Sunset Dunes Gets a Pirate-Themed Playground, Arrr!
Several hundred kids, parents, and people of all walks came to Sunset Dunes at Kirkham Street Saturday afternoon to celebrate the opening of the park’s newest feature: the pirate-themed Shipwreck Cove playground.
“This playground shows the positive things happening at Sunset Dunes,” said former District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, who attended the celebrations.
“It’s awesome to see the joy here,” said District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, also in attendance. “It’s amazing that anyone would think we should not have this.”
The “anyone” Melgar refers to are the people backing Proposition G, which would rip out the skate park, the hammocks, Shipwreck Cove, and all the other installations that came with the establishment of Sunset Dunes Park on the former location of this two-mile section of the Great Highway. In November, the voters of San Francisco will be asked again if they want a park or a highway in this location.
Meanwhile, Shipwreck Cove is a 6,000-square-foot “dune education and playground for kids of all ages and abilities,” according to a statement from Friends of Sunset Dunes. It was designed and built by “Something Labs,” an independent collective of engineers and builders, many of whom create exhibits at the Exploratorium. The playground cost $800,000, funded entirely by philanthropists.
“Ideally, this can be a place for kids to play and connect to the coastal habitat,” said Sam Haynor with Something Labs and the Exploratorium. “This playground was created in large part by neighbors, who brought so many hidden treasures to life … Like the dunes themselves, we hope Shipwreck Cove continues to evolve, inviting families to play, connect, rest, and leap into adventures of their own.”
“We have a city full of incredible people who create these incredible things,” said Friends of Sunset Dunes’s Lucas Lux, seen in the lead image cutting the ribbon.
More from a Friends of Sunset Dunes release:
Sunset Dunes drew more than 1.7 million visitors in its first year, and many of them were families. In an initial planning process led by Rec and Park and Friends of Sunset Dunes, a majority of survey respondents said they visit the park with children, and open house attendees asked for more places for kids to play.
Shipwreck Cove was built with volunteer support and is fully funded by private donations. It operates under a one-year pilot permit, and feedback from families will help inform the park’s ongoing community planning process.
Fortunately, opponents of the park are sailing in rough waters. Prop. K, which officially created the park in 2024, won with a ten-point margin citywide. Now that it’s built, people are enjoying it, and traffic hasn’t changed; support for the park has only grown. “Let’s hope the voters continue to give San Francisco an iconic coastal park, open every day of the week,” said Engardio.
The campaign to ensure that “G” fails and the park is saved continues. Go to the Friends of Sunset Dunes’s Luma page to help out.
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
