Candlestick Point State Recreation Area

At the start of 2025, I took on a 12-hour walk across San Francisco. I began in the Excelsior neighborhood and made Candlestick Point my first destination. By the time I reached the park, I was rewarded with a gorgeous sunrise and captured some of my favorite photos from the entire day. The park itself was quiet and relaxing, with a restroom available and just one other person around, Jose, who I enjoyed chatting with and watching his dog play. While I wouldn’t recommend walking to this park due to the surrounding abandoned, wasteland-like areas, it’s well worth a visit if you’re already nearby.

Great Park Amenities, Needs some Safety Intervention. This park offers a truly excellent setting for community use, perfect for day picnics and evening walks, and is equipped with all the expected amenities of a quality public space. It holds significant potential to become a highly frequented local asset. However, the experience is currently marred by some safety concerns. The presence of unwanted individuals lingering in the parking lot creates an atmosphere that feels unsafe, particularly for families and solo visitors. This security issue appears to have directly impacted the facilities. The main restrooms are closed, replaced by temporary, makeshift plastic units, presumably due to the unresolved loitering issues. Local authorities must address these safety and security problems head-on to allow the park to reach its full potential and attract higher foot traffic. Until then, I recommend visiting only in groups and restricting trips to daytime hours.

Good spot to take walk. The paths are in good condition. Bathrooms are clean. Beautiful views.

A beautiful waterfront park which is currently a little hard to get to. But well worth it, with great walking paths, restrooms, picnic tables, and lots of outdoor space. It smells nice from winter plants.

Nice shoreline, with paths that meander around. Plenty of parking. Pretty windy. Open sunrise to sunset.

I used to visit this place as a kid still go there from time to time as an adult. A lot of changes has been made, especially since the closing of candlestick Park it’s still a nice place to take a walk and to get a fresh breath of air or even if you wanna park your car down at the park to look at the water for a piece of mine

Scenic drive old classic Candlestick. Nothing like it. One of the many aspects of the rich history of the magical bay by the sea. The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. - Mark Twain.

A great picnic spot to relax and refresh! Located near the shore, it offers tables and benches perfect for family picnics. Be sure to bring your own food, as there aren’t many stores or restaurants nearby. Conveniently close to the 101 freeway.

The park has been shut down since Covid. Located across the street from 49ers stadium. Huge chains lock the gates and boulders block the parking lot enterance now. Other than that there is minimal activity in the surroundings. Bikers and hikers still linger along with some city fishers. This is my dad and I favorite chill spot. Such a lovely view and always the perfect temperature sunshine with a breeze. It's also So sad to see my 49ers stadium reminans abandoned. This place was once the lively places to be when visiting San Francisco now it's just a memory.

You are really at the end of the city. I tend to come here only if I'm all hiked out elsewhere because it's so far south. It seems like there are 2 areas to park, there is a lot at Harney Way which has a small patch with a trail that is about a .7 mile loop which is good if you wanted something very short. The other parking entrance is off of Gilman Avenue. You used to be able to drive to that entrance from Harney Way but they've recently closed Hunter Point Expressway to cars though you can still walk along the road which is worth it because the trail goes along the water and there is an old fishing pier. A few years ago this street was lined exclusively with RVs so it was a little intimidating to come out here. Now they are gone, and I think plans are to develop the old Candlestick Park into something. To add both trails is about a 2-mile easy walk with minimal shade. Normally this isn't an issue with SF's weather but just to keep in mind if you go on a rare hot day. I love the ocean and being so close to it. There are a couple of little beaches to walk along but it's mainly rocks. The park has kind of a quiet eerie industrial feel, it looks out to Hunters Point and Gantry Crane. In the spring there are tons of amazing wildflowers like mustard, yellow daisies, orange monkey flower, etc. For a list of more SF hikes and walks: https://bit.ly/43PhQtL

Hi Candlestick Park you were a little tricky to find but you were worth the drive! Maybe it was just me but the address that I found brought us to the local community garden but if you drive around the area you will find it! When you drive into the park it looks like a scene from the tv series "The Last of Us" (if you know what I am talking about awesome! If not, I recommend watching it)- it was deserted and run down and you can see remnants of the old 49er stadium. It was cool seeing a piece of history in the Bay Area. Despite the initial eerie feeling it was a fun time being by the water! We experienced an unobstructed view of the ocean, felt the fresh breeze and had a nice walk around the area. We found a very old wooden bridge with missing wood panels and were able to go back and forth safely! At the end of the bridge there were fishermen casting their bait and it was interesting to see that they caught pretty large game!

When I took the isolated Candlestick Park exit off 101, I wasn't surprised at the huge condo buildings you pass by since I could see them clearly from the freeway heading up to the city. No, the surprise for me came after I crossed the crest of the hill that led to this park. Almost immediately, I came upon the overwhelming and rather somber sight of an army of RVs, trucks and vans all parked on the side of the road one after the other. This was no recreational, family-friendly caravan. It was more nihilistic because the homeless population has exploded, and this relatively unmonitored area has attracted what felt like a huge population of people living in their vehicles. Honestly it was hard to absorb the scope at first sight, and I think it would motivate most people to make a U-turn. The pandemic also forced the closure of the park's parking lot, so I was left to park further down the road and walk back to what I assumed was the main entrance. Given all that, the park itself was pleasant enough even if it was overrun with foxtails and feral squirrels (photo: https://bit.ly/2X9QQIA). There are walking paths that hug the shoreline which attracts a good variety of waterfowl. There are also well spaced barbecue areas which drew small groups when I was there as did the fishing pier. Perhaps when the parking lot reopens, I shall return but likely not before. It felt like the set of "Mad Max". Cue for Tina Turner to sing "One of the Living". RELATED - Exploring Hunter's Point? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/3AOvRKv

Haven't been there since covid when the road was full of homeless RV's taking up all the parking, which leaves you constantly worried about break in's while you are in the park. Great news! went there last Saturday and their all gone, everything was cleaned up, the park was nice, bathroom's are still locked, but their are porta potty's. it was I very nice walk and being that it is a state park it's good to know that we the California tax payer can now enjoy what we worked so hard and pay so much taxes for.

This park is BEAUTIFUL! It's huge and filled with active wildlife. If you come on the weekend it is packed and busy full of families having birthday parties and children swimming in the bay. People go all out with bounce houses, balloons, etc! There is never ending bbqs and picnic tables here. They've really done a good job providing faucets, trash cans, bear proof food storage areas, etc. If you come in the morning you can see sea lions! There are all kinds of birds and it is very popular to come fishing here along the docks. It is really clean now that the weather is good and the park & recreation has mowed all the overgrown parts. The park is well kept and I always see park rangers on duty. It takes hours to walk through the entire park and it's a great running trail! Tons of parking as well! Make sure you go to the main part because the beginning is a little shadier and theres unfortunately a ton of trash from people drinking and leaving their glass bottles everywhere.

They really need to repave the roads getting to and around the park areas. I have heard this referred to as California's 1st Urban State recreation area and in the next 3-4 years it will be one of only two camping locations inside the San Francisco City limits. I am so happy to have discovered this area and it has plenty of parking near the Jack Rabbit location. Bathrooms were decent, but I recommend packing a small hand sanitizer to utilize. We are in the midst of reshaping and building the park area up a bit for the future campgrounds in Jack Rabbit location.. be careful around the work areas. Enjoy the beautiful sites and views! Perfect place to sneak away and have a private picnic or date retreat of just reading beside the water without driving too far. Enjoy!

Nice place to go for an easy stroll for an hour or so. The entire trail is flat and you get nice views of the Bay. As others have noted, there are a ton of squirrels and many seem to be quite well fed. They also aren't afraid to come close to you. There's lot of picnic tables and seems to be a popular place for celebrations. There's a pier in the end that is popular for fishing. Parking lot is closed, but there's plenty of street parking.

This is a really beautiful and well maintained park within the city limits that not a lot of people know about. Beautiful views, great picnic areas, numerous bathrooms and trash cans, an abundance of wildlife, especially confident fat squirrels. :) Also great walking trails! Oh and a small beach area!! Only possible negative is since there aren't a lot of people at times you can be secluded if you go there alone, (more so for the single ladies) just keep your smarts and everything should be fine.

Not sure what happened here because all the other reviews are so good. I really hope someone responds and lets me know if there has been some kind of change during COVID because this is not the park that the reviews are detailing. Driving into the park, the first thing you notice is trash surrounding the road on the grass. Then as you enter the park, you quickly see that all of the parking lots are closed/locked and there is no apparent entrance even though the website says they're open. The only place to park is on Hunter Point and the street is actually lined with RVS, tents, and campers. It feels like you are intruding into someone's home/neighborhood, not going into a public park. And there is trash everywhere. And from the looks of it not many trash cans. Graffiti everywhere (no, not street art, tags). We couldn't find any park entrance and in our search some guys drove by and catcalled me. In one part of the street another woman began chasing another and telling her she shouldn't walk alone. Not the place to be as a female on your own for sure, I was glad I was there with others. A bunch of windsurfers and kiteboarders were double parking next to the RVS in their Audis and going to windsurf so it's maybe safe to leave your car there. But it doesn't feel safe and the website really doesn't convey the reality of the situation that the park is in- it makes it seem comparable to Coyote Point or some other Bay park when it doesn't even seem to be open. The wind is pretty epic and obviously the view of the Bay is very pretty. If it were a windsurfing spot alone it would be 5 stars but all the other factors like lack of parking and park cleanliness took away from the beauty.

Every morning I take my dog out for a jog. The view is beautiful & the air is fresh. Thanks

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.

I came here to relax with friends on November 2019. Quite frankly, I already knew my review of this place would not be good when the first thing I see after stepping out of my car is a guy peeing on the rocks by the water...not even in the cover of bushes, just right out in the open where anyone can see him doing it as they're walking by. As a single female, this is not a place I would go to alone. The only reason I got out of my car was because my friends were with me (we were a mixed group of guys & girls). We noticed a few guys just hanging out at the end of the parking lot, playing music, and we could smell pot as we passed by that area. But no one gave us any problems...although to be honest we passed by fast and just avoided that area for the rest of our stay. I wasn't too impressed with the views, but my friends and I hadn't seen each other in a while and were more focused on catching up than in walking around and taking in the views. We basically found a few benches to sit on and just chit-chatted the afternoon away. There were family parties going on, along with kids and dogs running around, so maybe safety is not as much of an issue here as I initially thought. But again, if I ever do come back here, I will not be coming here alone. PROS: -Lots of free parking spaces (in the parking lot & on the street). -Dog friendly: We saw lots of dogs walking with their people. Most of the dogs were not on leashes, so something to bear in mind if you're planning to bring a fur baby who is not dog-friendly. CONS: -I would not feel comfortable visiting this place alone.

I'd love nothing more than to watch the Seahawks in person when they play in San Francisco every year, but the simple fact is I can't justify the price, not when I've got a perfectly good HDTV to watch them on, and plenty of sports bars for that matter (although I dursn't root for Seattle in an SF bar, do I?). Besides, none of my other friends are that into football. Long story short, I'm not likely to ever see the inside of Monster Park. But that's no reason to leave this corner of the city unexplored, is it? When I first saw the park service map of Candlestick Point SRA, I thought "wow, how have I overlooked this for so long?". But then again, McLaren Park looked pretty impressive on a map too. You just never know in the Bayview. So, given my ambivalent expectations, Candlestick Point turned out to be pretty impressive on the whole. In the soft winter light, with a haze over the still waters blocking any view of the east bay, and with the fishermen all staying home because of the oil spill, it was an incredibly peaceful place that feels far removed from the rest of the city, which, geographically, it pretty much is. The whole place is impressively large, and the park shoreline stretches a long way from the main entrance in both directions, but the obvious highlight is the walk out to Sunrise Point and the fishing pier there, from which you can get a great view of Mt San Bruno and the upper peninsula shoreline. There's a ton of picnic areas, many of which actually looked inviting (although the park service was a little over-zealous with the wind barriers, if you ask me). There's also an insane amount of squirrels running around, and lots of ducks in the cove. All in all, not a bad place for an afternoon stroll, and an excellent addition to any morning bike ride. I thought I could mosey over to Bayview Park as well (that's the giant hill behind the stadium), but it turns out the only access is from the NW side. Next time I guess.

We made it to the Candlestick Point SRA Sun 1/11/09. It was a nice, warm day in Winter with no wind, amazing. FREE parking for us, we didn't see any attendant so not sure if this is normal. We parked near the Old Ferry Pier and there's plenty of bathrooms-flushed toilet w/ sink inside. We did the flat, 2 miles RT walk around. We had lunch on a picnic table, then went to Hermit's Cove and saw many birds in the water & on the Old Ferry Pier. Nice to take pics of Candlestick Park - Home of the SF 49ers (football team). We also walked to Fishing Pier, saw Mudflats Plover, SF Bay, saw the "Orchestra For Natives Of the Future" sculpture - cool sculpture you can bang on with your hands to make sounds. No windchimes/windharp at Windharp Hill - bummer. Dogs on leash allowed, fire pits available for use. Ok place to visit if you want to have a nice picnic. Ranger office: 415-671-0145.

Nice and quiet even though there ms a freeway close by. A lot of graffiti too lol. Overall if you're a Shaolin monk/ninja in training you'll like the peaceful vibe of the area. Parkings,easy it's a sandlot of sorts. If you just washed your car don't take it there lol.

I often come here during my free time. I love how peaceful it is! And the view is great.

California's 1st "Urban" state recreation area. since 1973. With windsurfing, bike paths, and hiking offered here, I don't know why I never discovered this area before. Plenty of parking. There are picnic areas. You have to reserve any of the 4 group sites. There is a art exhibit. There is a sculpture which consists of percussion instruments & steel drums. I am a big fan of the San Francisco Bay Trail for the excellent views and access to the the recreation areas, piers, and beaches. I loved sitting on a picnic table near the fishing pier. I can only imagine sunrise here is beautiful.

Great area to find people doing drugs, 10/10 would avoid. Not a nice area, went and was expecting it to be fairly nice due to yelp reviews and didn't even get out of my car. Total waste of an area and highlights this cities drug problem.

I love to come here and relax! When you have to much going on, this is the best place to fix it.

The park is great, if you don't mind all the people just sitting inside their cars doing who-knows-what, or the jerks doing doughnuts in the parking lot and playing loud music. It was definitely not a place to relax today.

So glad I discovered this place. Super peaceful and my dogs love it. And it has gorgeous views and lots of wildlife!

Wow! What a hidden gem. This place is so peaceful and relaxing. Great hiking trails. Lots of parking. There are lots of BBQ pits and the bathroom is clean. You don't see hardly any trash. Place is open 8am to 6pm. A fitness course along Candlestick's popular shoreline walking trails is an asset to those who wish to stay in shape. The park is popular for the fishing opportunities. The park offers hiking, jogging, bicycling, bird watching, informal games, and picnicking. There is a bike path and a fitness course. Candlestick Point is also a popular entry point for windsurfing on the bay. On any given day, people come to exercise, fish, and just enjoy the experience of "getting away from it all" - a treasured respite from city life. This will be my secret hiding spot. Make sure you check it out.

This is a great place to have a BBQ on the weekend. I won't share all my secrets but anyone knows if you're out to secure a good spot, the early bird catches the worm. The area is hidden right by candliestick stadium. Plenty of parking. Good for those who like being next to the water side. The squirrels are extremely friendly to the point of annoyance but it's fun to engage in the battle of wits. (They have no fear of us humans and will take your food from behind your back - consider yourself warned) People enjoy the park's trail and there are several old school obstacle exercise stations around the park. The rangers keep the park well maintained and the bathrooms are in good shape. Check it out and you won't be disappointed. For all the times i've gone, it's been nice and sunny.

Its next to the freeway but not that lit this early in the morning. I would be great to bring the children during the day when the sun is out.

What a stunning park in the Bayview! I took the dog for a long walk the day before Thanksgiving and ended up here. I loved it so much that I went back this weekend. There is plenty of free parking in the lot. The bathrooms are clean and well stocked with toilet paper and I encountered plenty of functioning water fountains for me and the dog. The park is very well monitored and dog are required to be on leash so be forewarned. I had the dog off leash and was alerted by other dog walkers to that they had been spoken to about the leash. The views from here are amazing and after the recent rains, the grass was lush and verdant. There is a little sandy beach the dog and a few kids enjoyed and I can imagine myself bringing a paddle board and spending hours exploring the calm waters once spring rolls around. There were people fishing off the pier both days. An added bonus was all the separate group picnic areas. These were well maintained and clean. Some have bbq grills and one of them even has a fire ring! I will definitely come back in the warmer months. This place seemed perfect for a large gathering. Really happy to find this gem in my backyard.

I remember having a picnic or something here before with my friends or a club back in high school . I recall walking a lot to get to this park . I also recall seeing ducks in the water . It's just a really relaxing and cool place to be . Forsure .

Came here to go fishing the other day. Caught nothing but a cold. But it was fun and I didn't get tangled with 50 other anglers. Great spot. I'll definitely be coming back here with my dog. Not crowded and fantastic views of the bay. Nice to see spots like this that improve the bay view name

this place is super clean, and has a lot of seats. It's nice to go on walks here or do some exercise. I brought the little ones and my dog here, they had a good time. Theres a little sandy beachy area, and when it's low tide, you're able to walk and discover the little crabs and clams. They were all having a good time, next time we will bbq here, they have bbq grills there and picnic areas.

Walking around with my family. Great view, there's private benches and fishing spots. Dogs can be allowed. There's fishes that you can even eat! Which is awesome. It's really nice and I enjoy this with my family. I recommend this area for those families who likes outdoors and enjoys fishing.