Skip to content
Candlestick Point State Recreation Area, San Francisco, CA

Photo: Eric Fredericks, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

Candlestick Point State Recreation Area

A bayside state park in southeast San Francisco with trails, a public fishing pier, picnic areas, and windy conditions popular with windsurfers.

500 Hunters Point Expressway, San Francisco, CA 94124 · San Francisco, CA

About Candlestick Point State Recreation Area

Candlestick Point State Recreation Area is located in the Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood at the southeastern edge of San Francisco. It was established as California's first urban state park after local residents organized to reclaim shoreline that had been used for junkyards. The landscape mixes grassy uplands, coastal salt marsh, mudflats, and small beaches. Visitors can walk or bike its accessible trails, fish from a public pier, watch birds during migration seasons, picnic with barbecue grills, kayak, swim, or windsurf. The park's shoreline lies on the Pacific Flyway, so waterfowl gather here in winter. Afternoon winds are common, and layered clothing is suggested.

  • #urban park
  • #San Francisco Bay
  • #fishing pier
  • #bird watching
  • #picnic areas

What's around here?

The closest stops to Candlestick Point State Recreation Area, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sports & Outdoors

    San Bruno Mountain State Park

    Check prices

    Hillside state park on the edge of San Francisco, known for hiking trails, wildlife, and wide Bay Area views.

    3.4 mi awayMore like this

  • Tours
    Iconic

    Red and White Fleet

    $25–$50

    San Francisco Bay sightseeing cruises departing from Fisherman's Wharf, including views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    3.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Mission Dolores Park

    Check prices

    Roughly 16-acre city park in the Mission District with lawns, palm trees, sports courts, and city views.

    4.1 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums

    GLBT Historical Society

    Under $25

    A San Francisco museum and archive preserving and displaying LGBTQ history, with a focus on the Bay Area and Northern California.

    4.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing

    Harvey Milk Plaza

    Check prices

    Castro District plaza commemorating Harvey Milk, at the southern entrance to Castro station.

    4.6 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Tank Hill

    Check prices

    A hilltop municipal park in San Francisco's Ashbury Heights neighborhood, named for a former water tank.

    5.0 mi awayMore like this

Near Candlestick Point State Recreation Area

More of the same kind

Keep exploring