Greer Park

Greer Park is the workhorse of Midtown. On a Saturday in fall you can find youth soccer on the fields, skateboarders circling the bowls, toddlers on the playground and a few dogs in the fenced run, all within sight of Highway 101. It is not a quiet park. It is the park where a lot of Palo Alto kids learn to play a sport.

The City of Palo Alto lists Greer at 22 acres, which makes it one of the largest parks in town outside the open space preserves. It sits at 1098 Amarillo Avenue in the eastern part of Midtown. This guide covers what is there, how the park grew, what is closed right now and how to get there without a car.

Greer Park at a glance

The city's park page tags Greer as a park with athletic fields. Its facility list is one of the longest of any neighborhood park in the city:

• Play: a playground and a skate park.
• Sports: soccer fields, baseball and softball fields and basketball courts.
• Dogs: a small fenced dog run.
• Comfort: restrooms, drinking fountains, picnic tables and barbecue grills.
• Getting around: walking trails, bicycle trails and wheelchair access.

Like most city parks, Greer is open from sunrise to sunset. There is no entry fee. Parking is on the surrounding streets.

From a five-acre lot to a district park

The city's own history of Greer is a neat lesson in how housing shapes parks. Palo Alto acquired the first five acres in 1963. They were dedicated as Amarillo Park in September 1965, a walk-in park for the single-family streets nearby. Then several large apartment complexes went up in the area and the population around the park jumped. The city expanded the park to district size, which is how it reached its current 22 acres.

The name changed early. In 1967 the city renamed it John Lucas Greer Park, following a policy of honoring figures from Palo Alto's past. The same name had already been attached to the neighborhood. One of Joseph Eichler's earliest tracts, designed by the firm Anshen and Allen and built in 1950 and 1951, is known as Greer Park. Our page on Eichler homes in Palo Alto tells that part of the story.

Captain John Lucas Greer

Greer was an Irish seafarer, born in 1808. According to the city, he spent about 20 years sailing the coasts of South Africa before bringing the brigantine Wild Duck into San Francisco Bay in 1849. His crew left for the gold fields. Greer took a small skiff south, sailed up San Francisquito Creek and decided to stay, leasing land to farm.

That land was part of Rancho Rinconada del Arroyo de San Francisquito, which had belonged to Rafael Soto. In 1850 Greer married Maria Luisa, Soto's daughter and heir. The couple lived on a ranch in what is now Woodside. Greer became a successful rancher, founded the Woodside Library and served as a trustee of the Woodside School. In the 1860s the family moved to Palo Alto. Their house stood first at Churchill Avenue and Alma Street and was moved in 1867 to the corner of Embarcadero Road and El Camino Real. Greer died in 1885. His eldest son lived in the house until 1945. In 1952 the site became the Town & Country Village shopping center. For the rancho era behind all of this, see our page on the Spanish and Mexican era.

The skate park

The feature that brings people from outside Midtown is the skate park. The city added it in 1991 and describes it as the first public skate facility on the Peninsula. It is a tri-bowl design, three connected concrete bowls rather than a street course of rails and ledges. When it opened, the city says, it was one of the most advanced public skate facilities in California and drew skaters from across Northern California.

That bowl layout suits riders who already know how to pump and carve. Beginners can still roll around the shallow sections at quiet times, but there are few small obstacles to practice on. In 2020 a group of local students ran a petition asking the city to add a second, beginner-friendly park beside the existing bowls. The student newspaper at Palo Alto High School reported more than 1,800 signatures at the time. No second skate park has been built. Bring a helmet and pads, since a fall into a concrete bowl hurts at any age.

For other ideas for older kids, see our guide to things to do with teens.

Fields, courts and the playground

Most of Greer's acreage is turf. The city lists soccer fields and baseball and softball diamonds. In spring and fall youth leagues book them heavily. If you want to kick a ball around on a weekend morning, expect to share the edges or come back in the late afternoon. Leagues and teams book city fields through the Community Services field and tennis court reservation system, so a posted practice usually has priority over a pickup game.

Basketball courts round out the sports list. The playground serves younger children and has the restrooms close by, which matters with toddlers. Picnic tables and barbecue grills make Greer a practical place for a casual birthday, though the city takes group picnic reservations only at Mitchell, Rinconada and Foothills. At Greer, tables are first come, first served.

The dog run

Greer has one of the four fenced dog parks the city runs. The others are at Mitchell, Peers and Hoover parks. The city lists the Greer run at 0.06 acre, with a decomposed granite surface, seating and a trash can. It is the smallest of the four by far, so treat it as a place for a quick play session rather than a long run.

The city dog park rules apply here too. The run is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dogs must be licensed and vaccinated and wear tags. One person may bring no more than three dogs. Everywhere else in the park, dogs stay on a leash. Our dog parks guide compares all four runs.

Closures and projects

Notices change often. Check the city's Greer Park page before you go, especially if you are heading there for the playground.

Getting there by bike and transit

By bike, Amarillo Avenue is one of the streets the city included in Phase 1 of its neighborhood bicycle boulevard program, which was partly built in 2018. Louis Road, Moreno Avenue and Ross Road were part of the same phase. Together they make a lower-traffic route through the Eichler streets of Midtown. Our guide to Palo Alto bike boulevards explains how the network fits together.

Transit is thinner. No bus runs past the park itself. VTA Route 21 runs along Middlefield Road and lists the Midtown shopping area among its stops, about a mile west of Greer. The nearest Caltrain stop is California Avenue station, roughly a mile and a half away. On a bike that is a short trip. On foot it is a long walk.

By car, park on the streets around the park. Weekend league mornings fill the closest blocks, so be ready to walk a little.

What is nearby

Greer sits in Midtown, the middle band of Palo Alto south of Oregon Expressway. The Eichler streets of the Greer Park tract surround it. Across Oregon Expressway to the north is Triple El, a small neighborhood of mostly Eichler homes on three curving streets.

• The Baylands: the marsh and levee trails of the Baylands Nature Preserve are on the other side of Highway 101, about a mile by road via Embarcadero Road.
• Midtown shops: cafes, groceries and takeout cluster along Middlefield Road, a short ride west.
• Other parks: Hoover Park on Cowper Street has a playground, tennis courts and another small dog run.

A good loop for a family on bikes: start at Greer for the playground or the skate bowls, ride Amarillo and Louis Road through the Eichler streets, then cross toward Middlefield for lunch. Keep in mind that Greer is a neighborhood park first. Weekday mornings are calm. Saturday mornings in soccer season are not.

Frequently asked questions