Great Highway Pilot Project 

繁體中文 | Español | Russian | Filipino (Google Translate)

The Great Highway is a 3.8-mile-long roadway running along Ocean Beach on the westernmost side of San Francisco. The Upper Great Highway is a two-mile segment of this roadway, between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard. On weekends, this area becomes a 17-acre park with a 2-mile promenade, while on weekdays it is a roadway with an adjacent trail.

The closure of the Upper Great Highway to vehicle access began during the COVID-19 pandemic and has provided enhanced outdoor space for recreation for families, people on bicycles and in wheelchairs, people with walkers or other mobility assistance devices, people with strollers, and people walking, jogging, skateboarding and more. 

The area, which was created and designated under San Francisco park jurisdiction in the 1870s as a space for recreation, also provides a valuable scenic public promenade that can accommodate higher volumes of use than the adjacent pathways. In addition, it offers recreational access to the beachfront to people who cannot easily use the beach itself.


LEGISLATIVE UPDATE*

In December 2022, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance to maintain the Great Highway between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard as a car-free promenade until December 31, 2025, allowing for a three-year pilot study. This preserves the current schedule of closing the road to motor vehicle traffic on weekends beginning at noon on Fridays and ending at 6 a.m. Mondays, as well as on holidays. The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department is ready to implement the plan approved by policymakers. The pilot allows our department and SFMTA to collect more robust data on the Great Highway’s use as both a roadway and a promenade, as well as gather additional public feedback. We will report our findings every six months to internal and external stakeholders. Ultimately, this thorough research will be used to make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for consideration on the Great Highway’s long-term future.

For more updates and information, please contact the following:

E-mail: rec-greathighway@sfgov.org | Phone: (415) 831-2700

did you know


Did you know?

  • Since the closure in April 2020, there have been more than 2.8 million visits to the Great Highway. It's a safe, fun, and gorgeous place to walk and roll, with kids and dogs and wheels of all kinds.
  • Pedestrians and cyclists visit the Great Highway from all 11 of the city’s districts [can include a pie chart of the data currently on the website with updated visit info if it is available]
  • A record-breaking day in January 2021 saw 11,600 visitors access the road in a single day





borp program oct 2022






Check out San Francisco's free Adaptive Bike Program! In partnership with the Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP) and SFMTA, we're providing free reservations for adaptive bikes at two locations during the spring, summer and fall months.

Golden Gate Park
1st and 3rd Saturdays
at the Music Concourse behind the Bandshell, next to the new, free accessible parking lot

The Great Highway
2nd and 4th Saturdays
at the end of Judah Street

Reservations are required. To reserve a bike, contact BORP Cycling Center at (510) 848-2930 or email cycling@borp.org by 5 p.m. on the Thursday before each event.