Are you tired of being at home? Need to get some ideas about what to do once restrictions are lifted?
Pack your lunch and check out our guide to spend time in a unique nature escape suspended in the sky: The Salesforce park.
Why visiting Salesforce Park is a good idea?
Visiting the Salesforce Park truly feels like a hidden escape in San Francisco. In the heart of the financial district, the park sits atop the Salesforce Transit Center, in the shadow of Salesforce Tower, previously known as the Transbay Tower, a +1,000 foot office skyscraper is visible from almost any part of the city.
The rooftop park is a majesty to observe, with 5.4 acres of greenery, including a theater, several playgrounds, cafés, and restaurants. While you can choose among several options to get into the Park, Grayline of San Francisco encourages you to board the gondola located at the corner of Freemont and Mission Streets.
To enjoy your trail in the Park, we propose you follow the walking path – also known by locals as the Salesforce loop – which tracks all the park perimeter and spans around half a mile. This route will allow you to enjoy a beautiful landscape with 600 trees, 15,000 plants, and 13 small botanical gardens with flora and fauna representing different parts of the world.
What are the Salesforce Park main points of interest?
Main Plaza
The central plaza of Salesforce Park features an oculus surrounded by a bamboo grove. Around this area, you will be able to walk above the largest walkable glass flor of its kind in the US. This place is our preferred option when coming with your friends & kids.
In order to comply with Public Health orders, all events and activities are temporarily suspended. Before the pandemic happened, you could participate in special events like silent disco nights or swing dancing.
Bus Fountain
Designed by Ned Kahn Studios, the Bus Fountain is one of the world’s longest water artworks ever made. Built with more than 1,200 feet of white and gray granite, the water sculpture is made by 247 water jets triggered by sensors that respond to the flow of buses’ vibrations on the deck below. We certainly love how Khan described his work “The fountain is like a huge musical instrument that is played by the bus drivers.”
Check this youtube video to see the fountain in action.
Children’s Play Area
There is no excellent park without a great children’s area. Look for a yellow structure located between the central lawn and the main plaza that includes a climbing rope set in a frame on a porous protective flooring that children will love to spend time on. After playing and capering in the game structure, kids are free to grab a book from the Children’s Reading Room or borrow a board game. (These activities are not currently available, but they will be as soon as pandemic restrictions are lifted)
The Gondola
This might not be your usual form of transportation to a park, but it positively offers a much more scenic ride than the ordinary elevator or escalator. The 20-passenger glass cabin carries passengers from the new Mission Square to the park and operates 8 a.m.-8 p.m. (May 1-Oct. 31) and 8 a.m.-7 p.m. (Nov. 1-Apr. 30), and is free of charge.
Walking Trail – Salesforce Park loop –
Ramble past lovely redwoods, bamboos, and palms accurately set among the skyscrapers of SOMA or just take a seat on the benches and relax while spotting butterflies, dragonflies, and hummingbirds hovering above the lavender patch. The trail is a 0.6-mile loop that surrounds the Park’s perimeter, where 13 mini botanical gardens are labeled with interpretive signs representing an array of flora and fauna representing regions of the world.
Check out the Salesforce Park Garden guide to learn all about the gardens you’ll be able to explore.
What are the Salesforce Park opening hours?
Summer Hours (May 1 – October 31): 6 am to 9pm & Winter Hours (Nov. 1 – Apr. 30): 6 am to 8pm
How to get to Salesforce Park?
Thanks to its centric location, Salesforce Park is relatively easy to get to using public transportation:
Option 1: Take the BART and exit either at Montgomery St. station or Embarcadero station, both located one block away from the park
Option 2 – Muni: You can choose between several Muni bus lines that make stops in the Transit Center: 5/5R Fulton, 7 Haight, 10 Townsend, 12 Folsom, 14/14R/14X Mission, 25 Treasure Island, and 38/38R Geary. You could also elect to take the Muni light rail lines and get off on Montgomery or Embarcadero stations.
Do you want to discover this place with a private guided tour?
Please check out our San Francisco Tech Walking Tour, where you will visit the Salesforce Park and learn about the high tech history in San Francisco. Why tech started here? What is the reason for having a park called after a Tech company? Our guides answer these and many more questions on our tour.
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