Thousands Celebrate Sunset Dunes Anniversary as Reopening Push Faces Pushback

A storm-delayed anniversary celebration drew thousands back to Sunset Dunes on the Upper Great Highway, turning the west-side shoreline into a clear test of what San Francisco wants on its coast: a commuter corridor or a family park.

PloverFest, rescheduled to April 26 because of stormy weather, ran from noon to 4 p.m. along the oceanfront stretch from Judah to Sloat. The turnout came as the city marked one year since Sunset Dunes opened on April 12, 2025, after voters approved Proposition K in November 2024 to permanently close the two-mile section of the Upper Great Highway from Lincoln Way to Sloat Boulevard to private vehicles.

San Francisco Recreation and Park Department says the park is California’s largest pedestrianization project in history, a 2-mile, 50-acre oceanfront space that has quickly become part of daily life for many residents. City data released for the anniversary showed more than 1.7 million visits in the park’s first year, averaging about 4,900 visits a day. More than half of those visits, 53 percent, came on weekdays, with roughly 3,800 weekday visits compared with 7,200 on weekends and holidays.

The numbers also show how much the park has already become a regional draw. Sunset Dunes surpassed 1 million visits by Nov. 10, 2025, and 1.5 million by Feb. 23, 2026. Its busiest day came on Feb. 1, 2026, when the San Francisco Half Marathon brought 18,700 visits. The busiest non-event day was March 8, 2026, with 12,400 visits.

The first year also brought measurable ecological activity. About 300 volunteers planted more than 2,200 dune grasses, and birdwatchers documented 87 species. The park hosted 20 permitted events, including the Skechers Hot Chocolate Run, the San Francisco Half Marathon and the Great Hauntway. Recreation and parks also said it gathered input from more than 3,000 people during community outreach.

That level of use has become a political obstacle for efforts to bring cars back. After Prop. K passed citywide by about 55 percent to 45 percent, opponents launched legal and political challenges to reopen the road. In January 2026, District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong proposed a ballot measure that would reopen the Great Highway to cars on weekdays while keeping the park open on weekends, a move that drew immediate pushback from supporters who see Sunset Dunes as another step in San Francisco’s long shift from traffic infrastructure to public space. Mayor Daniel Lurie and State Sen. Scott Wiener have both framed the park in that broader tradition, even as critics say the closure worsened congestion for west-side residents closest to Ocean Beach.