San Francisco Neighborhoods · Holly Park
Holly Park
Fog zoneBernal's quiet green crown — a ring of homes wrapped around a round hilltop park, where a single loop path delivers a 360-degree sweep of the city and the streets below stay residential and calm.
- 360-degree views from one of SF's oldest parks
- Quiet, walkable residential streets
- Cortland Ave's shops minutes away
- Hilltop loop path and playground at the center
On the map
Open Holly Park on the map →The story
Holly Park sits on land carved from the old Bernal land grant and set aside as one of San Francisco's earliest park reservations in the 1860s, donated to the city in 1862. For decades the surrounding Bernal Heights slopes were sparsely built, leaving the new public land hard to reach; the park was improved in the 1920s and again with city funding from the 1950s onward. Today its 7.5-acre hilltop oval, crowned by Holly Hill, is ringed by Victorian and cottage-style homes along Holly Park Circle. The name likely traces to the hollyleaf (Islais) cherry that once grew near Islais Creek just south of the hill.
Things most people don’t know
One of SF's oldest parks
Holly Park was set aside as a public reservation in the 1860s and donated to the city in 1862, making it among San Francisco's oldest municipal parks.
360-degree views
A loop path around the summit of Holly Hill opens up panoramic views of downtown, the Salesforce Tower, the Bay, and Sutro Tower.
A round park ringed by homes
Holly Park Circle wraps the 7.5-acre oval, with homes facing the green on all sides along Bocana, Highland, Appleton, and Murray streets.
Public art on the hill
A kinetic sculpture, 'Odonatoa' by Joyce Hsu, stands near the children's playground.
Eating and drinking near Holly Park
Holly Park is primarily residential — these sit in Bernal Heights, the Mission.
Restaurants
- Moki's Sushi & Pacific Grill · 615 Cortland Ave
- Emmy's Spaghetti Shack · 3230 Mission St
Bars
- Wild Side West · 424 Cortland Ave
- Holy Water · 309 Cortland Ave
- Progressive Grounds · 400 Cortland Ave
Getting around and getting care
Transit. The 67-Bernal Heights climbs the hill nearby (Ellsworth and Crescent), and the 24-Divisadero runs along Cortland Ave; the 14-Mission and 49 run down Mission St. Glen Park and 24th St Mission BART are a short ride away.
Nearest hospital. CPMC Mission Bernal Campus, 3555 Cesar Chavez St (about 1 mi)
Thinking about Holly Park?
Send me an address and I will come back with its sun, wind and fog, what is under it, and what has closed on the block.