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Balboa Park
Categories: Active Life Parks Active Life Playgrounds Parks, Playgrounds [Edit]
San Jose Ave & Ocean AveSan Francisco, CA 94112
Neighborhood: Mission Terrace
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
19 reviews for Balboa Park
19 reviews in English
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Review from Bruce W.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 8/28/2011
Having a park right across the street is great when you have dogs, I take mine right in front of the pool, there seems to be more dogs there, There are signs which tell you to keep them on leash but if your dog is at least somewhat obedient then you should be ok. The only thing I don't like about the park isn't really the Park's fault. Every time there seems to be little league baseball games there is a ton of trash left over, stop being filthy people or I will pick it up, and shove it down your throat. =)
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/3/2010
Though I live right across from it I rarely really go to it, The pool is nice Its cheap and the… Read more »
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Review from Rebekah T.
San Francisco, CA
Oh Balboa Park with your unpredictable weather. Whatever shall we do with you? We've been playing softball at Balboa Park for now the second season of the Yelp Battle of the Bay Softball Game.
It's easy to get to by Public Transportation and there are always plenty of seating and room for our BBQ set up and such.
The Softball and Baseball Diamonds don't really look regulation, but they are good enough to play. The grass is okay, just as long as it hasn't been overly raining.
The bathroom situation since has been fixed, so I can't really complain about that. They used to close them at 3pm - even though our reservation was until 6pm. Note: It's funny how the bathrooms stayed open until 6pm - yet some chose to hit the bushes instead. Toilet Paper and clean water are essential at any BBQ, especially when we were paying to rent the facilities.
Although we are moving our games to greener and sunnier pastures, we will always have Balboa on back-up and will have fond memories there.Listed in: Go OUTSIDE! Park yourself in a…
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Review from Xav V.
4/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
For the love of urinals, why do they lock the bathrooms at 3pm on Sunday? That is insane and while one or two people having to use the pee bush is funny, the amount of Yelper urine that could've been put down the drain versus sprinkled all over the park this Sunday was probably enough to fill a hot tub. I'm sure the playground would get more use if the facilities were open later as well.
In none pee related news, the softball fields are great and seem to get a good amount of use. An excellent location for the 1st round of this years Battle of the Bay softball tournament. Sun, wind, (peed on) earth, and (BBQ) fire. Wooo! -
Review from Monica G.
San Francisco, CA
2/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
Balboa Park is a tiny park which is friendly for mostly little kids.
They have a tennis court, soccer field, baseball field, pool, play ground, and swings. Not much, but it is mostly clean with some littering every now and then.
On nice days, I like to play in the pool, buy a sandwich at Roxies, then chill in the park with my friends. Oh, summer memories.
If you're planning on driving there is 4 hour parking available AND theres a mini-lot in the front of the pool where you can park.Listed in: My Community (work places,…
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Review from Jennifer P.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 10/15/2010 4 Check-ins Here
Dear Irresponsible Old Lady with Disobedient Dog,
How can you ignore your dog when he goes right next to the children's playground? If your dog doesn't come when you call him put him on a leash. I was not put on this planet to clean up your dog's shit.
Sincerely,
Jennifer P.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/30/2010
This is an excellent park. One of the biggest in SF that I've seen. Large open areas for playing… Read more »
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Review from Loli L.
San Francisco, CA
7/19/2010
It's best feature by far is it's accessibility whether by car, BART, MUNI or however else people get around these days.
The next best thing is the space. We seem to always score a decent field for softball games. Field + bleachers = excellent time!
The people who pass by to filter out recycling from the trash are nice sweet folk who enjoy getting a chuckle out of bad plays. I swear, I think I could get heckling lessons from a particular cute little old man if I could only figure out what he was saying.
The park features truly San Francisco weather. I've only been here twice when layers weren't required. I would recommend packing snow gear just in case.
It would also behoove you not to have a bladder or a need to pee after 3 PM as the bathrooms are locked.
Despite that, would I come back? Helll yeah!! -
Review from Kylie L.
7/24/2010 2 photos
Parking wasn't hard to find.
Lots & lots of grassy area for baseball or football http://www.yelp.com/us.... We played baseball on the baseball diamond. I believe there's a couple of them.
Across the street are 4 tennis courts, 6 old looking swings, & one new looking kid park http://www.yelp.com/us.... The tennis court here was empty, which is rare in the Sunset. Maybe residents in this area don't play...I wonder why this area is so empty. The old swings were empty too. The only area that had A LOT of people was the new kid park. I guess that area looked the best, it had bright colors, & lots of play structure to play on. -
Review from Cheryl D.
Updated - 7/22/2009
This is an update review specifically for the Balboa pool. For $4 you get an hour of fun. $1 more dollar you can take a class, on Tues Thurs evenings I am a fan of water aerobics to some jams. The class is fun - the instructor is welcoming and helps people stretch, which may be weird for some people so just let him know.
The facility is old - the lockers are old, bring your lock, and the showers are just for rinsing - but its not a gym or spa so its good I live close.
BRING EXACT CHANGE.Listed in: My child - hood...along Ocean…, Deleriously Sick Reviews
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/5/2008
When we moved to California, one big thing we lost was a backyard. Balboa Park was my sub because… Read more »
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Review from Wes M.
San Francisco, CA
5/20/2007 3 photos
No reviews yet? Well, can't say I'm surprised...
Balboa Park, along with the adjacent Balboa Park BART/Muni station and CCSF, forms a sort of hub within the OMI/Excelsior neighborhood. But there's surprisingly little commerce here; it's concentrated farther west on Ocean and over on Mission.
The park looks sizable on the map, but the majority of it is taken up by a set of baseball/soccer fields that could probably accomodate 3 games simultaneously. Not sure where the demand for that comes from (maybe CCSF?). There's also tennis courts, a playground, and an indoor swimming pool. However, if you're simply looking for a place to take a stroll or a jog, don't bother as there's very little in the way of paths here. Neighborhood is working-class but perfectly safe (by daylight anyway).
One good way to familiarize yourself with the park would be to grab an awesome sandwich from Roxie Market across the street and find a picnic table.Listed in: The Excelsior, OMI &…
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Review from Eric M.
San Francisco, CA
2/16/2008
I made my first visit to Balboa Park this morning to get my 16-month-old daughter in the swimming pool. And I was not disappointed.
The Balboa Park pool is clean, warm, and very big. While the facility itself is a little gritty and rusty, everything feels sanitary and maintained. During recreational swim time, about 80% of the pool was available for just swimming around. A lifeguard was on duty, and a small section of the pool was roped off for lap swimmers. At the peak of Saturday business, it was only moderately busy.
Entrance fee is $4 for adults, $1 for kids. Lockers are available, but bring your own lock. And while the pool is heated, the locker rooms are chilly, so be prepared! -
Review from Jay V.
South San Francisco, CA
4/17/2008
5 stars since I grew up right across the street and provided me many hours of fun and mischief.
My brothers, block folk, and company used to roam the brush that is Balboa Park. We'd claim trees in the little forested area right next to the play ground. We'd scale those trees and hide in them and pull pranks on people (not bad ones). Played hide and seek in there as well. Attempted to make one a club house, but that failed as soon as the winds kicked in.
The playground that USED to be in there was an all wooden structure. Complete with a bridge, monkey bars, slides and the other park type of stuff. Playing tag on that thing was the best. Especially when you made it so you couldn't touch the ground. If you were a realy gangster you knew how to get around without touching the ground ; ) Fun times.
Tennis court is pretty big. We used to play roller hockey in there when it wasn't full of people playing tennis. And let me tell you. The Filipino's that used to "try" and occupy all the courts on the weekneds were MEAN! I swear. I don't know what's up with that. I'm Filipino myself, but they were evil. Even my mom would get mad at them. Even trying to go in there and play tennis, they'd shoot you the stink eye and give you nasty looks. A few times they told us that we had to sign up for a court. I went on to say that this is a PUBLIC tennis court. It's not private. Then we'd get our game in after a group finished. I don't know if they do that still, but if they do, give'em a piece of your mind for me if they try to pull this same shit with you.
There is plenty of open field areas for you to get your game on, and for your dog(s) to roam and play catch. We preferred the open area right behind the tennis courts. The "forest" as we called it seperated it from the main park area. So it felt somewhat private.
The basket ball area could be improved. When we played there the hoop was so damn high up. I think even higher than regulation NBA backboards and hoops. The ground there was uneven too. So if you bounced the ball on a crack, small rock, slanted portiong of the black top, your basket ball would go rogue on you.
The pool is nice. I can't say that I've been in there too much, but I do remember that it used to cost only 25 cents to get in when I was a kid. Can't find that nowadays there. Also, the neighborhood High School, Balboa , goes there for P.E. since the High School doesn't have a swimming pool of their own on school campus. -
Review from Mamie J.
San Francisco, CA
1/21/2008
I like to play tennis here, or just hang out on the swings and chill with friends on the play structure. I used to come here a lot because I taught kids to swim at Balboa Pool. Fun times :)
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Review from Jennifer P.
South Pasadena, CA
7/25/2008 2 photos
The new Balboa Park Playground is surprisingly nice. It has just undergone a makeover from a decrepit, dangerous pile of doodoo to a spanking-new modern playground. You can get a hint of the old '70s' stuff by looking at the swingset outside the gated playground -- ick. Now there is recycled rubber surfacing for the play structures and new concrete paths. There is a cute little yellow school bus next to the 2-5-year-olds' play gym. The 5-12-year-olds' jungle gym is surprisingly large, and some parts of it are negotiable by a 2-year-old: the walking ramp, stairs, and lower slides. The large gym has a big slide, and you have to crawl through a bumpy tunnel and then climb up to get to the slide top -- fun! There is a short steel slide next to the tallest slide to give you a taste of yesteryear's fast slides. The playground is mostly enclosed; there is the entrance (not gated) and the grassy field area where the entrance is rather large. I can't attest to the dog-poopy level of the field because I didn't go in and run around, but I saw a few dogs in there.
The play structure is orange, green, and purple -- now, who doesn't love that?
The missing elements are the following: sandbox and water play area, more swings, and little ride-on toys. There *are* swings on the playground, but there is only ONE bucket swing for babies and toddlers, which is a huge oversight. Next to the bucket swing is some giant yellow contraption that looks like a rollercoaster seat you slap over you to lock you in.
For the missing elements I have to deduct a star because you just don't feel a playground is truly complete without sand and water play and rocking ride-ons like horses, cars, or rockets.
Parking on the side directly next to the playground is small; you have to go further back in the lot to find parking, and I should mention that an SFPD police station is also back there in case you need help. It's a fun idea to have a police station in a park because it increases the park area's safety.
If you have time to read up on the playground's history, you'll see that residents of the area have needed a new playground for ages and that the renovation was made possible with help from Kaboom. Residents also chipped in to raise funds. One of the factoids about the park stated that the district was the most dense with kids in all of SF. It's so sad that the most needy get short shrift. I hope that people use this playground wisely and keep it clean. It is a gem for this neighborhood, and gems should be kept shiny. -
Review from kerry f.
Portland, OR
4/17/2009
Balboa park is not really a park. It's like a baseball field with sprinklers and grass, surrounded by the police.
Listed in: My Neighborhood
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Review from Erin A.
San Francisco, CA
5/31/2010
Having an active 3 1/2 year boy I'm always looking for a new park. I recently found that they redid Balboa Park. I love this place. My boy was all over the place. He loved this place. I will be back for sure. The only down side to this park was their bathroom was closed.
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Review from Raymond S.
San Francisco, CA
12/6/2008
Like the best pool ever built. The dressing rooms could change a bit though. The lifeguard that works there is pretty hot. The hot babe that works in the front from time to time.
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Review from Kitty F.
San Francisco, CA
1/20/2009
Nice pool, lots of equipment (some are old/broken though) but the locker rooms and the pools can be cold at times. Rare occasions when the pool is so hot that it's steaming. Showers are warm, at least. Lifeguards are nice. Bleachers for friends/spectators. A good pool, but not as modern as Sava.
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Review from j-bird y.
San Francisco, CA
9/1/2008
this review is for the balboa pool only, i've never used the park:
i give it 3 stars because its never crowded like all the other public pools are. also, the lifeguards here do a good job of keeping people in appropriate lanes so i always have a nice, uninterrupted work-out here. the reason i give it only 3 stars is because you cant use soap or shampoo in the shower area- its strictly for rinsing off before entering the pool. thats kind of annoying because its great to have a shower after you work-out. also, the sanitation here is questionable...the last time i swam there i noticed the water was really murky and i asked the lifeguard how often they change out the water...she said once a year....yuck! kinda wish i never asked...is that normal policy at all the sf public pools i wonder? -
Review from Anita L.
San Francisco, CA
7/1/2008
The ladies' changing room has no curtains to change behind and the bathrooms are dirty as hell, but admission is only a buck for kids and $4 for adults!
