Free parking in Golden Gate Park is going away. Starting in January 2027, San Francisco plans to begin charging drivers for hourly parking throughout the park, with fees that will vary depending on location and time of day.
According to KRON4, the city will require paid parking seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. beginning January 1, 2027, with rates ranging from $1.25 to $4 per hour. That reported schedule differs from a June 2025 presentation that San Francisco Recreation and Parks gave to the Board of Supervisors, which proposed paid parking from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week, according to a presentation filed with San Francisco's legislative records. That same 2025 presentation described a demand-responsive rate expected to average $3 per hour with an early-bird option, rather than the fixed range KRON4 reported. The department's own Getting to Golden Gate Park by Car page currently tells visitors only that information on paid parking is “coming in 2027,” without listing hours or rates.
Drivers with a disabled placard will be able to park free of charge, per KRON4's report. Separately, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's page on parking with a disabled placard states that a vehicle transporting a person with a properly displayed disabled placard or plate may park in general metered parking zones without paying — though it is not clear from available information exactly how that policy will apply across every part of the planned Golden Gate Park program.
A Park Department Facing a Budget Gap
City leaders say the new fees will help close a budget gap and fund park maintenance. The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department faces a $15 million budget shortfall, KRON4 reports, and officials are framing the parking charges as a way to protect services rather than cut them.
Tamara Barak Aparto, a spokesperson for the department, said parking revenue can protect clean restrooms, maintained playgrounds and swimming pools, and summer camps, per KRON4's reporting. In comments to the San Francisco Standard last year, the department struck a similar note, saying fees “allow us to maintain safe, well-kept parks in every neighborhood, preserve cherished programs like summer camps and senior classes.” The 2025 presentation to supervisors projected the parking program would generate $4.9 million in net revenue over six months, and proposed covering roughly 3,100 legal parking spaces across the park.
How Drivers Will Pay
Once the program launches, drivers will be able to pay for parking using a mobile app or one of 25 pay stations spread throughout the park, according to KRON4's report. The shift would end a long-standing norm in one of the city's most visited green spaces, where free parking has been a given for decades of dog walkers, pickleball players, picnickers, and concertgoers.
Park visitors told the station they were surprised to learn free parking will end in the new year. Donna Quan said she opposes the charges because visitors come to the park simply to enjoy themselves, while Sarah Bacon said she was disappointed by the fees. A visitor identified only as Don called the charges lame, arguing that people already have to drive to get around the city.
Mixed Reactions Among Regulars
Not every park user KRON4 spoke with was opposed. A visitor named Britt said she would support the charges if the revenue is returned to the park, and another named Nate said he backs directing the funds toward park rehabilitation projects. But a visitor named Donna said she would simply take her dogs elsewhere rather than pay to park.
For comparison, nearby federal land offers a glimpse of what metered park parking can look like: the Presidio regulates parking seven days a week, including most federal holidays and during special events, with regular daily rates described by the Presidio as ranging from $2 to $3 per hour and $10 to $15 per day. Whether Golden Gate Park's final rates will land closer to that range remains to be seen, as the city has not yet confirmed a single, final hourly fee structure.
