Squash Court Near Me in the Inner Sunset at UCSF Millberry

Halfway up Parnassus Avenue, under the eucalyptus of Mount Sutro, the UCSF Millberry Fitness & Recreation Center sits on Level B1 of 500 Parnassus Avenue. It belongs to the university, but it is not campus-only: anyone with a photo ID can buy a single-day pass at the member service desk and use every area of the center, squash courts included. In a city where nearly every other squash court sits inside a private club, that makes Millberry the west side's answer to squash court near me.

The building opened in September 1958 as the Guy S. Millberry Union, and UCSF's library history explains why it exists at all. The University of California built student unions on its undergraduate campuses, but the San Francisco medical center was left out of that policy, so the money had to come from somewhere else.

It came from the School of Dentistry. In the 1920s dentistry students set up a student store and cafeteria, and Guy Millberry, dean of dentistry from 1914 to 1939, backed the venture and invested its proceeds. By the 1950s that fund paid for a complex of a gymnasium, swimming pool, fitness and recreation centers, conference rooms and cafeterias, all named after him. UCSF's 50th-anniversary write-up quotes the original billing of the building as one of the most outstanding and complete college unions in the entire West.

The Union became the social hub of Parnassus for students, faculty, staff, alumni and neighbors. The fitness center still describes itself as serving medical students, staff, faculty and surrounding neighbors since 1958.

UCSF Fitness and Recreation sells a single-day adult pass that covers use of all areas plus Group X classes on a space-available basis. Its own pages are not consistent on the walk-in price: the day pass page lists $25, while the day and shower passes page lists $30. Both agree that the pass drops to $15 when you are hosted by a member, so if a friend works or studies at UCSF, bring them along.

Passes are sold in person at the Millberry or Bakar member service desk, and staff ask for a photo ID. The same pass works at the larger Bakar center in Mission Bay, but Millberry is the closer choice for anyone living in the Sunset, Cole Valley, the Haight or the Richmond.

Both UCSF fitness centers list basketball, squash and racquetball among their courts, and full members reserve court time in advance through the online booking system. Day-pass holders play under the drop-in sports rules, which means courts are first come, first served when no member booking is on the sheet.

That shapes your visit. Plan to play with a partner you bring yourself, carry your own racquet, eyewear and non-marking indoor shoes, and treat a member's reservation on the sheet as final. The pass covers only your own entry, so a friend without UCSF ties buys a pass too. Because the pass also includes Group X classes on a space-available basis, a court that is busy when you arrive does not mean a wasted trip: there is a full fitness floor and class schedule in the same building.

If one visit turns into a weekly game, UCSF Fitness and Recreation membership is the next step. It covers unlimited Group X classes, the fitness floors, drop-in sports and the online reservation system at both Millberry and Bakar, so members can book a squash court ahead instead of waiting on drop-in time. The same membership card opens Bakar in Mission Bay, the Ricardo Legorreta-designed center UCSF opened in October 2005 with an outdoor rooftop lap pool, so members can split their squash between the two campuses.

The desk is also where you sign up for a day pass, so the same counter handles both first-time visitors and members changing a court booking.

Parnassus Avenue is steep, foggy and short on parking, so transit is the calm option. Muni's 6 Haight-Parnassus bus runs along Parnassus past the Millberry Union, and the N Judah light rail runs a few blocks north through the Inner Sunset; a single Muni ride is $2.85 with Clipper and $3.00 in cash.

Drivers can use the Millberry Union parking garage beneath the complex, which is shared with hospital patients, visitors and staff, so expect weekday daytime demand from the medical center. The fitness center sits on Level B1, below street level, and the Millberry Union also houses UCSF's event and meeting center, so follow the fitness signs once inside.

The squash courts are a short walk from two of the west side's best decompression spots. Behind the campus, the Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve is a UCSF-owned eucalyptus forest crossed by trails that start near the Parnassus buildings, a quiet 61-acre stand of trees directly above one of the busiest medical campuses in the city.

Downhill, Ninth Avenue and Irving Street are the heart of the Inner Sunset, lined with noodle shops, cafes and the Arizmendi Bakery on Ninth Avenue, and the Ninth Avenue entrance to Golden Gate Park leads toward the San Francisco Botanical Garden. A post-match walk down Parnassus, a pastry on Ninth and a loop through the park make a full Saturday.

Address: Millberry Fitness & Recreation Center at UCSF Parnassus, 500 Parnassus Avenue, Level B1, San Francisco, CA 94143. Day pass: sold at the member service desk with photo ID; $15 when hosted by a member, with the unhosted adult rate listed at $25 on one UCSF page and $30 on another. Courts: squash, racquetball and basketball, booked online by members.