Obscure park to visit ..open ..smaller ..nice walking tour Russian Hill instead of north beach

It feels like someone's carefully maintained private yard, perfect for a tastefully small wedding with a string quartet. However, it's an actual public park, just a quarter acre in size, courtesy of longtime resident Mary Fay Berrigan, a brigadier general's wife, who left their Russian Hill property to the city in 1998. Its twin gazebos and large floral displays reminded me of something. It'll come to me... Oh yeah, Shirley MacLaine's backyard in "Terms of Endearment" when she was yelling over the hedge at Jack Nicholson to keep it down. It's only a block away from "the most crooked street in the world", tourist-congested Lombard Street, but surprisingly, no one knows to walk less than a block down Leavenworth Street to find it. That's good since the tranquility of the space is the major draw here. RELATED - Exploring Russian Hill? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: http://bit.ly/2IfTVOB read more

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Easy to miss garden park hidden in plain sight. On the small side and not flat - I consider this the perfect place to ponder. Although this looks more like a wedding venue than a public park it is open to the public. The fence surrounding it makes it look as if it is somebody's back yard - and I think it once was - another one of these donated land situations. Very well maintained and two gazebos - might be good for you instagram kids. Post pictures of yourself online. Notable is this is close to the Lombard Street public attraction. If you are taking pictures there you might as well take pictures here too. Why not? There are so many great places in the city. Would be great to spend a year dedicated to just exploring here. read more

This is a very small yet beautiful garden. There's not a lot to see, but it's pretty nonetheless. It has a beautiful rose garden. We took a few pictures before heading towards Fisherman's Wharf. read more

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This is a cute little park to stop and rest on your way to or from Lombard Street. It's quiet, not highly populated, and has a nice place to sit or smell the roses. I have been to many places before and I have NEVER smelled better roses in my entire life. One smelled like candy, one smelled like perfume, all smelled so delicious and unique! 100% recommend stopping and smelling the roses! read more

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Tiny hidden gem of an urban oasis near the curvy part of Lombard Street, I'm so glad I stumbled upon Fay Park! It's small and well-maintained in a very residential neighborhood. There's cute gazebos great for pictures and a few benches so you can sit and read. read more

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Don't miss this little hidden gem when you go see Lombard street! Beautiful flowers and well maintained. I bet people get married here. And it smells amazing from the flowers. Perfect if you need a good location for pictures. Nobody seems to know about this spot so it's quiet! read more

Fay Park - Parks Near Me - San Francisco, California

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If you make a left at the end of San Francisco's most crooked expanse of roadway, you'll come across Fay Park. My family stumbled across this charming little garden while we were having a good laugh at the San Francisco police force trying to stem the tide of tourists going nuts over the switch backs of Lombard Street. Fay Park is Mary Fay Berrigan's lovely bequest of the Fay-Berrigan house and garden on Russian Hill. While the house on the property dates back to 1912, Mrs. Berrigan's family built the original house at the location in 1869. Renowned landscape architect Thomas Church was commissioned to design a garden for the home in 1957. The result was a lush little oasis anchored by twin gazebos. The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department renovated the garden in 2005 putting in new walkways, deck, and balustrades making the garden ADA accessible. The park is open six days a week. The same department maintains the garden with the support of an active group of garden volunteers, many of whom live in the surrounding neighborhood. Friends of Fay Park is always looking for volunteer to provide it with TLC. The group has garden tools for volunteers to utilize. The location would be great for weddings and parties but, I'm under the impression that while city officials would like to activate the potential revenue stream here, they have not been able to. I couldn't find any information online on how to rent the place. I did come across an expressed to desire to open it up for events. Until that happens, stop by for a visit, I find city gardens such a nice place to take a break while exploring the urban jungle. read more

Fay Park - Fay Park - Parks Near Me - San Francisco, California

We had our wedding ceremony here on August 23rd. Beautiful day, beautiful park. We had about 70 guests. All of our chairs fit perfectly on the upper part of the garden. They have a bathroom for guests to use with key. Site attendant on site to assist. We hired All Seasons Party Rental for our chairs and they did a great job day of. Just note, you have to pay for the permit to have them park their big truck on the street for about $200. Highly recommend for an intimate wedding ceremony location! We then had our reception at Bin 38 Wine Bar about a mile away on their back patio (it was fun, but service lacked a little bit at the wine bar). Everyone took Uber to get there using our special wedding code. read more

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The perfect secret garden wedding location. We were married at Fay Park on 8/8/10. It was very inexpensive and the parks department were so great to work with. If you're headed to Lombard Street, you should stop by once you reach the bottom. Just half a block to the left. read more

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A small secret garden in Russian Hill. The latticed twin gazebos are beautiful and just a lovely spot to take a break from the Lombard street madness one block away. Check the official park website for park hours. read more

Fay Park - Parks Near Me - San Francisco, California

We were married at Fay park 06/14/2010 and it was great. At the time there were no bathrooms so we were allowed to use the facilites at the Art Institute. By now they must have them. Price was right. Weather was perfect. We didn't have a party there, just the wedding. Recommend for small weddings and elopements. It would be a perfectly romantic place to get engaged too. read more

Fay Park - One of two matching gazebos - Parks Near Me - San Francisco, California

Best decision we ever made......picking Fay Park as our ceremony location for our recent wedding! My now husband and I often take walks in our neighborhood and had seen Fay Park many times but had never gone in. We always admired how gorgeous the landscaping was and thought it was such an adorable backyard. We never realized it was a city park open to the public. For over a year, we couldn't decide where to get married because most venues in San Francisco were just too expensive. We wanted a small and intimate ceremony to share with friends and family....but we were on a very very small budget so getting married in SF seemed impossible. I called Parks and Rec one day to ask about some of the possible locations they offer since their prices are so reasonable and the girl I spoke with, Amanda, suggested we look at Fay Park. Once we stopped in one weekend, we knew that was where we wanted to have it....it took my breathe away! I called Amanda back and she was so incredible to work with....she walked me through ever step to get the permit to rent out the location and in no time, things were set for our big day. Amazing service!! On the day of the wedding, everything went perfectly....including the weather which was a bonus since SF is always so unpredictable!! Cynthia, who was there to monitor the park, was so helpful and sweet throughout the whole day. Our guests could not believe what a hidden gem Fay Park was.....most had no idea it even existed in SF. It was sunny but breezy and the roses were all in bloom.....it turned out to be the perfect location. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who just wants to pop by and read a book or to those looking for an amazing venue for a wedding or party. You will not be let down! read more

Fay Park - Parks Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Sweet park, located about 1/2 block down from curvy part of Lombard, so there's usually lots of traffic and tourists in the area. Lovely wedding site that easily accommodated 85 chairs on lower deck (hired from All Season Event Rentals). Amanda L & Scott are helpful and thoughtful SF Park & Rec. personnel. read more

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"Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be" is inscribed on a sundial at this little gem of a park tucked away one block from the bottom of the corroked part of Lombard St. It is the perfect place for a small wedding. read more

Fay Park - Sundial at Fay Park - Parks Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Decided to play the tourist today and wandered down Lombard St. Just a block down from the bottom, stumbled across this wee park with two gazebos and a some beautiful flowers. After the hike to Lombard, it was the perfect place to stop and take a break. Lovely view, and really nice surprise. read more

Fay Park - Beautiful wee park down from Lombard Street. - Parks Near Me - San Francisco, California

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We got married in Fay Park on 9/12/10. Fay Park is a special and affordable wedding venue, a park with a small patio, 2 beautiful gazebos and roses blooming year round. The park is private with a gorgeous white fence and views of the city. Located one block from Lombard Street it is a fun venue for out of town guests and has lots of great photo opportunities. We reserved the park for 6 hours and paid just under $700 to the Golden Gate Parks Department. Part of the fee paid for a site attendant- a man named Ken who could not have been more friendly, helpful or charming. Having him tend to the site for our wedding was almost like having a coordinator. He was able to help the vendors, our family who set up the site and guests during the wedding. It was so nice to have the extra hands! Our vendors had no problem bringing tables, chairs and setting up separate ceremony and reception areas within the small park. Our wedding had 50 people and really felt like an intimate garden party. The site was as close to perfect as we could have hoped for. However bathrooms are an issue as the site is only a garden and the restroom available is one steep block away at the Academy of Art. read more

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We got married here with the help of San Francisco Parks. The location was fantastic, beautiful and intimate. Cynthia from Recreation and Park was amazing, she went well beyond and really helped the day be so special. Thanks Cythia read more

A quick look into a park after leaving Lombard Street. This park was very tranquil.

Cute little hidden park in SF. Stop by to read a book in the sun or relax for a bit.

This was so gorgeous, the only reason why i put 3stars is because the gates were locked and it is apparently a park open to the public, and not someones extravagent backyward like it looks. Maybe you have to go through one of the homelike buildings to get in, or are their specific hours and days it is open? Or is it not really a park like it says and a venue where you can only get in by paying? read more

A cute little park to relax for a few minutes if you live in the neighbourhood or are just walking buy. If the sun's just right, you can enjoy a good book on one of the benches without being exposed to cancerous rays. read more

Very cute spot and close to the great views of the water looking down from hills. Stop in just to finish your coffee or hide quickly from the Lombard tourists and you're bound to be happy and feel lighter. read more

Tourists, residents and future wedding planners alike will be happy to know that construction is set to begin in a few weeks on a renovated and ADA accessible restroom, which will then be available as part of the rental for weddings and small events. If you want more info or would like to submit a rental application, please visit http://www.sfrecpark.org/PermitsReservations.aspx and click on the link most appropriate for the event you are planning. The info for Fay Park is listed in the "Weddings" section. read more