Worth a second posting as it's upon us, the closings, etc.
By Timothy Karoff, Culture Reporter July 24, 2025
A summer of music is descending on Golden Gate Park, and so are the accompanying closures, which are slated to last longer than in previous years. In the coming weeks, multiple areas of the park, including several meadows and a stretch of JFK Promenade, will be temporarily closed to make way for a series of high-profile concerts that wraps up in mid-August.
The events are scheduled across three weekends at the Polo Field. Starting Aug. 1, the Grateful Dead offshoot Dead & Company is set to play a three-night run of shows in celebration of the Dead’s 60th anniversary. The next weekend, Aug. 8-10, San Francisco’s Outside Lands music festival takes over the park, and on Friday, Aug. 15, Zach Bryan and Kings of Leon are scheduled to take the stage.
Bay Area concert promoter Another Planet Entertainment is presenting the concerts. By hosting a series of events, a promoter can reuse some of its concert infrastructure; it’s a similar arrangement to last year, when APE brought Deftones and System of a Down to the Polo Field the weekend after Outside Lands. For visitors to the park and SF residents, that means unprecedented, extended closures.
Read on for more details on what to expect.
Road closures
Middle Drive, an east-west road that runs parallel to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, closed on Wednesday, July 23, and is set to remain closed through Aug. 20.
A stretch of JFK Drive from Transverse Drive to 36th Avenue is slated to close to vehicle traffic on July 29 and remain closed through Aug. 18. Within that stretch of the road, the portion between Marx Meadow and 36th will also close to pedestrians and bicyclists. The other segment, between Transverse Drive and Marx Meadow, is set to close to pedestrians and bicyclists for a shorter window, between July 31 and Aug. 13.
On concert days (Aug. 1-3, Aug. 8-10 and Aug. 15), all roads on the western side of the park will be closed. Pickups and drop-offs will be prohibited in the following areas:
- Lincoln Way between 25th and 41st avenues
- Fulton Street between 26th and 37th avenues
- 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th, 36th and 37th avenues, between Fulton and Cabrillo streets
- Any street in the park, including Crossover Drive
- Muni stops
Pickups and drop-offs are permitted at the following temporary taxi stands and loading zones:
- Fulton Street between 24th and 25th avenues (taxis only)
- Fulton Street between 28th and 29th avenues (taxis only)
- North side of Irving, between 25th and 27th avenues
- North side of Balboa, between 30th and 31st avenues
- West side of 30th, between Balboa and Anza
Meadow and other closures
The Polo Field closed Wednesday and is slated to remain closed through Aug. 20, the week after the Zach Bryan and Kings of Leon concert.
Hellman Hollow and Marx Meadow are scheduled to close between July 31 and Aug. 13. Lindley Meadow is scheduled to close between July 29 and Aug. 19. The area linking Marx and Lindley meadows to the Polo Field closes Friday and is slated to remain closed through Wednesday, Aug. 20.
A number of entrances will be closed on the north and south sides of the park during the concerts, starting the Thursday night before each show or set of shows.
Transit reroutes and added services
Dead & Co. and Zach Bryan show tickets include all-day Muni fare, and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will be running extra buses and trains on the 5 Fulton and N Judah lines on concert days; expect crowds on all buses and trains that serve areas near Golden Gate Park. Extra service on these lines will also be provided during Outside Lands, but Muni fare is not included with a ticket.
All of the events feature free self-bike parking at the eastern and southern entrances and a special Bay Wheels bike station on JFK Drive, just east of Transverse Drive.
How to report concerns and get information
APE has a community hotline (415-965-8001) for nearby residents to report issues related to road closures and parking in driveways. It is staffed 10 a.m.-11 p.m. on concert days and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. the Thursday before each show or set of shows. Per SFMTA, it will also “respond to blocked driveway and sidewalk access complaints via 311 (or 415-701-2311) and the 311 app.”
According to Mayor Daniel Lurie’s address about the Dead & Co. concerts Tuesday, concertgoers can text “GGPC” to the Nixle alert line, 888777, to get information from the city during the performances.
Roads, meadows and more closing in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park for extended concert series
Greg