Sunset Dunes marks its first anniversary Sunday with Ploverfest, a musical and recreational celebration of the park on the Upper Great Highway in San Francisco.
Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle
April marks the first anniversary of Sunset Dunes, the beloved yet controversial San Francisco park offering pedestrians a car-free stretch of former highway with oceanfront views.
San Franciscans celebrated the occasion by turning up in droves to enjoy live music, vendors and the company of their neighbors Sunday afternoon for Ploverfest, a celebration on the Great Highway from Sloat Boulevard to Judah Street.
Children in helmets pedaled on bikes, pushed scooters and played in the sand as their parents chatted and strolled with coffee in hand. Under gray skies with a cool ocean breeze, runners, walkers and bikers in pairs and groups cruised along the sandy road while other people sat or stood watching the music.
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Jessica Katzman dances to a DJ set Sunday during Ploverfest, Sunset Dunes’ first anniversary celebration.
Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle
Nora Anderson chased after her 4-year-old son, Otis, who was just learning to ride his small pink bike. He took a spill in the middle of the road, but strangers walking by helped the boy back up.
“We feel so lucky,” said Anderson, who lives a block from the park and said her family uses it daily — biking her son to school, walking the dog or stopping to watch the sunset.
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“It’s so much easier to get to know our neighbors — we run into them, we stop and chitchat for a while,” she said. “That never happened when this was cars.”
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The park has been controversial since its inception, drawing pushback from opponents who worried it would create traffic issues, slow commutes and force more cars onto adjacent residential streets.
Quinn and Lele, foreground left and right, attend Sunset Dunes’ first anniversary celebration Sunday.
Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle
Sunset Dunes came about through a voter-approved 2024 ballot measure, which passed with citywide support and was championed by former District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio. But Engardio was recalled by voters in his district, the majority of whom opposed closing the Upper Great Highway to cars.
Some are pushing to again place the issue before voters on the November ballot, casting the future of the park into question yet again.
“We would be so upset and horrified if it closed,” said Victoria Leonard, an Inner Sunset resident who sat listening to music at Ploverfest with her husband and 3-year-old son. “It feels like it’s already a community staple.”
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State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said he wants the park to continue to grow and flourish, but acknowledged the political opposition from some community members.
Alex Edwards, an Inner Sunset resident, enjoys Ploverfest from her tent at Sunset Dunes.
Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle
“We have to protect it,” Wiener said. “This is a permanent treasure for the city of San Francisco.”
Still, the political turmoil was on the back burner and the atmosphere was positive and fun Sunday at Ploverfest, where attendees celebrated one of the most popular parks in San Francisco.
“I think this is a gift to the whole region,” said Martin Alperen, looking out from Judah Street toward the Pacific Ocean while walking his dog, Marley, an assisted therapy animal. “Come here to have a peaceful, safe, healthy activity.”
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The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department recorded more than 525,000 visits at Sunset Dunes from January through March, bringing the total number of visitors since its opening to 1.7 million.
Pedestrians and bicyclists visit Sunset Dunes during Ploverfest, Sunday’s celebration marking the first anniversary of the park.
Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle
In addition to creating a community gathering spot, the park department said the 50-acre park is also important for coastal preservation. Volunteers have been planting native dune grass to keep the dunes stable, reinforcing an ecosystem that acts as a natural barrier against sea level rise and extreme weather, according to the department.
Sunday’s event was named after the snowy plover, a bird that calls Ocean Beach home for much of the year but is threatened by habitat loss.
The bird was featured on sweatshirts, bags and other merchandise sold Sunday, alongside a hoodie with the slogan: “SF Likes It Foggy.”
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Lucas Lux, president of Friends of Sunset Dunes, said the park has exceeded “even our ambitious dreams,” boosting business for local shops and measuring high visitation.
A banda group plays on Ocean Beach as part of Ploverfest, Sunset Dunes’ first anniversary celebration Sunday.
Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle
Lux said he was optimistic in the face of efforts to reopen the Upper Great Highway to cars.
“I think San Franciscans will choose to keep a coastal park because they believe that the coast is a special place that should be preserved and available for people to enjoy,” he said.
One local business owner, Cyn Wang, said Sunset Dunes gives people a world-class destination to visit, while bringing them into the neighborhood to grab a coffee, have a meal or do other shopping.
“That’s how a city recovers, block by block,” Wang said. “Sunset Dunes isn’t just good for our souls — it’s good for the economy and for the environment.”
Sunset Dunes was born of a voter-approved ballot measure but has faced resistance from neighbors upset over the removal of cars from the Upper Great Highway.
Lizzy Montana Myers/For the S.F. Chronicle