The San Francisco Old Car Picnic is scheduled for Saturday, October 17, 2026, at Hellman Hollow, 800 John F. Kennedy Drive, with the event set to run until 4 p.m. The picnic welcomes cars, trucks, motorcycles and bicycles model year 2001 or older, and spectators can attend for free. Exhibitors pay entry fees that support San Francisco programs serving people with developmental disabilities.
The eucalyptus-lined bowl was once known as Speedway Meadow before the city renamed it Hellman Hollow in 2011 to honor venture capitalist Warren Hellman.
Hellman Hollow’s car-show setting has its own motoring history: the city says the meadow was once part of a 19th-century “Speed Road” used for horse racing and early automobiles. Today, it hosts major gatherings including Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and large community picnics, making the Old Car Picnic part of a long-running pattern of public events on the field. San Francisco Recreation and Parks’ history of the meadows traces that evolution.
The picnic tradition dates to 1988 and has been referred to as Jimmy's Old Car Picnic.
Strict Rules Keep the Show Old-School
Organizers kept the field authentically vintage by requiring every participating vehicle to be a model year 2001 or older, with a size cap at a 3/4-ton pickup truck, per the event's Instagram account. Newer vehicles are not eligible.
Entry fees for 2026 were set at $40 for classic cars and trucks, $20 for motorcycles and $10 for bicycles, with spectator admission remaining free, according to the San Francisco Old Car Picnic's official site. The fees support San Francisco programs serving people with developmental disabilities. The Pomeroy Center provides recreation and rehabilitation services in San Francisco's Outer Sunset district.
The beneficiary’s work extends beyond recreation. The Pomeroy Recreation & Rehabilitation Center, in the Outer Sunset, serves children, teens and adults with developmental disabilities and acquired or traumatic brain injuries through educational classes, recreational programs and vocational services. The center says its programs are intended to encourage self-development, independence and friendship. Pomeroy’s description of its services provides a fuller picture of the programs the picnic supports.
Navigating a Changing Golden Gate Park
Drivers planning to bring a classic ride were directed to enter Hellman Hollow via JFK Drive heading east from Ocean Beach or via 30th Avenue from Fulton Street, according to the event's website.
The route instructions reflect a broader change in park traffic: San Francisco made the JFK Drive stretch between Kezar Drive and Transverse Drive permanently car-free, and voters reaffirmed that policy in 2022. The city’s current map distinguishes that eastern JFK Promenade from the western park road network, while the picnic directs vehicle entrants toward Hellman Hollow from the west. The city’s overview of the permanent car-free route and its west-side driving guidance outline the distinction.
Small Businesses Keep the Tradition Rolling
The 2026 picnic listing named local sponsors, including Sunset District merchant Dial Glass and Window Company, which has operated since 1962, and Pacifica's Hack's Auto Body, established in 1959, according to the event's Instagram account.
The picnic tradition dates to 1988. More information on the San Francisco Old Car Picnic, including future dates and sponsorship details, is available at sfcarpicnic.com.
