Lakeside Landing

With thanks to SFMTA who own the parking lot, Lakeside Landing was funded by our District 7 Supervisor, the Community Challenge Grants Program, an SFPUC community garden grant, Light Up The City, SF Planning, GroundPlay, OEWD, Avenue Greenlight, and many public, private, and corporate donors such as Capital Group and the Whole Kids Foundation. 

Lakeside Landing features:

• Murals by resident artist Mike Ritch who organized volunteers to help paint from toddlers to their grandparents! The public art includes a ground mural of a giant octopus, a backdrop behind the stage, and a huge tire painted as a buoy.

• A Nature Exploration Area for kids designed by SF Planning, GroundPlay, and Climate Action Now! with many items reused from SF Public Works such as the granite benches painted in the Ocean theme by high schooler Isabella.

• Bistro tables, chairs, benches, and picnic tables with umbrellas for families to dine outside. 

• Community gardens with ongoing monthly weeding and pruning days by volunteers. 

• A new water meter with backflow, faucet, and drip irrigation installed by SF Landscapes. 

• A stage for performances and a small boat for picnics designed and built by Rock & Rose Landscapes. 

• An Edible Garden with planting and harvesting days for kids thanks to community gardener, Anya, and high schooler, Erin. 

• Giant Chess and Jenga thanks to the Lunbeck family and an Eagle Scout project. 

• A fish stand for creative play and Ocean-themed planters thanks to the Carr family and an Eagle Scout project. 

• A custom wave bench designed and installed by San Francisco artists Phil Spitler and Victoria Heilweil. 

• A community bulletin board and book library installed as a community match by resident contractor, Curran & Associates. 

• Festival lights installed by Greenforce Outdoor Light, BayLuminations, Rock & Rose Landscapes, and CaptiveSpark.

• A fairy garden, checkers, and toys for kids to enjoy that are regularly refreshed by volunteers.

• A program of free events from bands to dog massage to yoga -- see our events page for more! 

After creating Lakeside Landing, volunteers are focused on events, maintenance, and cleaning. Email lakeside@mainfare.com to join our team!

Please use this link to book Lakeside Landing for activities or events, following these important guidelines: 

• Costs: There is no charge by Friends of Lakeside Village, a non-profit of volunteers who help operate Lakeside Landing. You can select any 2-hour open increments from 8AM to 6PM (or more for a longer event although the intent is to share the space with the community). You are responsible for cleaning up after your event! 

• Event types: Many types of activity are encouraged on the octopus (yoga, meditation, tai chi, art classes, fitness bootcamps, studying, chess, learning to ride scooters, walking on the tentacles etc.). Some events require additional permits and insurance (see below). 

• Booking policy: In order to give everyone a chance to book Lakeside Landing, please schedule up to ONE event per month in advance, and email lakeside@mainfare.com if you would like help with publicity (newsletter, flyers, Next Door, Instagram etc.). For pop-up activities during the same week, you are welcome to book any open time spots as often as you would like!

• Shared spaces: During your event, please note that the shared spaces will remain open to everyone in the community, including the Nature Exploration Area, tables and chairs for dining, giant chess set etc. You are also welcome to use these resources but they are first come, first served. If you want an exclusive, quiet, private space, Lakeside Landing may not be your best choice! 

• Amenities: There are many restaurants and cafes in Lakeside Village for participants to enjoy. Please note that Lakeside Landing does not have restrooms. 

• Sidewalk access: The sidewalks around Lakeside Landing must remain accessible to pedestrians at all times. 

• Smoking and vaping ban:  In compliance with San Francisco Health Code Article 19L, Lakeside Landing is a smoke free space. No smoking or vaping allowed.

• Additional permits: Lakeside Landing has obtained a permit for amplified sound from 1PM to 7PM daily. You are responsible for obtaining separate permits from the relevant city agencies if your events involve built structures (stage, tents etc.), alcoholic beverages, entertainment or sound, food trucks, or cooking (e.g. barbecues). It is your responsibility to run a zero-waste event. Please note that permits for farmers markets or food trucks will require you to rent temporary restrooms. 

• Insurance: Some activities are prohibited because they are not covered by insurance. Do not plan events involving animals (rodeos, petting zoos, or exhibitions), athletic contests, carnivals, circuses, fairs, festivals, parades, powered rides or amusement attractions (climbing walls, slides, mechanical bulls, bungee jumping), firearms or weapons, trampolines, bounce houses, inflatable suits (for amusement, sports, wrestling or combat), skateparks, or fireworks. 

• Large events: For events with over 500 people, you must provide at least 30-days notice to lakeside@mainfare.com, and you will be required to purchase additional insurance. 

Lakeside Landing’s Ophelia mural, painted by artist Mike Ritch, @MikeRitch, has a much happier life than the character in William Shakespeare’s drama, Hamlet! She is a Giant Pacific Octopus, recognizable by her typical red color. She inhabits the northern Pacific Ocean off the coast of the United States and has special pigment cells that allow her to change color and blend with her surroundings. The largest individual on record weighed 600 pounds and measured 30 feet in length! She is extremely intelligent and has been observed opening jars and mimicking other species.

Over 175 million years ago during the Jurassic period, our planet had five times the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere compared with today. More greenhouse gases resulted in higher temperatures and extreme weather. Among the lush forests of conifers, fern trees, and cycads, many new dinosaurs emerged. There were no flowers because flowers didn’t evolve until much later. At Lakeside Landing, see if you can find the tiny Dinosaur Garden by spotting the Kauri pine tree, tree ferns, and cycads. All are a throwback to the Jurassic time of dinosaurs!

A pollinator is an animal that helps carry pollen from one flower to another to fertilize a plant so that it makes fruits, seeds, and young plants. Over 80% of the world’s flowering plants require a pollinator to reproduce. Pollinators include insects such as bees, birds such as hummingbirds, and mammals such as bats. Every plant in the community garden along Junipero Serra was chosen because pollinators eat their pollen and nectar. Look for the red tubular flowers for happy hummingbirds! Look for the blue, purple and yellow flowers for generalists such as bees and butterflies. And look for the white flowers for our nocturnal flying mammal friends, the bats. Can you spot the pollinators and their partner plants in the garden?