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Natural Areas

Grandview Park

  • Location: 14th Avenue and Noriega Street
  • Established: 1976
  • Size: Park: 4.0 acres/Natural Area: 4.0 acres
  • Park Type: Dune

This aptly-named hilltop park in the Sunset District has stunning views stretching from downtown San Francisco to Point Reyes and around to Lake Merced. The park features a dune plant community atop 140-million-year-old rock called Franciscan chert, which was first formed when the region was part of the ancient sea floor. Most carbonate shells dissolve in ocean waters before they reach the sea floor, but radiolarian shells are silica-based and do not readily dissolve. Millions of years ago, countless radiolaria combined with mineral dust blown from inland deserts to form layers of chert, which were later uplifted to land.

The predominant plant community at Grandview Park is coastal scrub (bush lupine, dune tansy, beach strawberry, bush monkey flower, and coyote brush). The hill is a harsh environment for plants; the sand retains very little moisture and the plants must survive without rain for six months of the year.

Since the supply of wind-blown sand from the ocean has been cut off by urban development, sand eroded from Grandview does not replenish itself. The hill's fragile plant community and animal habitat depend on stopping erosion. When visiting Grandview Park, please stay on stairways and established paths.

Park Features: