Huntington Park

There’s just something about being at the top top top of Nob Hill. Oh sure, you’ll hear the term «Snob Hill» thrown around from time to time. Haters gonna hate. I would advise that you’re far better served to appreciate.
Let’s be honest. The history of San Francisco and California is one of wealth. You might not want to hear it, but this was a land settled by people who wanted to one day be the millionaires and billionaires. People of all backgrounds came to take a run at the golden life — and for that matter, they still do today. Standing at the top of Nob Hill, I think back to the titans of industry that created the San Francisco. And, candidly, I think of the titans who continue to shape SF today. Tech money comes and goes, but the fundamentals remain. One fundamental that linked San Francisco to the modern world were the railroads. It was a game changer to be able to come by rail instead of an epic ship voyage around South America, or a Donner Party like debacle in a wagon. This park take its name from one of the Big Four railroad tycoons of the 19^th Century: Collis Huntington. The park was donated by his widow in 1915, and it serves as a gorgeous spot to enjoy your day.
This is a relatively small park, basically one block on each side. There are nice features like a central fountain, sculpture, benches, beautiful flowers and a nice playground. But, it’s the surroundings that make it. Huntington Park is surrounded by such gems as The Fairmont Hotel, Mark Hopkins Hotel, Scarlett Huntington Hotel (yep, same Huntington), the Masonic Auditorium, Grace Cathedral, the Pacific-​Union Club and of course the mighty California Cable Car Line. This is an elegant little square that has played and plays home to some of the most important people in San Francisco. Guess what? You can come up here and be part of it. I would contend that there are few nicer places to sit on a park bench and read a book, sip on coffee or just watch people playing with their kids or dogs while they pass through. Take a few laps, look out over the vistas of The City. Head whichever way downhill you wish, there are great places to venture off to. Do yourself a favor — get a ride up! It’s steep hills on three of the four sides.
If you have never been to SF, I would put this on your list of places you should see if it’s a sunny day. Come and be part of history. But, please, if you’re taking the Cable Car up from downtown, don’t do it at rush hour after work.

Nice quiet park in the middle of SFO hustle and bustle to sit and catch your breath (after the steep climb up the hill) and enjoy people watching.

I love jogging here at around 12 midnight to 1 am on a Saturday night because it is completely empty. The peacefulness is amazing and you’re basically the only person around the neighborhood. I also go around the fairmont hotel and go down to the hill and run back up for a more challenging exercise

Such a lovely park! I was in town visiting my sister, who lives one block from this beautiful park, and so I walked past this place quite often. On one of the days I decided to bring my sister’s roommate’s dog (Gracie) over to the park for a little socializing and fun. Oh man what a great time we had! Soooo many dogs at this park! and so many of them playing nicely off leash! There’s a fenced section with children’s equipment, swings and stuff, and then some grassy areas around for everyone else, including dogs. It’s a beautiful park with a beautiful fountain in the middle and every human and dog we encountered was friendly and nice! Definitely a little slice of heaven! Go chill, bring your dog, your kid, your book, your friend, whatever! Lovely place.

O Huntington Park não é um parque, mas sim uma praça, mas não por isso perde pontos! O lugar é lindo demais! Fica entre o famosíssimo Fairmont Hotel e a espetacular e fantástica Grace Cathedral. Chegamos lá pelo Cable Car da California St, que pegamos logo após visitar o Ferry Building. Vale muito a visita!

This is a pretty little park with a lovely view of Grace Cathedral right across the street. I wandered in and sat on one of the many benches, taking in the greenery and birds singing and the sound of the fountain, when an absolutely adorable little black poodle bounded up to me, curly ears flying, and leaned against my legs. An elderly man eventually came after her, and explained that this was Bella and that she did this all the time. I hope that when you visit this park, you meet Bella, too!

A picture perfect park in Nob Hill that is kid-​, couple-​, singleton– and family-​friendly.
Huntington Park is situated on the most prestigious hill in San Francisco.
Since the silver barons built their mansions here and the cable cars were created to ferry goods up & down, Nob Hill has had a refined vibe.
Huntington Park replaced a historic mansion which most likely burned down during the 1906 earthquake. The park itself is an oasis of greenery which has children’s swings, climbing structure and sand to entertain youngsters.
The fountain of the tortoises is a work of art.
What a wonderful place to play while growing up!
Dog owners cordially greet other dog owners while their pets rub noses and sniff.
On a good day, bring a picnic blanket and sit on the grassy squares and peer West to Grace Cathedral; to the East is the Pacific Union club and the Fairmont & Mark Hopkins hotels.
At holiday time (which is now), the park is lit by green and red lights draped throughout the trees. Spectacular at night time.
An idyllic park. Any day. Any time. I love it.

Huntington Park is one of my single favorite places in San Francisco.
Actually, one of the best dates I’ve had was here, in part.
There are more than 40 benches around the perimeter of the park alone, so you’ll always find a spot to sit. The landscaping is very classic and kind of makes me feel like I’m in the UK, especially being across from the gothic wonder that is Grace Cathedral.
You can eat your dim sum from Chinatown here in the morning and watch tiny old people do tai chi, or you can drink whiskey coffees here on a date in the late afternoon. Coming here is always a good idea.
You are wonderful, Huntington Park.

Don’t get me wrong. I love this park. I come here daily. But what is with all the DOGS???
I have some bad news for some of you… Huntington Park is NOT a dog park, but, nonetheless, every morning this park is crowded with rambunctious mutts jumping, sniffing, running, peeing, licking, and worse…
The other day someone was having a doggy birthday party for their animals on the brick path. Really? I had to walk through the grass to get around them, which is a dangerous prospect given the aforementioned issues. Moreover, the dog wearing a birthday hat looked to be even more irritated than I.
One dog, Cooper, has bounded towards me and tried to eat my croissant on numerous occasions. Come on, Cooper, have some respect!
I’m all for well-​mannered doggies being walked on leashes, but Huntington Park as turned into a true circus. All this so lonely single people can use their dogs as a reason to speak to one another? It’s not worth it! Please, try online dating instead!

Whenever I’m in the area, I always make it a point to stop and spend some time at Huntington Park.
Despite the grand surroundings, this park feels cozy. Especially with the orchard style trees that filter the noise of California street, I can have a relaxing time sitting on the bench, watching the very toned (and tanned) half naked runner stretching in front of the fountain or talk to one of the well dressed rich ladies who walk their Maltese poodle on the grass.
And when you get tired staring at the opulent buildings around you, head inside Grace Cathedral to get a pick me up at Peet’s Coffee, Snob Hill’s best kept secret.

Excellent playground on nob hill! Great play structures and not seedy at all :) my kids had a great time.

Beautiful park to visit on a sunny day, with Grace cathedral in the background. There are ample benches, a water fountain, and a small playground for kids. A great place for couples or families to hang out in. If I lived here, I’d visit often.
Despite signs instructing dog owners to keep their pets on leashes, dogs roam free here. I wouldn’t sit down in the grass.

An urban oasis !!! This is Nob Hill’s heartbeat.
I love Huntington Park. Though, it’s turned into quite of a dog park, not its original intent, which is not pleasing to all, as some of the dogs sure are rowdy and wild and take over the joint. Peeing in the grass turning it yellow. A lot of butt sniffing occurs at this park, along with barking and off-​leash dogs chasing each other, sometimes running into the street, which is dangerous and a concern. One of my Nob Hill neighbors no longer brings her dogs here because it gets to be too much commotion and she doesn’t feel like breaking up the dogs fights that do occur here. I enjoy the numerous puppy kisses & hugs I receive whilst here, however.
There are lovely views, beautiful serene spaces to sit and read, think, watch the skyline, take photographs, have a small picnic or chat with friends, lovers or loved ones. In the winter, children’s Christmas choruses perform for Nob Hill residents, in the summer, painters set up outdoor art galleries of their works. The Fountain of the Tortoises splattering water on cement in the center is soothing to hear. They say Nob Hill is reminiscent of Rome and Paris, because of it’s inspiration in architecture, and Huntington Park speaks to that aesthetic.
Just across the way, is Grace Cathedral, where free yoga is offered Tuesday evenings, with a labyrinth, too, for meditative walking. There’s a community ambiance to Huntington Park that remains steadfast. It was a piece of Collis P. Huntingoton’s estate, and is associated with the Scarlet-​Huntington Hotel in name. It is kept up by the Nob Hill neighborhood association. If you make a full turn in the center, you’ll see you are surrounded by the robber barons estates that are now hotels (the Scarlet-​Huntington Hotel, the Fairmont Hotel and the Mark Hopkins) or performance centers (The Masonic) and Grace Cathedral. You’ll hear political discussion, all sorts of languages and laughter between good friends. I love when the cherry blossom trees are in bloom. They’ve also just added a drinking fountain with the top portion dedicated to humans, and the bottom portion for all the pups that visit this park daily.
I love my neighborhood natural space & am grateful for a beautiful green space in the middle of my city life.
Pro-​tip:
*If you want to eat at Nob Hill Café or Venticello, and have to put your name down for the usually long wait, you can walk here to pass the time.
*If you ride the cable car, you can get off at Taylor & Washington, and walk a block and a half to the park.
P. S. Sometimes I blow bubbles here, much to the bemusement of the giggling children! One must never abandon their little girl soul. Bubbles are quite soothing.

Decent park. Nestled right in the middle of this part of the city. The children’s area is gated which is really nice but the whole dogs on no leash can be an issue. Considering that the dogs can easily go into the kids area because of the elevation of the ground where they usually are. As far as the playground, it’s decent nothing too special. They have swings and slides with a little gym, but that’s about it. If you’re looking for a quant little park this is your place. If not, might want to look somewhere else. I also liked the little fountain in the center of the park, it was cute and I feel it added character.
Downside to this park is that there are no public restrooms. You have to walk somewhere else to go.

Nice place for an evening walk.
It’s a great little park right across from Grace Cathedral.

Exquisite location and setting, but something needs to done about controlling the dogs. Many owners allow their pets to run around off-​leash which is disrespectful to those present.
City gardeners are also constantly re-​seeding the lawns to keep– up with the damage caused by dogs. Just strikes me as very unfair and self-​centered on the part of some dog owners.

Huntington Park is nice little park right in front of a pretty nice looking cathedral.
One night a few weeks ago my boyfriend and I decided to hit up this place after dinner. We circled a few times & couldn’t find parking. We eventually parked in the garage right next to the park. Can’t believe that there were so many assigned private spots for the church officials. It was kinda funny and yet kinda annoying.
It was drizzling that night but we managed to enjoy the view of water fountain and snapped a couple pics. :)

This is probably the only decent park in the area, right in front of Grace Cathedral. You can escape the hustle and bustle of Union Square by hiking up Nob Hill a couple blocks. I had passed by many times before, seeing artists display art. Tai Chi practicers and other local people from the area that are trying to relax. I ate my lunch here the other day and enjoyed it thoroughly, even with the birds coming to bother me for food hehe.
The benches seemed newly refurbished or built and it is very clean. One thing that it does not have is a bathroom which I can understand they probably cannot keep because of the relentless homeless population that roams even this part of town. Lots of overseas travelers coming by here as well because the Fairmont hotel is right next to the park. I had a out of town-​er come by and ask me for the nearest Café, and I just direct them to Bush St. Wish I could have spent more time here, it was just too darn windy cold!

Beautiful place to come and clear your mind and surround yourself with cute pups, both big and small.

I love this place! And more important Tie, my puppy loves it a lot!
Awesome people come there at any hour during the day, you will always meet friendly faces or tails :)
Great view! Good air! Best peace of green and quite in the middle of the city. Oh, and there is electricity on each tree, if you want to relax with your computer!!! :-)

I and my dog coming here at least one time a day.
This place is really safe. Sometimes i go to there almost midnight for my dog.
Some dog’s owner are there too for same reason.
Reading a book, eat a lunch, take a nap,
or just sitting. If you need green and relax come to here.
This park is an oasis in the busy city.
この公園には沢山の人が犬の散歩にやってきます。もちろん、ただのんびりと座ってる人もいます。
そんなに大きな公園ではありませんが、見晴らしも良く安全な地域ですので夜に行っても大丈夫です。

Nice, safe park during the day and even safe at night. It has great views and is relatively quiet. In a beautiful setting of nob hill. Heads up, during the day it is primarily a dog park and people don’t clean up after their dogs so it can be challenging to find a good spot in the grass to enjoy a sunny day.

Fully deserving of all the fine reviews! Clean, very well maintained, and some beautiful flora throughout. Neat playground area for the ankle biters, and a nice fountain producing some soothing sounds. .. what a gem!
Cheers!
RS

It’s nice here… and you’re sitting in front of a giant, beautiful church. It’s fun to people watch and see everyone’s dogs.
They did close the playground part for renovations. And one elderly man looked a little disappointed as he held onto the fence staring longingly at the empty swings. kind of creepy.

Lovely little park on the top of Nob Hill just steps from the Mark Hopkins, Fairmont, Huntington Hotels as well as Grace Cathedral.
Can hop right on the cable car and take it down to Ferry Terminal Building if you’re so inclined.
I’ve stopped here quite a few times with my kid to enjoy the playground and sit in the benches soaking up the sun. People let their dogs off-​leash here despite the signs, but I’m not going to make a big deal of that. Live and let live.

Beautiful park in Nob Hill that is located next to Grace Cathedral.
Nice place to sit, take in the sun and relax…
On the California Cable Car line should you decide to take a trip here and not walk the hills surrounding Nob.