SAN FRANCISCO, CA –Thousands of park lovers—including civic leaders, neighbors, seniors, children, and dogs—celebrated the historic opening of Sunset Dunes today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and day of oceanfront music, dance, art, and outdoor fun.
The opening marks a new chapter for San Francisco’s coastline. Sunset Dunes is the largest pedestrian conversion project in California history, transforming 2 miles of the former Great Highway from Lincoln Way to Sloat Boulevard into a vibrant, 50-acre surfside park.
Park-goers on Saturday strolled past vibrant murals celebrating surfing and sea life, engaged with interactive art installations, and watched as cyclists and skateboarders glided effortlessly through the new pump track. Others relaxed in newly added seating areas, enjoying the sound of local choirs and bands or took in cultural dance performances set against the backdrop of the ocean. Kites flew overhead as children practiced pedaling in the learn-to-bike zone and people with mobility challenges tried out adaptive bicycles.
“Our parks are part of what make San Francisco such a special place to live and visit, and Sunset Dunes will be a place where neighbors, families, and visitors can connect with nature and each other,” said Mayor Daniel Lurie. “I’m grateful to the dedicated city workers from Rec and Park, Public Works, and SFMTA who worked tirelessly over the past few months to bring Sunset Dunes to life for our communities.”
State Senator Scott Wiener called it “a great day for San Francisco.”
“Over the years, our great City has chosen many times to convert a major roadway into a beautiful public space: we’ve done so with the Embarcadero, with the Central Freeway, and with JFK Drive. Each time, the space becomes a treasured and essential piece of the fabric of life here, and it becomes impossible to imagine our city without it,” Wiener said. “Today, Sunset Dunes joins that legacy, becoming the newest piece of what is unquestionably the greatest urban parks system in the world. I look forward to watching San Franciscans and visitors alike come together here to create cherished memories and breathe new life into our amazing city.”
Lookout points offer breathtaking panoramic views of the coast. Playful wayfinding images on the park’s pavement help visitors share the space at their own pace. The slow lane, marked with snail icons, is perfect for strolling. The shared lane, guided by fishbone arrows, is for faster activities like biking, skating and running.
"What will our grandkids and great grandkids think of this new park called Sunset Dunes? Will it become as iconic as the Golden Gate Bridge in the century to come? Yes, it can. Because this is a space that connects people to something bigger than themselves. The power of the ocean. The beauty of the sunset. A space where a child can learn to ride a bike and dream. A space where a senior can roll in a wheelchair and remember. A space for every facet of life. To celebrate, mourn, heal, and reflect. This has become a transformational space, attracting thousands of people each day to our coast — where magical things happen," said Supervisor Joel Engardio, who represents the Sunset District and Sunset Dunes. "This coastal park is good for the environment, good for our local economy, and good for our minds, bodies, and souls. We have a once-in-a-century opportunity to reimagine this space for the benefit of generations to come. We are the lucky ones in this moment who get to create our best San Francisco."
Even before its official debut, Sunset Dunes drew record crowds, averaging more than 3,400 daily visits since late March. On weekend days, that number has surged to 4,900, a 25 percent increase over weekends during the two-year pilot. On Saturday, one of the visitors was 93-year-old Dorothy Lathan, who lives nearby.
“I’ve lived here for 64 years and have seen so much change. This new space feels like a beautiful marriage between the ocean and the park. It’s heartwarming to see people enjoying it—kids riding bikes, neighbors strolling, everyone soaking it in,” she said.
“Sunset Dunes is a bold step forward for public space, the environment, and our collective well-being,” said San Francisco Recreation and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg. “Parks have the power to transform cities, and this one connects us to the coast in a way that’s both exhilarating and restorative. Sunset Dunes is ultimately about creating more opportunities for people to connect—with nature, with each other, and with the coastline we all cherish. We believe this place will become one of San Francisco’s most beloved destinations.”
The park’s journey began in April 2020, when the City closed the Great Highway to vehicles to create recreational space during COVID-19. A year later, the City launched the Great Highway Pilot, a hybrid model balancing park use and vehicle access on weekends and holidays. San Francisco voters in November 2024 ended the pilot in favor of a fulltime and permanent oceanside park.
City and state agencies quickly mobilized to implement the will of the voters. Rec and Park, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, San Francisco Public Works, the San Francisco Public Utility Commission and Caltrans completed key infrastructure upgrades, including traffic improvements, sand relocation to protect wastewater infrastructure, and maintenance projects such as repaving and intersection upgrades.
Rec and Park crews installed signs, water fountains; trash cans, bike racks, seating designed for both socializing and looking out over the Pacific, and a Nature Exploration Area. A skate area is underway next to the existing bike pump track and skills course near Sloat Boulevard, and adult fitness equipment is coming soon.
Friends of Sunset Dunes, formerly Friends of Ocean Beach Park, played a key role in enhancing the visitor experience—donating a new bicycle pump track and an array of temporary art installations that bring color and creativity to the shoreline while celebrating the community’s connection to the coast.
“This is a transformational moment for San Francisco,” said Lucas Lux, president of Friends of Sunset Dunes Park. “We’ve worked for years to usher in this new chapter for our coast, focusing on community and conservation. Today is a celebration of what’s possible when we come together to reclaim public space for joy, nature, and connection.”
In February, volunteers and Rec and Park staff completed a pilot dune restoration at Judah Street, planting over 1,500 native beach grasses across five volunteer days. The project, done in partnership with the Surfrider Foundation and Reimagining San Francisco, helps stabilize sand, reduce windblown sand, and is a critical initial step in restoring coastal habitat—advancing a key recommendation from the San Francisco Estuary Institute. Future restoration will expand native plantings along Sunset Dunes, boosting biodiversity, protecting against erosion and sea level rise, and strengthening the coastline’s climate resilience.
"The Coastal Commission and its staff are proud to support the City of San Francisco's Sunset Dunes coastal park project, which will help to improve public recreation and visitor access to San Francisco's popular Ocean Beach area, while also bolstering protection of sensitive dune habitats and creating opportunities for proactive adaptation to the impacts of climate change,” said California Coastal Commission President Dr. Kate Huckelbridge. “Overall, the conversion to Sunset Dunes provides an exciting opportunity to reimagine a prominent shoreline area away from vehicular use to non-vehicular and more diversified multimodal opportunities. It also provides opportunities for proactive resilience measures in light of the potential for coastal hazards and flooding to seriously impact this section of road. Coastal Commission staff look forward to continued collaboration and partnership with the City of San Francisco as they embark on the planning, research, and further development of an ambitious coastal park focused on enhancing coastal access for all."
The park was officially named Sunset Dunes on Wednesday by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission following a citywide nomination process.
Looking ahead, Rec and Park will begin work later this year to better understand long-term possibilities for the park. This includes conducting important technical studies—ranging from traffic, geotechnical, and structural analyses to ecological and sea level rise assessments—to support future planning. Department staff will also be evaluating the success of the current pilot installations and gathering public feedback to help guide next steps. Thanks to a generous $1 million grant from the California Coastal Conservancy, this work will lay the foundation for a comprehensive community engagement process set to begin in 2026, when community members and the parks department will work together to shape a shared vision for the future of Sunset Dunes.
For more information on Sunset Dunes, click here.
To find places to shop and dine near the park, click here.
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