This park is super family friendly and lots of space and parking area! I love that the playground is gated for the kiddos!

I can only speak to my daytime experience today. There was a Halloween themed craft faire going on. Parking was difficult as this was a popular event. People were playing tennis and a competitive cricket match was in progress on the baseball field, these guys were good, the pitchers had skills. There were many craft booths selling very creative Halloween crafts, the vendors were very friendly. Made some purchases to support local artists. Some guy was walking his macaw without a leash, obviously wings are clipped. The bird was following his owner. Food La Cholita Peruana She was very friendly, food not ready but tasted the chicha, drink made from purple corn, very good. They make lomo soltado, a steak and fries dish. Pupusas Maranatha These were very good however no customer service whatsoever. Just take ur money, no thank u. Interesting experience. read more

See all

Backesto Park is a century old public park in San Jose's Northside Neighborhood. It was created in the memory of Dr John Pierre Backesto (1831-1890). The park was opened in 1922, and underwent a major rehab in 1981. It's home to tennis courts, handball, basketball, community center, bocce court, playground, sports fields, picnic tables and bbq, and restrooms. I was at the park last week and it was a beautiful day. People were out using the various sports facilities or just walking around the park. I did notice some of the turf has bare spots, and some turf is irregular. Ruts and holes might be a hazard to a casual walker. I think the park could use more trash cans, as I saw litter on the ground. Another review mentioned bad people and gang activity. I didn't notice any criminal activity while I was there around 5pm on a weekday. This is a neighborhood park. Lots of street parking. Located at Jackson Street & North 13th Street, In San Jose, CA. http://www.northside-sj.org/html/neighborhood/parks/backesto.html read more

See all

I have driven past Backesto Park numerous times but never had the desire to go check it out. It usually seems to have shady clientele loitering around. The park itself is just average. It has dedicated areas for sports like tennis and basketball. Nice to see some greenery in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the vibe kills it for me. Having said that, I did stop by recently on the day that the Luna Park Chalk Art Festival was taking place. A large crowd of visitors was there so I felt more comfortable. In fact, it was quite festive. Kids were running around. A live band was playing on stage. It was a very warm day. Good thing the ice cream cart was present and there were also a few food trucks. Some chalk drawings were nicely done while others were drawn by kids which was cool. The one with the minions was adorable. I might come here again if there is a special event. read more

See all

Backesto Park (BP) is located in one of San José's more -shall we say- "suspect" neighborhoods. The area is a well known hotbed for gang activity, drugs, and is rife with Local Outdoor Enthusiasts just "hanging out." The park itself isn't in the greatest shape: with the restrooms being quite disgusting (on a good day!); the buildings are usually covered in "Street Art"; and the park grounds are shoddily kept up-- but that's pretty standard for most CSJ parks these days. All this is very unfortunate because BP has some really unique features that make it stand out from most CSJ Parks. Here's the skinny: -Two separate restrooms; one at the north end and one at the south end of the park. -Newly renovated Tennis Courts -Basketball and Handball Courts -Playground and Tot Lot -Community Center -Picnic tables and BBQ Pits -Lawn Bowling -Lighted Softball/Baseball Field BP is the poster child for breaking the Realtor's #1 rule of: location, location, location; if this park were in Willow Glen or Almaden Valley it would very easily be a 5-star park -- but seeing as how it's not, it gets a very generous 2-stars from me. Ordinarily, I would never come here of my own volition; sometimes work brings me to the area and I'll need a place to make a quick pit-stop, and that's about all this place is good for. read more

See all

Great park, hope they add some pickleball courts , better use of space per person. They could turn 2 tennis courts into 6 pickleball courts

the lawn is quite rough. watch out for trip holes. Kids love the ice cream man I was happy to see the farmers market.

A lot of food vendor. next to the dirty restroom. look not like a park more like food park.

I have to say that I have actually never been to this park with the exception of the Luna Chalk Art Festival last year and it was great! They basically had spaces for each of the artists (including some schools) and some of the art was truly amazing! It was cool because they had live music and no entrance fee to enjoy the festival. For $20 or something like that, we got a box full of colored chalk, and a space to draw on. My 8 year old had a BLAST and me and the BF got to pretend we were Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali for an hour or so. We were even lucky enough to sit beside someone who knew what they were doing and lent us knee pads/boards so that we wouldn't get chalk all over ourselves (which we did anyways) but at least we know what to bring for next year! If any of the other events here are as fun (simple, but fun) as the chalk festival, then I can't wait to come back for more. Tips for those who plan to attend the next one: - bring chairs and shade - it was HOT! - bring cash - if you want a box of chalk and a space to draw on - bring snacks - cause the lines for the (2) trucks that were there were super long - bring your artistic or not so artistic self and have a great time! Oh, and we also saw a basketball court (I think that's where my 17 year old disappeared to) and tennis courts? read more

See all

I jog or walk my dog in the early evenings at Backesto. It is not too bad since it is near my home. Many families at the park, people playing volleyball, full tennis courts, teams playing softball or people playing soccer. The only downfall are the homeless people, and some cholos hanging out. I feel I have to watch my back when I run however, I keep coming back. I will not bring my children here for this reason. This place has really cleaned up but I have been to better kept parks. read more

I love that the park over the years has improved... no more gang fights pssf. Basketball court, tennis courts.. which fill fast on Sunday's with all them "one day I might be a pro". handball court is always in effect, oh and they got for you young ones.. play ground. member them day's couldn't wait to hit the swing set..ugh think I'm gonna barf.. to much swinging. Large open grass field through out the entire park.. Yay do you want to go outside? let's go for a run, whoa! didn't see you their passed out. Yes unfortunately there seems to be a group of drinkers who occasion the park to frequently...LIKE EVERYDAY!, but there harmless and almost forgot the park every week is kept up by I'm not sure who they are in there orange vest. But they go around picking up the litter There are also BBQ pits, nice and I always see family's out on the weekend having fun in the sun. cooking up a feast, drinking there favorite beverage of choice, and laughing it up. I do go for a run at night sometimes, and yes sometimes freak myself out..spooky what! it's dark out. read more

Backesto Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

Park is nice for a good walk and all but ya gotta watch out for dog poo lots of the time, other than that it's a good/decent park.

This park is an astonishingly diverse, active, cheerful center of Northside community life. At any time of day or night there are countless people and groups here enjoying some time outdoors. Tennis, handball, and hanging out seem to be the most popular. There are a few homeless folks making use of the restrooms and some folks smoking on a bench somewhere out of the way, so it's no Pleasantville, but everyone's kind to each other around here and cheerful. Don't miss big events like the annual flea market, the chalk art festival, or the movie with neighborhood night out. Everyone comes out for these events and they're a blast. For delicious eats nearby, try Swaad Indian, Rollo's donuts, or Chiramontes deli.. All are delicious, especially Swaad. A short stroll up 13th will get you many choices of taquerias, and across 13th at Empire is a small but friendly convenience store that's always trying to sell handmade egg rolls super cheap. Try it, they're good! read more

Backesto Park - The proudest mural on the handball courts... - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

See all

Other than the fact that this place gets crowded with tattooed men playing basketball surrounded by bums and other folks blasting a boom box...... this place isn't so bad. I've seen plenty of cops always driving by so i don't feel unsafe at all. One time they were even walking around and said hi to me. :) For the past 9 weeks, this place has been the Thursday Kickball Park for everyone in the league.. it's so much fun!! It's a nice little park in the middle of nowhere it feels like. The bathroom is a hit or miss, 8 out of 10 times i've been in there it's been clean... the few times... *gag*..... I am curious about when they draw on the ground with chalk.. I'm definitely going to check that out one of these days. read more

5 chalk colored stars * * * * * Luna 2012 Chalk Art Festival that was held here. 3 stars for the actual park itself * * * Tennis courts Baseball field Play structures Bathrooms Large grass field area Sidewalk that winds itself through the park which was awesome for the chalk artwork Plenty of street parking as well as parking in the surrounding neighborhood read more

Backesto Park - auuuu beautiful chalk artist hands - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

If the bum laying on the grass, or the one sitting by picnic tables smoking a cig. doesn't scare you off, this park really isn't too bad. There are actually a lot of people that run around the park throughout the day. Also a lot of people walking their dogs, thankfully with leashes. The park really caters to a lot of different people. The tennis courts are usually packed all the time, if it weren't for sunset I don't think people would ever leave! But if you want to play tennis and aren't a regular, it might be a little hard for you to get a court. In between the older folk that take up about 3/4 of the courts and the Notre Dame girls having practices on certain days of the week, you may never have a chance to swing a racquet. There's also a handball court, and surprisingly a lot of dudes play here. Even more surprisingly, they're not cholo's trying to claim territory. The basketball courts are usually busy in the afternoons with mostly guys playing. The baseball field isn't too bad and I think maybe certain teams hold practices here. People play pickup soccer games here as well. Lastly, there's a playground where all the kids can run around and be kids. ....I can't remember if they have bathrooms??.... I mostly like this place for all of the memories. read more

Went here on Saturday 20 September for the Luna Park art festival. I have never seen so many people in this park, and it did my heart good. I have always had a soft spot for this park - been coming here since the 1950's. Good to see that the people in the neighborhood are taking the park back from the unsavory elements that used to claim the park as their territory. Anyway, there were a number of artists chalking their assigned sections, a lot of booths selling various artwork, a few food trucks and a food cart (skip these, and go Chiaramonte's market and deli a half block away. You won't regret it.) There was also live music at the festival, but in my opinion this was a LOUD distraction to what should have been a very peaceful Saturday in the park. read more

Really great place to see the chalk art when it hasn't been washed away. Even better place to stroll around as your girlfriend snaps your heart in two and you have no idea if you want to walk back home, to a bar or simply end it all at a nearby overpass. read more

Great neighborhood park and home of the Luna Park Chalk art festival every fall. (September 20, 2014.) Google "luna park chalk art" for their website. Annual flea market first Saturday in August. Shows movies on National Night Out. Graffiti is held to a minimum thanks to neighbors and the city anti-graffiti trucks. There is a beautiful mural by a local artist. Northside is a diverse neighborhood with a lot of friendly people. Bakesto Park is one of the great things about living here! read more

This park has a lot of potential, howe ver the population of vagrants is getting out of hand ...something needs to be done ..I'm scared to use the bathrooms. ..tennis courts are nice and in the evenings youth soccer leagues practice. read more

One of the best parks in San Jose!!! Home of the Luna Park Chalk Art Festival and on of the largest National Night Outs! This is a gorgeous park where the neighborhood comes together to enjoy anything from tennis to baseball to soccer, basketball and bocce ball. What used to be a questionable park years ago has become the highlight of the neighborhood where families can bring their children, friends, and pets to enjoy numerous activities or just chill near the fountain or under the trees. Thanks to neighborhood volunteers, this park has become one of the most beautiful and safest parks in San Jose!!! Check it out next time you are in the hood!!! read more

Very nice park with plenty of parking all around it. I did not check out their restrooms or any of their playground areas because we were just walking our dog. This past weekend, they also had a yearly neighborhood flea market and that was a lot of fun. You had people rent a spot around the park and sell their stuff, while the residents around the park were also selling from their front yards. Everyone was friendly and I had a great time. read more

nice mature tree. i would give it a 4 star but there's a handful of homeless that hangout bye the BBQ pits. besides that nice for walking. read more

Backesto Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

Ahh!!! The bathrooms here are so weird. Sometimes they're open and other times they're not! Some of us have to gooooooo. Poooooeyyyyy.

Courts have been torn down... I spoke to a guy on the construction crew and he said they wouldn't be up until September-October. I used to stop by to play pickup tennis frequently. I'm mainly writing this post in case anyone knows where the dozens of avid players who used to come here went! I'm looking for new public courts... read more

It's a good place when it's clear of homeless and drunk people.. that's a shame because it's a beautiful park, yet it's safe, it always came with my kids and never had any problem, police drive around frequently, it's pretty clean and well kept. read more

I was one of those tatted up thugs playing handball there until 1997 and the park is cool but I notice now a lot of winos and homeless folk kickin it there more than ever. I pass out a plate of bbq to the unfortunate but keep the drugs and beer out the park...for the kids sake man! I do like the annual yard sale there in august...lots of goodies. I stop there when i'm in the area to kick back every now and then. read more

It upsets me that this park is only worthy of 2 stars. Not only because I live within walking distance to it, but because it has so much potential. It is decently sized and has a variety of features such as the tennis courts, a fountain and a community center. I've also come here during the chalk art festival which was actually a really fun event with artists and locals producing chalk art as well as food trucks and other vendors. However, the park just feels unsafe since there are always a lot of shady looking individuals walking around and a good amount of homeless people as well. Lighting isn't very good at the park either so I wouldn't come near this place at night. The park is empty most of the time also adding to its unwelcoming atmosphere. The park is also often times littered with various items most likely from the homeless people as well. If the park were cleaned up a bit, and had more events that brought in more people, I think it would make a nice addition to the neighborhood. read more

This is a wonderful, beautiful park with a lot of character. It's one of the reasons I moved to the neighborhood 22 years ago. Other parks in San Jose just don't have the charm and character of Backesto. Fortunately, it hasn't been gentrified and it retains its spirit of diversity. read more

The newly resurfaced courts are open for play! Check out the blended 60' court/orange ball lines especially for youth ages 10U. I know the Boys & Girls Club players are happy to have courts again. Project took longer as there was some foundation issues (which causes cracking and could results eventually in a hazardous situation for ALL players). There are also two lighted courts. USTA very happy to financially assist in the project and legendary Coach Don Johnson was delighted with results. Now we just need to work on the 36' red ball lines for the even younger players (8U). Happy Playing EVERYONE! read more