How Sunset Dunes Became San Francisco’s Coolest Park

Before It Was a Park: The Great Highway

For most of the past century, San Francisco’s western edge was dominated by the Great Highway, a four-lane road built atop old sand dunes. It created a hard barrier between Ocean Beach and the surrounding neighborhoods like the Outer Sunset and Outer Richmond.

Pedestrians once used underground tunnels to access the beach. Eventually, those were filled in, and crosswalks were added instead. The highway was a boundary—and for many, a nuisance, a hazard.

Then came 2020.

Pandemic Pause and a New Vision

When COVID-19 shut down the city, San Francisco closed many roads to car traffic, creating more space for outdoor activity. The Great Highway was among them, and for the first time in decades, residents could walk, bike, and skate along the coastline without cars.

As the pandemic waned, some of these streets reopened to traffic—but the Great Highway closure stuck. It had given the community a glimpse of something different. Something better.

At the same time, car-free spaces like JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park were becoming permanent, complete with art installations, pianos in the middle of the road, and picnic areas with food trucks and beer gardens. The public’s appetite for reimagined streetscapes was growing.

This sparked a vision: what if the Great Highway could be more than a temporary closure? What if it could become San Francisco’s next great park?

Friends of Ocean Beach Park

That vision became a movement. In the Outer Sunset, a group of neighbors began organizing events and sharing ideas under a name that would eventually become Friends of Ocean Beach Park.

Back then, the effort felt scrappy—homegrown, full of passion and uncertainty. I started bringing my camera along during bike rides and walks, photographing the ways people were using the space. It was still just a personal project.

But that changed quickly.

Compromise and Community Effort

When the city moved to reopen the Great Highway, a compromise emerged, and the road became open to cars on weekdays and reserved for pedestrians on weekends.

It was a start—but far from ideal. A part-time park isn’t really a park at all. Nothing could be built or made permanent. The space couldn’t fully come alive.

That’s when Friends of Ocean Beach Park went to work.

They organized community events every weekend—tai chi, chair & mat yoga, solstice parties, live music, and more. The biggest of all was the Great Hauntway, a Halloween celebration that brought more than 10,000 people every year.

By this point, I was officially part of the team. I documented events, filmed interviews, and even set up my Popup Photo Studio at the Hauntway. My role deepened just as the campaign did.

Ocean Beach Park & Proposition K

To become a permanent park, the plan had to go to the people. The group launched a campaign to pass Proposition K, which would officially convert the Great Highway, from Lincoln Ave to Sloat Blvd, into public parkland.

During this phase, the space was referred to as Ocean Beach Park, a placeholder name used in campaign materials and ballot language.

Friends of Ocean Beach Park continued hosting events and launched a full-on voter engagement effort. I spent the year recording video interviews with people enjoying the space—parents, seniors, skaters, dog walkers—capturing why they believed in the vision.

By November 2024, after months of canvassing and storytelling, the campaign proved a success. Proposition K passed with 55% of the vote.

Designing an Accessible Park for the Coast

With the measure approved, the planning phase began. This wasn’t a typical park—it was two miles long, a narrow stretch of asphalt perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Any plan had to account for wind, salt air, shifting sand, and sea-level rise.

Still, it was a rare opportunity: to create a coastal park in San Francisco, from scratch, on land that once served cars. With a paved road and flat space, the hope for unprecedented coastal access for all mobility types was high. Friends of Ocean Beach Park worked alongside SF Recreation and Parks, designers, environmental groups, and community voices to shape a public space slated to open just five months later.

Opening Day: Sunset Dunes Comes to Life

On April 12, 2025, I stood in a sea of people as a ribbon was cut and Sunset Dunes Park was officially born.

Grassroots organizers stood beside city officials. Musicians played. Kids zipped by on scooters. There were speeches, really good ones in fact! But also just a lot of joy. The kind you get only when a big idea actually comes true.

As of Opening Day, the park features:

• Art installations, from massive giraffes to ground murals of local wildlife
• A bike skills course and a skatepark
• Gathering spaces and benches made from salvaged wood
• Dedicated lanes for bikes and scooters
• Wide paths for walking and strollers
• Event spaces still buzzing with activity

And this is just the beginning. The space will continue to evolve—designed by and for the people who use it.

What’s next?

Sunset Dunes Park has the potential to become one of the most iconic public parks in America—a symbol of what’s possible when a city listens to its people.

I’ll be continuing to photograph this space as it grows and changes. If you’re planning a visit to Ocean Beach or the Outer Sunset, bring a camera or just your curiosity.

Learn more at…

👉 SF Rec & Park Sunset Dunes Page
👉 Friends of Ocean Beach Park