Forest Knolls, San Francisco: Homes, Mount Sutro & Real Estate
Forest Knolls is the postwar neighborhood on the southwestern slope of Mount Sutro, built along Warren Drive, Crestmont Drive and Oak Park Drive with the eucalyptus forest above it and the Inner Sunset and Forest Hill below. The MLS and the Assessor code it 4D, in District 4. Its 2025 roll shows about 476 single-family houses plus a cluster of apartment buildings and condominiums that is unusual for this part of the city.
Two facts shape ownership here more than anything else: the forest edge and the slope. Eight of its blocks, holding about 219 parcels, fall inside one of San Francisco’s two named slope protection areas, which adds engineering review to larger projects.
Forest Knolls homes for sale
Forest Knolls market report
Below the Mount Sutro forest
The neighborhood sits at the forest’s southern edge, and the Assessor’s records date most of its houses from the 1950s to the mid-1960s. UCSF says it bought a 90-acre parcel south of its original Parnassus land in 1953. Today it owns the 61-acre Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve, with more than 5 miles of public multi-use trails.
UCSF lists Monterey pine, Monterey cypress and blue gum eucalyptus among the reserve’s trees and says it is replanting eucalyptus groves alongside native species. Wikipedia’s neighborhood article gives Warren Drive as the southern and western edge, Mount Sutro as the northern edge and Midtown Terrace to the east.
Beyond the forest lie UCSF’s Parnassus campus and Cole Valley and Parnassus Heights; downhill to the west is the Inner Sunset, and Forest Hill is to the southwest.
Streets on the hill
Warren Drive carries the most parcels on the roll, followed by Oak Park Drive, Crestmont Drive, Christopher Drive and Galewood Circle. Clarendon Avenue, Forest Knolls Drive, Devonshire Way, Locksley Avenue, Woodhaven Court and Lake Forest Court make up most of the rest.
The streets switch back across the contours, so addresses that look close on a map can be a steep walk apart. The roll also lists a few public parcels on Clarendon Avenue, Crestmont Drive and Belgrave Avenue, and at the forest edge near Medical Center Way.
The Northwest Mt. Sutro Slope Protection Area
The Department of Building Inspection names ten Assessor blocks in the Northwest Mt. Sutro Slope Protection Area: 1850, 1851, 2635, 2636, 2638, 2674, 2675, 2676, 2677 and 2686. On the 2025 roll, eight of them, 2635 through 2686, sit in subdistrict 4D and hold about 219 parcels; the other two fall in the Inner Sunset’s code.
On those blocks, DBI’s slope rules apply to any of the following:
- a new building with more than 1,000 square feet of new projected roof area;
- an addition with more than 500 square feet of new projected roof area;
- shoring or underpinning, or grading of more than 50 cubic yards;
- any other work that could substantially affect slope stability.
The owner submits a slope checklist, and DBI then decides the level of review: a heightened third-party design review by experts it selects, or a public hearing before its Structural Advisory Committee. Either way, the owner pays the reviewers. The same rules reach lots outside the named blocks if they touch a state landslide zone or average steeper than 4 horizontal to 1 vertical. Our hillside geotechnical report guide explains what an engineer looks at.
Mapped hazard zones
Planning’s earthquake-induced landslide layer returns 16 polygons inside a rectangle drawn around the 4D parcels, and a point we checked on public land within the neighborhood fell inside one. The liquefaction layer shows none in that rectangle; the nearest polygon lies far to the east, along Portola Drive.
The landslide polygons cover parts of blocks, so look up the exact parcel. A mapped zone must be disclosed at sale.
Houses, apartments and condominiums
Forest Knolls mixes housing types more than its neighbors do. The 2025 roll counts:
| Property type (4D) | Parcels | Where and when, per the roll |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family houses | 476 | Median recorded year 1961; most from the 1950s to the mid-1960s, with some later infill |
| Condominium units | 59 | About 45 on the 600 block of Clarendon Avenue (mostly 1977), 11 on Crestmont Drive (1978), 2 on Galewood Circle (1979) |
| Two-unit flats | 15 | All on Crestmont Drive, 1963 to 1978 |
| Four-unit buildings | 13 | Locksley Avenue, 1961 to 1963 |
| Buildings of 5 to 14 units | 14 | Twelve on the 400 block of Warren Drive (1960–1961), two on Locksley Avenue (1964) |
| Apartment parcels in the 15-or-more-unit class | 6 | Including 6–8 Locksley Avenue, recorded with 244 units (1961), and 480 Warren Drive, recorded with 112 units (1975) |
The median house has about 1,560 square feet on a lot of about 3,210 square feet. The roll also lists two parcels in its tenancy-in-common class on Locksley Avenue, each a six-unit building from 1964; our TIC guide explains how that ownership works.
Zoning: houses above, apartments along Warren Drive
In the Assessor’s zoning field, about 397 parcels are RH-1(D), 124 are RH-1, 37 are RM-1, 27 are RM-2 and 7 are RM-4, with 8 public parcels. At the Warren Drive apartment row, Planning’s current map shows RM-2 (Residential, Mixed, Moderate Density) and a 40//40-R-4 height limit; the same point falls within the Family and Senior Housing Opportunity SUD.
Apartment buildings of this age can fall under the city’s Rent Ordinance, and buyers of an occupied building will ask for leases, rent histories and any Rent Board filings. Our San Francisco multifamily guide covers the documents. This is general information, not legal advice; a California landlord-tenant attorney can tell you how the rules apply to a particular building.
Getting around
The 36 Teresita runs through the neighborhood. SFMTA’s route page lists stops on Oak Park Drive at Forest Knolls Drive and along Warren Drive at Christopher Drive, Devonshire Way and Locksley Avenue, with numbered stops at 117, 345, 400 and 455 Warren Drive. The route then heads down Seventh Avenue to Laguna Honda Boulevard and Forest Hill Station, where the K, L and M stop, and it also stops on Clarendon Avenue at Galewood Circle.
SFMTA’s schedule table gives a 30-minute interval all day; buses run roughly 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, starting two hours later on weekends. The walk from the upper streets to a bus stop or down to the Inner Sunset is steep, so try it before counting on it for a daily commute.
Selling a home in Forest Knolls
Buyers compare views, the climb to the front door, garage access and how close the lot sits to the forest edge. For apartments and condos, the paperwork carries as much weight as the floor plan.
- Confirm whether the lot is on a Northwest Mt. Sutro block or in a mapped landslide zone, and assemble any geotechnical, drainage or retaining-wall reports.
- Pull permits for decks, lower-level rooms and additions, which buyers on sloping lots ask about first.
- For a condo, have the HOA package ready; our San Francisco condo guide lists what it should contain.
- Work through the city’s pre-sale items, summarized on our selling requirements page.
Diamond may refer you to partners we work with, such as geotechnical engineers; you’re free to choose any provider. Current 4D figures appear in the market report on this page.
Questions people ask
Where is Forest Knolls?
On the southwestern slope of Mount Sutro, with Warren Drive along its southern and western edge, the Mount Sutro forest to the north and Midtown Terrace to the east.
When was Forest Knolls built?
Mostly from the 1950s to the mid-1960s, according to the Assessor’s build years. The median for its houses is 1961.
Is Forest Knolls in a slope protection area?
Much of it is. Eight of the ten blocks in DBI’s Northwest Mt. Sutro Slope Protection Area are in Forest Knolls, so larger additions, new buildings and significant grading there need a slope checklist and may get engineering review.
Are there apartments in Forest Knolls?
Yes. Besides about 476 houses, the roll lists more than 30 apartment parcels, mostly on Warren Drive and Locksley Avenue, including two very large ones, plus about 59 condominium units.
Can you walk into the Mount Sutro forest from Forest Knolls?
Yes. UCSF describes its 61-acre Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve as having more than 5 miles of public multi-use trails; check UCSF’s trail information for the entrance nearest your street.
Which Muni line serves Forest Knolls?
The 36 Teresita, which runs on Warren Drive and Oak Park Drive and connects to Forest Hill Station. Check SFMTA for current service.
Selling a house, a condo or an apartment building in Forest Knolls? Request a home valuation and we will price it against sales of the same type on the hill. Our San Francisco guide covers the rest of the city.
Sources & notes
- DataSF / SF Assessor-Recorder: Assessor Historical Secured Property Tax Rolls, 2025 closed roll (parcel counts by class, zoning codes, address listing with build years and unit counts for subdistrict 4D, and block-to-subdistrict check for the Northwest Mt. Sutro blocks; queried October 2026)
- San Francisco Planning: PlanningData map service (zoning, height and special use districts on Warren Drive; landslide and liquefaction polygon counts; queried October 2026)
- SF.gov / Department of Building Inspection: Comply with slope protection requirements for your building project
- SFMTA: 36 Teresita route page (streets, stops, hours and frequency)
- UCSF: Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve (acreage, 1953 purchase, trails, trees)
- Wikipedia: Forest Knolls, San Francisco (boundaries; background only)
Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
