Lafayette Park-San Francisco City Walk
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Lafayette Park, Pacific Heights, San Francisco, main entrance on Sacramento St. near Octavia Street
Location: Lafayette Park is bordered by Washington, Gough, Sacramento, and Laguna Streets. MUNI bus line 1 stops near the main entrance on Sacramento St.
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser. (Information links may change. We do our best to update.)
Lafayette Park information link (San Francisco Recreation and Parks):
https://sfrecpark.org/512/Lafayette-Park
Lafayette Park playground information link (San Francisco Recreation and Parks):
https://sfrecpark.org/facilities/facility/details/Lafayette-Park-182
Visit Lafayette Park information link (Friends of Lafayette Park):
https://friendsoflafayettepark.org/visit
Distance:
Lafayette Park covers 11.5 acres, and has many trails and pathways to wander through, including hills (mostly smooth paved inclines rather than stairs) for extra exercise. Walking the full street perimeter around the park is 0.6 miles.
Considerations:
General note: All information is subject to change based on current health and safety guidelines.
• If driving, read parking signs carefully for parking rules.
• There is a MUNI bus stop near the main entrance on Sacramento Street.
• Lafayette Park is on a hill, so visitors need to be able to walk up one of the many inclined pathways into the park. There are stairs in some locations, but the majority of paths are wheelchair accessible.
• Toilet facilities are near the playground.
• Heed health and safety notices.
The trail:
Lafayette Park covers 11.5 acres and features beautiful bay and city views. There are grassy lawns, shady paths, a variety of picnic areas and open spaces, tennis courts, a playground, and a dog play area.
The four-block area occupied by Lafayette Park was first designated as park space in 1855, with the actual park established in 1867. Refugees from the great earthquake of 1906 camped at the park with open views of the raging fire that followed.
San Francisco Bay comes into dramatic view with grand old houses such as Spreckels Mansion in the foreground when facing north from above Washington St. On the Sacramento Street side of the park, visitors can take a short side excursion to see the Arthur Conan Doyle Monument.
Lafayette Park itself is popular with dog walkers, families with baby strollers or children going to the playground, and people who love quiet time in the grass, alone or with friends. There are multiple picnic areas as well as tennis courts and a fenced off-leash dog play area. The park offers a pleasant dose of the outdoors for anyone looking for a bit of greenery as a break from buildings and cars.
City parks can be great nature viewing spots as well. Birds observed at Lafayette Park include woodpeckers, parakeets, orioles, jays, robins, owls and hawks. Butterflies and bees pollinate the various flowers, and trees that appear in the park include ironwood, pine, dogwood, elm and others.
Those who like the old city park ambience of Lafayette Park might also check out the similar Alta Plaza Park-San Francisco Stair Walk which is just four blocks west of Lafayette Park.
(Lafayette Park-San Francisco City Walk Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Urban Pastorale” Insights post.)
If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the new Support/Shop page!
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Lafayette Park, Pacific Heights, San Francisco, main entrance on Sacramento St. near Octavia Street
Location: Lafayette Park is bordered by Washington, Gough, Sacramento, and Laguna Streets. MUNI bus line 1 stops near the main entrance on Sacramento St.
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser. (Information links may change. We do our best to update.)
Lafayette Park information link (San Francisco Recreation and Parks):
https://sfrecpark.org/512/Lafayette-Park
Lafayette Park playground information link (San Francisco Recreation and Parks):
https://sfrecpark.org/facilities/facility/details/Lafayette-Park-182
Visit Lafayette Park information link (Friends of Lafayette Park):
https://friendsoflafayettepark.org/visit
Distance:
Lafayette Park covers 11.5 acres, and has many trails and pathways to wander through, including hills (mostly smooth paved inclines rather than stairs) for extra exercise. Walking the full street perimeter around the park is 0.6 miles.
Considerations:
General note: All information is subject to change based on current health and safety guidelines.
• If driving, read parking signs carefully for parking rules.
• There is a MUNI bus stop near the main entrance on Sacramento Street.
• Lafayette Park is on a hill, so visitors need to be able to walk up one of the many inclined pathways into the park. There are stairs in some locations, but the majority of paths are wheelchair accessible.
• Toilet facilities are near the playground.
• Heed health and safety notices.
The trail:
Lafayette Park covers 11.5 acres and features beautiful bay and city views. There are grassy lawns, shady paths, a variety of picnic areas and open spaces, tennis courts, a playground, and a dog play area.
The four-block area occupied by Lafayette Park was first designated as park space in 1855, with the actual park established in 1867. Refugees from the great earthquake of 1906 camped at the park with open views of the raging fire that followed.
San Francisco Bay comes into dramatic view with grand old houses such as Spreckels Mansion in the foreground when facing north from above Washington St. On the Sacramento Street side of the park, visitors can take a short side excursion to see the Arthur Conan Doyle Monument.
Lafayette Park itself is popular with dog walkers, families with baby strollers or children going to the playground, and people who love quiet time in the grass, alone or with friends. There are multiple picnic areas as well as tennis courts and a fenced off-leash dog play area. The park offers a pleasant dose of the outdoors for anyone looking for a bit of greenery as a break from buildings and cars.
City parks can be great nature viewing spots as well. Birds observed at Lafayette Park include woodpeckers, parakeets, orioles, jays, robins, owls and hawks. Butterflies and bees pollinate the various flowers, and trees that appear in the park include ironwood, pine, dogwood, elm and others.
Those who like the old city park ambience of Lafayette Park might also check out the similar Alta Plaza Park-San Francisco Stair Walk which is just four blocks west of Lafayette Park.
(Lafayette Park-San Francisco City Walk Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Urban Pastorale” Insights post.)
If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the new Support/Shop page!
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
