When it comes to San Francisco, there’s so many dog parks it can often be hard to pick which one to go to. Don’t worry – we’re here to help! There’s plenty of benefits to going to dog parks rather than just taking your typical walks, or setting your pooch loose in the backyard. For one, it’s typically far more space than the typical backyard, allowing your dog to run around and get all that energy out. Additionally, that space allows you to be active with your dog as well, giving you both a workout! Plus, dog parks allow your dog to socialize with other dogs too.
There’s benefits aplenty for spending the day out with your dog at the dog park, and there’s many excellent choices for said parks in this city. We’ll run you through some of the best dog parks in San Francisco in this blog!
Alta Plaza Park – Play area right on the steps
The widely beloved Alta Plaza Park is well known by locals, but less well known is its doggy play area. With fantastic panoramic views of the city as a whole, the beautiful sights will be enhanced by the facilities to let your dog romp about. Off and on-leash areas are both available at this park, with the off-leash area taking up the entire south-easterly corner of the park, giving your pooch plenty of space to run and play! The park also has fountains, seating, bathrooms, waste stations, and more. Alta Plaza Park is a great place to romp with your dog while being exposed to a fantastic view of the city!
Jackson St. &, Steiner St, San Francisco, CA 94115, (415) 831-5500
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Bernal Heights Park – See nearly all of San Francisco while out with your dog
Bernal Heights Park is well-known as having some of the best views on that portion of the San Francisco Bay and the city. This backdrop of beautiful scenery provides the perfect setting for a day out with your dog, which the park is more than equipped to accommodate. Dogs here are allowed on the walking trails, and the typical amenities are all here as well. These amenities include ample seating, fountains that work for dogs and humans alike, waste stations in case you forget to bring doggy bags, and more! With your dog, Bernal Heights Park is a fantastic experience!
3400-3416 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94110, (415) 831-5500
Golden Gate Park – Romp with your dog in one of San Francisco’s most treasured public parks
Golden Gate Park is regularly visited by more than 24 million people annually, so that must mean they’re doing something right! This stunning park is massive, and holds many of San Francisco’s most unique and beautiful sights. Alongside all this fantastic stuff, is not one, but two dog parks, with amenities suitable for a day out with a dog. Run areas and fenced off-leash areas are abundant in the park, offering plenty of opportunity for controlled socialization with other dogs. Fountains for both humans and dogs, doggy waste stations, Additionally, the park has plenty of amenities for a human as well, such as bathrooms and benches.
Alongside the dog parks themselves, the Golden Gate Park also holds an all-sand training area, in case you’ve got a new puppy you need trained! Alongside the sandy portion, the training area also contains play and agility equipment. Golden Gate Park is truly a uniquely awesome San Francisco experience!
San Francisco, CA, (415) 831-2700
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Jefferson Square Park – A hidden gem for canine parks in San Francisco
Jefferson Square Park is something of a hidden gem when it comes to parks in San Francisco. It’s spacious, got plenty of benches, and has a lot of room for picnicking as well. Best of all, it’s also a dog park! Specifically, it has amenities such as wide open off-leash areas, for your dog to really get all that energy worked out. The park is kept obscure by being in a relatively notable neighborhood, so it isn’t overcrowded either. You might also enjoy the views of City Hall and the downtown area offered by the lawns on the parks’ perimeter.
950 Gough St, San Francisco, CA 94102, (415) 831-5500
Lafayette Park – Dog park with a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge
Lafayette Park is a terraced park on a raised piece of terrain, among the graceful and affluent homes of the Pacific Heights neighborhood. Its raised position offers it incredibly good views of the Golden Gate Bridge, as well as much of the city itself. No wonder the homes in this area cost so much!
Regardless, Lafayette Park has an excellent dog park area, with all the amenities you’d expect out of a park in such an affluent area. Off-leash areas, where your dog can interact with other dogs in a controlled environment, seating, run areas, waste stations, and fountains are all included here. Small dogs will also enjoy this park, with plenty of amenities suited to little pooches. You and your dog will love this park!
Lafayette Park, San Francisco, CA 94109
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Fort Funston – The best dog beach in the Bay Area
Fort Funston is a ton of fun! Consisting of a beach stretching underneath two-hundred foot tall sandy bluffs, atop which have miles and miles of trails, Fort Funston is a common spot to visit for beach lovers and hang gliders. The trails around the park are fantastic, and, best of all, your dog will be able to go completely leashless while on them or the beach, all for completely free! If your dog loves to swim, this park will be heaven on earth! If you want to get in a good, beautiful hike and bring your dog along with you, there are few places better suited to make such an excursion than Fort Funston.
Fort Funston Rd, San Francisco, CA 94132, (415) 561-4700
Pine Lake Park – Puppy play area around a wonderful wooded lake
Pine Lake Park is among the more unique of San Francisco’s many parks. Instead of the typical open space, Pine Lake Park is heavily wooded, and the trails in the park surround the namesake of the area, Pine Lake. It’s a truly wonderful experience to explore this park, as it’s a taste of what the Bay Area looked like before all the urban development. Even better, you can explore it with your dog! There’s many large off-leash areas, and you can also take your pup to the lake itself. This is one of the best parks with water in the San Francisco area for sure, and is sure to please dogs that love swimming!
Sloat Blvd & Vale St, 100 Vale Ave, San Francisco, CA 94132, (415) 831-5500
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San Francisco Dog Parks Map
Want to know which dog parks are closest to you? Take a look at this map to see where all the dog parks we recommend are!
While these are certainly the highlights, there are many, many more dog parks that we haven’t covered! San Francisco is a big place, after all, and it would be impossible for us to cover every last dog park in the area. The San Francisco Parks & Recreation site offers a comprehensive list of dog play areas in public parks around the city. However, keep in mind that this list only encompasses specialized play areas – parks that allow dogs generally but are not specialized to do so (like Fort Funston) won’t make the list.
If you’re planning on moving to San Francisco, and were scoping out parks that you and your beloved pooch could visit, AMS Relocation is here and ready to help you with your move! There is no job too tough for our excellent San Francisco moving crew, all of whom are trained and prepared to aid you in any sort of move you could imagine! All you have to do is give us a call at 650-284-2931 or fill out the quote form on our website. You owe it to yourself and your little puppy to have your move go as smoothly as possible.
