Corona Heights Park is a park in the Castro and Corona Heights neighborhoods in San Francisco, California, USA. It's located just south of Buena Vista Park. Corona Heights is partially bounded by Flint Street to the east, Roosevelt Way to the north, and 16th Street to the south. The base of the hill is approximately 300 feet (91 m) and the top is 520 feet (158 m) above sea level.
The Corona Heights Playground and the Randall Museum are located in the Corona Heights Park. The entire area is covered by the Franciscan chert bedrock, and a significant percentage of the hill is barren. The chert bedrock in terra cotta red is clearly visible on the hilltop. The steps leading up to the summit are not protected by handrails. The top of the hill is windy, but it provides an unobstructed panoramic view of the city of San Francisco from downtown to the Twin Peaks.
Portions of Corona Heights Park are made up of native plant species protected under the Natural Areas Program as well as non-domestic plants. The park is home to native reptiles, including northern and southern alligator lizards and shrimp snakes. Butterflies like the anise swallowtail, the red admiral and the white cabbage can be seen flying in the park. Red-tailed hawks and common ravens can be seen in the park on most days. California scrub jays, mourning doves, downy woodpeckers, chestnut-backed chickadees, pygmy nuts, bushtits, American robins, California towels, white-crowned sparrows, dark-eyed junks, American goldfinches, and house finches nest in or near the park.
The land was known as Rocky Hill or Rock Hill, and the Fist (from the edgy chert rock boulders at its 540 ft. peak)[4] In the 1800s, Rock Hill was the location of a quarry and brick factory, which was closed in the 1920s.
In 1928, Josephine Randall, Director of Recreation for the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, suggested that the City purchase 16 acres of Rock Hill for recreation. It was bought for $27,333 in 1941 and officially called Corona Heights.
This park has some of the best views in San Francisco, but don't take a peek at the wonderful wildflower display that carpets the grasslands every spring. Among the flowers you can see here are checkerbloom, California poppies, spring footsteps, Douglas iris, mule ears, and Johnny jump-up, a sensitive species that is the only host plant for silver spot butterfly callippus. Often search for anise swallowtail, a large yellow butterfly with black shoulders that runs through the hills of San Francisco.
A one-mile trail network loops around the hill and leads up to the 360-degree summit of the San Francisco Bay Area. Trails that lead across the hilltop consist of reasonably stable and often steep, dirt paths with a series of box-step stairs scattered around. The trail leading down to the 15th Street Tennis Court is the most difficult portion with a steep terrain of loose gravel. This segment is about 0.2 miles in length.
Parking is available at the Randall Museum, restricted parking is available at the tennis courts on 15th Street and street parking is available throughout the park. MUNI Line 24 stops on Castro Street and MUNI Line 37 stops on Roosevelt Way.
This amazing kid-friendly park is just one of the many must-see sights you don’t want to miss in San Francisco, California:
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Golden Gate Park
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Alamo Square Park
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Mission Dolores Park
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USS San Francisco Memorial
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San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
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Washington Square
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Pioneer Park
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Lafayette Park
All of these wonderful parks are located just a short distance from our location located at 100 Pine St #1250 in San Francisco! Stop by for a visit anytime!
