they can throw that in with the whole redevelopment plan, if/​when it ever happens.