Salesforce Park is an elevated urban oasis sitting right on top of the Salesforce Transit Center in downtown San Francisco. Home to over 16,000 native and exotic plants, it feels exactly like a "forest floating above the city." Strolling through it, you get to soak in the serene, woodland-like tranquility while being completely surrounded by towering skyscrapers—it's such a unique contrast! If you're lucky, you can even catch a ride on the free gondola. In this post, let's dive into what makes this sky park so incredibly special!

🌿 San Francisco Travel Info

★ Transport: Hop-On Hop-Off Bus｜Car Rental
★ SIM Cards: US/Canada/Mexico SIM Delivery｜US eSIM
★ Tickets: Explorer Pass｜California Academy of Sciences｜de Young Museum｜Walt Disney Family Museum
★ Cruises: Bridge to Bridge Cruise｜Alcatraz & San Francisco Bay Cruise｜Alcatraz Prison Tour
★ Tours: Napa & Sonoma Wine Tour｜Muir Woods & Sausalito
★ Day Trips: Yosemite
★ Guide: San Francisco Ultimate Travel Guide
★ Discounts: Klook Promo Codes

🌿 Salesforce Park Info

★ Location: 425 Mission Street, San Francisco｜Google Maps
★ Hours: May–Oct: 6am-9pm｜Nov–Apr: 6am-8pm
★ Tickets: Free Admission｜Official Website

The Salesforce Transit Center was originally known as the "Transbay Transit Center." It was built to replace the old and outdated Transbay Terminal. To improve downtown traffic and unlock the development potential of the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood, the city of San Francisco decided to completely reimagine and create a brand-new hub for transportation and urban life!

While this new transit hub was still under construction, the neighboring tech giant Salesforce purchased the naming rights for $110 million over 25 years. Since then, the new station was officially renamed the "Salesforce Transit Center," and the rooftop park became "Salesforce Park." Although Salesforce didn't actually build the project, this naming partnership perfectly symbolizes the deep connection between tech companies and the future of San Francisco.

The sky park and the entire transit center feature an eye-catching, white, undulating exterior designed by the renowned American firm Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. Construction kicked off in 2010 and took several years, finally opening its doors in August 2018. However, it hit a little bump in the road and was temporarily closed for nine months for structural safety inspections, reopening in 2019. Good things really do take time!

If you're lucky enough to catch it running, you can take a free ride on the gondola straight up to the sky park! Rumor has it that this gondola only takes passengers up—for the way down, you'll need to take the elevator or escalators.

Even though the gondola clearly lists its operating hours (8 AM to 8 PM from May to October, and 8 AM to 7 PM from November to April), many online reviews mention showing up only to find it closed. We visited on a weekend, and true to our usual luck… yep, the gondola wasn't running! 😅

Since we couldn't take the gondola, we headed inside the Salesforce Transit Center to access the park. As soon as we walked in, the floors immediately caught our eyes! The vibrant, large-scale floral patterns on the floor instantly reminded us of the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas. It felt super elegant and perfectly echoed the beautiful garden waiting for us on the roof!

📌 Recommended Reading: Las Vegas Ultimate Travel Guide｜17 Best Free Shows & Attractions in Vegas

The grand, high-ceilinged atrium features a massive transparent skylight, letting gorgeous natural sunlight pour right in.

You can also peek right down through this same skylight from up in the park!

The main goal of the Salesforce Transit Center is to serve as the ultimate transportation hub for San Francisco. Aside from the fully operational long-distance bus terminals, there are future plans for a two-level underground train station to serve as a major stop for Caltrain and California's High-Speed Rail. Right now, floors one through three are dedicated to buses, while the fourth floor is home to the spectacular sky park!

Being a transit hub, you'll naturally find ticket machines scattered around. This "Clipper Card" is basically San Francisco's version of an all-in-one transit pass—you can use it seamlessly across multiple modes of public transport!

The sky garden sits on the top floor of the building, about 70 feet (21 meters) above street level. Spanning over 4 city blocks, this 5.4-acre public green space is breathtaking! Its design heavily emphasizes sustainability and biodiversity, filled with over 16,000 plants, flowers, and even more than 600 full-sized trees! Meandering wooden boardwalks guide you through 13 different botanical themes, including desert, wetland, California native, Australian, South African, and Mediterranean gardens.

Surrounded by towering skyscrapers, this urban oasis offers more than just lush plant life. It seamlessly blends art installations, walking trails, lawns, dining areas, and children's playgrounds into a multi-functional space that has truly become a part of the locals' daily lives. While it might not be the most famous tourist trap in San Francisco, it was the only hidden gem specifically recommended to us by our local hotel staff!

The park is incredibly lush. We honestly kept wondering: how on earth did they manage to plant entire rows of massive trees up on a roof?!

We also stumbled across so many plants we had never seen before in our lives.

There are species thriving here from all sorts of different climates—they even have a whole section dedicated to desert flora!

Many of the surrounding skyscrapers have mirrored glass exteriors. On a beautiful sunny day, the blue skies and fluffy white clouds reflect beautifully off the buildings, giving everything a super futuristic, sci-fi vibe! Paired with the rare, exotic plants, it creates an unforgettable and totally unique landscape.

There are plenty of benches scattered throughout the park if you need to rest your feet.

They also have an awesome climbing and play area for the kids!

You can even grab some light bites and drinks to sit down and enjoy.

The greenery is everywhere. Even the pathway leading to the elevators is bordered by two lush, living green walls!

Out on the main lawn, there's a large open-air amphitheater perfect for outdoor performances.

They host free events here all the time! From yoga classes and live music to special holiday festivities. They even offer free guided walking tours and dedicated storytimes for kids. Whether you're a traveler or a local, it's so easy to feel a part of the community! For the latest event details, be sure to check out the official website.

To sum it up, this staggering $2.3 billion project flawlessly merges architecture, landscaping, and art. Salesforce Park has created an urban oasis that is both aesthetically stunning and environmentally sustainable. It feels like a brilliant green ribbon weaving through downtown San Francisco, adding a vibrant splash of color to the concrete skyline. If you ever find yourself in SF, definitely carve out some time to wander through and experience what it feels like to stroll through a forest suspended in the sky! It's an especially fantastic spot for families—perfect for letting the kids burn off some energy while the adults enjoy the breathtaking views. Talk about killing two birds with one stone!

🌿 San Francisco Travel Info

★ Transport: Hop-On Hop-Off Bus｜Car Rental
★ SIM Cards: US/Canada/Mexico SIM Delivery｜US eSIM
★ Tickets: Explorer Pass｜California Academy of Sciences｜de Young Museum｜Walt Disney Family Museum
★ Cruises: Bridge to Bridge Cruise｜Golden Gate Bay Cruise｜Alcatraz & San Francisco Bay Cruise｜Alcatraz Prison Tour
★ Tours: Napa & Sonoma Wine Tour｜Muir Woods & Sausalito
★ Day Trips: Yosemite
★ Guide: San Francisco Ultimate Travel Guide
★ Discounts: Klook Promo Codes

There are countless amazing spots to explore in San Francisco! If you're interested in other attractions and want to figure out the smoothest itinerary, be sure to check out Cherry's ultimate San Francisco Travel Guide!

🌿 More San Francisco Travel Posts

★ San Francisco Ultimate Travel Guide: 35 Top Attractions ★ Maps, Transport, Accommodation & Itineraries
★ San Francisco Family Attractions: Unbeatable Value at the 4-in-1 California Academy of Sciences!
★ Free San Francisco Attractions: Journey Through History at the Cable Car Museum
★ San Francisco Travel: Yoda Fountain & Star Wars Exhibit ★ A Hidden Gem in a Quiet Park
★ San Francisco Travel: The Colorful Painted Ladies ★ Where History Meets the Modern Skyline
★ San Francisco Travel: A Half-Century of Fortune Cookies ★ Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory
★ San Francisco Travel: City Lights Booksellers & Publishers ★ A Literary Museum
★ San Francisco's Sky Guardian: Exploring the Unique Aesthetics of the Transamerica Pyramid
★ San Francisco Travel: Relive the Classics ★ Discovering the Nostalgic World of Musée Mécanique
★ San Francisco's Sweetest Corner: Vintage Factory, Ocean Views, and Photo-Ready Desserts ★ Ghirardelli Square
★ San Francisco Travel: A Local's Secret Spot ★ The Hidden Park in the Sky
★ San Francisco Family Attractions: America's Craziest Interactive Museum ★ Adults Won't Want to Leave Either!
★ San Francisco Hidden Gems: Stepping into the Centennial Japanese Tea Garden ★ Instantly Transported to Kyoto!

🌿 Other Travel Guides

★ United States: New York｜San Francisco｜Las Vegas
★ Islands: Tahiti｜Maldives｜Fiji
★ Southeast Asia: Bali｜Phu Quoc｜Koh Samui
★ Europe: Finland｜United Kingdom
★ Middle East: Doha｜Dubai｜Abu Dhabi