Sunnyside Recreation Center

Sunnyside is a nice playground, a major improvement and facelift from what it used to be prior to Y2K back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, when it was decent and okay.
It’s a safe nice place for families to take the kids.
There’s 1 tennis court; 1 full length outdoor basketball court with 2 hoops; and then some nice rather new recreational jungle gym area with swings and the typical activity play sets.
Parking isn’t too hard ‘tho I’d warn… don’t park in front of the residents of Foerster Street on either side to the point where you’re blocking their driveways.
One resident is known for «popping tires» to inconsiderate violators infringing upon his driveway.
Another resident simply just calls the police to get the cars towed who stray into his/​her driveway.
There’s lots of those little spaces too small for even compact cars that are tempting to park in.
Save yourself the stress and grief and find legal, right sized parking without blocking the driveway areas and you’ll be okay.
If you go up Teresita Avenue or down a few blocks you’ll find adequate parking spaces.

Attended a musical event here — beautiful setting, elegant, nice gardens around the renovated building…

Great playground! There’s a sandbox, bucket swings, benches and some small tables, and lots of cool unique play structure. Great park for all ages. They also have a large grassy area so bring a blanket & a lunch. My favorite thing about this park is the sand area– it has a water spout and a water play table. This is a cool park to come to on a sunny day; just don’t forget your sunscreen– there’s very little shade.

Really cool neighborhood park. I’ve been here before but this time I brought my toddler with me and it’s a different experience. Although its near a hill, we were able to find parking right in front of the park.
This park offers nice views and I like the cushioned ground vs mulch chips which I dislike.
I only spotted two table bench and they do have bathrooms.

This place is really beautiful and my dog loves going here. I have an older dog that has end stage congestive heart failure, and she enjoys slowly exploring the park.
I would give this place five stars if it weren’t for the wack job dog hating lady that comes in from time to time to harass people.
Overall the people here are very sweet, and the play area for the kids is beautiful.

We live a couple of blocks from here, so my son Ezra and I come to the playground here all the time.
This is a great playground for toddlers; Ezra’s a big fan of the water spout in the sandbox, and as a parent, I really appreciate the soft rubber surface. It’s also been a great place to meet other parents in the neighborhood.

We’re new to this neighborhood. One of our nice new neighbors told me about this playground, and I’m so glad she did. It’s in walking distance, so I know we’ll be frequenting this beautiful park with my daughter.

This is an excellent park and playground. I don’t have kids, but the playground looks really modern and even high tech. They also have a fairly large grassy area for playing frisbee or picnicking or walking the dog. On the nest higher levels there are basketball and tennis courts. There are restrooms on site and there are also picnic tables. Usually not too crowded, and excellent addition to the Sunnyside neighborhood.

The play structures are really fun for both older and younger kids. It is not overly crowded here — which is also very nice.
The only thing is that this part of SF can be cloudy and even though the name is «Sunnyside», it is not really sunny side!

Small but on a sunny day it’s full of very nice people. It’s even worth driving to from elsewhere for a change of pace.

This is the best park I’ve found in the City for toddlers. If you’ve been to a few, you know what I’m talking about. Kids change a lot from age 1 to 12 and they’re looking for different kinds of playgrounds at each age.
This park’s toys are all toddler-​friendly, and it’s a pretty big area. Plus, there’s a nice lawn area with a nice view for hanging out, where you can watch your kid everywhere he goes.
Not at all surprising that on the day I stumbled across it, there were two different kid birthday parties going on.
Bathroom has a changing table and is relatively clean.

This is such a cool park! My favorite in the city. I do live 3 blocks away so I’m a little partial but it truly is a fun place to drag the rugrats to. Everything is brand new and very updated and there’s something for every age. When I was a kid, the playgrounds we had were so lame compared to this one. My favorite thing, as the mom, is that huge, round swing. It’s pretty cool. I can push them on that thing for an hour. I think my four year old once fell asleep on it. Gives me time to read, text, people watch, daydream… I do agree that parking can be an issue. But what else is new in the city. There’s usually parking up the hill a bit.

This is the kind of playground you want for your neighborhood. Enough said.
Nevertheless, it would be a shame to leave out some details in my review. This renovated and modernized playground has the awesome recycled rubber surface parents love for their littlest ones, and the equipment is abstract-​funky like a Joan Miro painting (it’s made by Denmark-​based Kompan and US-​based Landscape Structures). What an oddly pleasing esthetic for a big kid play structure. And the little ones get a very, very nice climber/​slide structure that is safe and fun (not as funky but quite fun for tots). There’s a designated sand pit surrounded by a low wall, which doubles as a bench, and there’s even a little feisty push-​on water faucet for castle-​making pleasures. A couple of ride-​ons, spin-​seats, and seesaw round out the equipment.
For tots there are two bucket toddler swings!
There is also a spinning rope web for climbing. I dig the climbing part, but climbing while spinning makes me want to throw up a little. I kid you not, that thing will make you dizzy.
This is a top-​notch playground, a definite model for other neighborhoods that are considering a complete renewal or overhaul project.
The bad thing about this playground is parking; there’s only street parking. I did not see any rec center parking lots in this residential neighborhood. I visited this playground after 5:30 pm on a Thursday evening, so I can only comment that parking near one of the Mangels entrances was easy. I imagine weekend parking to be much tougher. I also saw two dog owners and dogs there, and I hope that isn’t a sign that poop is left all over the grass and playground.
The park is also enclosed by big, tall blue gates — a definite plus for those of us with bolters. You have to beware that the gates are open, though. Don’t get engrossed in a conversation, or your tot may wander out a gate.
I did not use the bathroom facilities, so I cannot review their cleanliness.

With a über-​facelift just completed at the end of 2007, this playground and recreation center is freaking awesome! The playground structure is great for elementary and younger, funky climbing things and a very cool spinning rope contraption that any grown-​up needs to partake of.
Well done SF Recreation and Parks, well done!