Ziplines. Glamping. Pickleball. Inside the trends shaping Bay Area backyard design

Whether it’s a flexible space with family-friendly features like ziplines and camping spaces, outdoor structures to reconnect with nature, a home gym setup or a pickleball court, Bay Area homeowners seem to be increasingly focused on putting every square foot of their backyards to use.

We asked top professionals who are busy designing, building and installing the latest in-demand features and amenities in big Bay Area backyards to reveal what’s new in local landscaping trends, and they emphasized two words: functional and flexible.

Horngsheng Tu, principal and co-owner of the Bay Area landscape architecture firm In Situ Landscape, says that because some of his clients are younger than they used to be — thanks to the region’s AI boom — he’s seeing more homeowners designing their backyards around active hobbies. Bocce courts seem to be less popular, while pickleball is booming. Meanwhile, other clients are adding backyard running loops or outdoor gyms, he explains.

Among households with kids, he’s seen an uptick in requests for backyard camping spaces where families can set up a tent overnight to create family-friendly outdoor experiences.

“I love that kind of project,” he says.

He also recently installed a kid-friendly zipline for a local backyard. Meanwhile, treehouses are on the decline, as they come with numerous safety requirements, he says.

Overall, he’s seeing a shift away from what he describes as a resort-like backyard aesthetic, which was more popular before the pandemic. Such yards focused on beautiful pools and fire features, for instance. Now, the look is “more down-to-earth,” he says. People love growing backyard vegetable gardens, and some are even growing their own wine grapes. There’s also more awareness of the benefits of planting native plants, he adds.

Backyard glamping

Meghan Concra, a former teacher and Meta employee who now runs Tanari Earth, a business specializing in custom backyard structures in Woodside, says homeowners are increasingly interested in installing backyard buildings like glamping domes, custom saunas and outdoor rooms as state laws have made it easier for people to build accessory dwelling units on their properties.

She and her husband built a glamping dome on their 18 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains and have seen it resonate with visitors looking for a low-key way to get into nature.

“I love the idea of connecting people with nature and giving people more relaxation moments in nature,” she says.

After searching high and low for a backyard sauna with a design and quality she liked and finding manufacturers who were agile and easy to work with, she went on to add a line of custom saunas to her offerings.

She’s observed more homeowners installing workout and relaxation spaces into their backyards so they don’t have to make a separate trip to the gym or spa, she says. Additionally, she’s seeing more interest in outdoor rooms purpose-built for things like yoga, a home office, or just a retreat closer to nature, away from the chaos of the house.

“People are also looking at backyard space, and asking, ‘How do I make my house bigger?’” Concra says. “It comes down to getting your money’s worth out of your property and enjoying the outdoor space that you have.”

Some people also want to monetize their additional backyard structures, she notes. However, some local jurisdictions impose limits on short-term rentals, so it’s worth checking to see what your community’s rules are about making these spaces available for visits on websites like Airbnb or Hipcamp.

Pickleball mania

One of the biggest trends right now in Bay Area backyards is a booming demand for pickleball courts. Jeffery Strachan, owner of the Los Gatos-based Pacific Courts — a company that installs custom athletic courts for residential and commercial clients — has been inundated with demand since he built his first pickleball court in Los Gatos three years ago, he says. Twenty years into a career that’s included constructing backyard ice rinks, commercial movie theaters and an array of tennis, basketball and multi-sport backyard facilities, he’s gone all in on pickleball courts, which require significant expertise to build and surface.

Today, over 90% of his projects are pickleball-focused, and demand isn’t going anywhere, he says. Last year, he completed a project in Rohnert Park to convert an entire 17-room movie theater into a state-of-the-art pickleball gym and fitness center, CenterLine 33.

Not every backyard can accommodate the 60-foot by 30-foot footprint these courts require, and his residential courts tend to be in communities where larger properties are the norm — like Hillsborough, Atherton, Woodside and Saratoga. However, creative options are out there for some smaller yards, too. Strachan recently installed a pickleball court in someone’s front yard, for instance, he says.

The sport, which was invented in the 1960s on Bainbridge Island, Washington, took its time getting to the Bay Area, but the craze has definitely caught on. This may be thanks to The Hub, a chain of pickleball facilities that have opened locally in recent years, according to Strachan. The Hub has had locations in Campbell and Alameda since 2023, and has one opening on Treasure Island this summer. But demand for courts is outpacing even what those facilities can offer, he says.

Another reason for pickleball’s backyard appeal? It’s a remarkably all-ages-welcome, family-friendly sport. While it first became popular among older people looking to stay active, it’s now being played by five-year-olds too, he says. “You’ve got quite a range.”