We recently had a special yearly tradition for The Park at River Walk, the Memorial Day Thousand…read moreFlags Ceremony. The entire park is covered in USA flags and it is always an awe inspiring sight. The day of ceremony always draws a large crowd. I took the family dog on a walk the night before to avoid the heat and enjoy the sight. It was nice to have a quieter moment to soak in the flags. It's also good to see families and friends gather at this awesome local park. It's nice to see the the park is being reinvested in with the playground currently under construction to bring in new equipment. I'll have to post some pictures of the structure once it's done!

The Park at River Walk is a lively place for people to have picnics, enjoy a walk/run, admire the…read morewildlife, or head to the Dignity Amphitheater for events. My best friend and I took a break from studying so that we can go for a walk here. Honestly, this park is so nice and I wouldn't mind laying out a blanket on the grass and reading under a tree. It was a refreshing place to relax our minds. I loved seeing the ducks and geese wading in the water. For the most part, the park is kept clean but it makes me sad to see garbage accumulate where the animals swim.

This park protects a small herd of tule elk...there are only six left here in March 2026, so it's…read moreluck if you can catch sight of one. It's $8 per car for day use. There is a guided tour on the fourth Saturday of the month, except December, at 10 am. The park ranger will give an overview of the history of the park and tule elk at the viewing platform, followed by the tour of the small visitor center and a guided drive (you follow them in your own car) through the gates. The ranger was very good at providing us with the info, but unfortunately, no sighting of any elk this time around. Chances seem really slim since there is so less elk in the park.

Plan ahead and visit during the safari! We had a great time and learned so much about the elk and…read moretheir habitat and without the guide we definitely would have missed out. The hours/days for the safari are posted on their website. There are restrooms onsite and small picnic areas. This would be a great opportunity for a picnic and a learning experience. Children much younger than 6 would probably be fairly bored, but we found it very interesting. The guide made sure to take his time and make sure hat everyone's questions were answered and that everyone got great pictures. This is a wonderful part of California's natural history in action.

I don't know how to even describe this park, maybe, magical... The sequoias are majestic with sugar…read morepines sprinkled all around. I was here with the Sisters Corp. to do some volunteer work. I did not want to miss the opportunity to give my time for this beautiful place. This is my first time to visit this National Park and I know now it will not be my last. My first day at the volunteer camp group site as we gathered at the table to meet each other and go over the agenda for the weekend we had the opportunity to see a black bear casually roam through our campground near the tents (one of them was mine). We were all informed prior to arriving not to leave any scented items in the tents. No one wonder the bear kept moving along, but with the help of our camp host shooing it away from the campground. This is something we learned from the rangers, is to shoo them away so they don't get in the habit of coming around. The park offers many hiking trails, I had the chance to do one of many, which was the Long Meadow Trail. Very beautiful, plenty of foliage and evidence of a bear in the area. Another part of the park I got to visit was General Sherman. There is a park ranger that will tell you the history of the General Sherman tree. You can wait in a long line to take a pic in front of the tree with a General Sherman sign. Or you can take a pic around the fenced majestic tree. I choose not to wait in line. I had the chance to shuttle to General Sherman tree from the Museum. The Shuttle is free and seems to come every 10-15 min. From General Sherman I also shuttled to the Lodgepole marketplace and visitor center. In this area are bathrooms with showers (coin operated, quarters). The Marketplace has an area to order some food and also a section where you can purchase some ice cream by the scoop. The store offers assorted ice cream bars. The visitor center offers gift items as well as the marketplace. At the front of the visitor center they had a ranger available at a booth if you had any questions. This place is quite busy! Parking lot is a madhouse. Nearby is a campground you may want to check out or ask the ranger for some info. If you can, arrive early, find parking at the Museum and shuttle to everything if you can. Warning, when I was doing volunteer work in the parking lot across from the museum we witnessed a black bear enjoying some berries in the bushes. I'm not sure if they will venture into the parking lot with a lot human activity going on but be careful what you leave in your car, anything and everything with a scent. The park has so much to see. I look forward to returning to volunteer and to take advantage of what the park has to offer.

Best national park I've ever been to and that's saying a lot…read more It's magical, and I highly recommend getting to the Sherman trailhead prior to 9:30am if you want a parking spot. Takes about an hour to get in there, up there and parked so plan accordingly. The congress trail was amazing and for a 3.5 mile hike it took about 2.5 hours with frequent stops for pictures. Highly recommend a stop at lodge pole for refreshments and merch. Incredible experience from start to finish.

A long road trip for a toddler can be tough. No toddler wants to sit in a car seat for more than a…read morecouple hours. My son is no exception. When traveling from So Cal to Nor Cal we wanted to make a few stops to allow my toddler to run around and expend some energy. Enter Paramount Park in Lost Hills. It's right off the 5 freeway, about 1 1/2 miles from the freeway. Nice park with a soccer field, basketball court, water play (for the summers), picnic tables, and playground for the kiddos. We grabbed some grub from one of the fast food joints, ate it here, and allowed my son to run around play. The park is very well maintained. The bathrooms are pretty clean too. And this is coming from someone who never uses park bathrooms. So if you have a little one or dogs that need to run around then definitely check out Paramount Park. When making a trip from So Cal to Nor Cal we will definitely be stopping by this park again.

This is a nice park that we use for walking. There are a lot of big trees, and the "footprint" the…read moreshade provides is very good. We generally walk the outer edges of the shade in order to avoid the sun and the heat. The park is clean, including the restrooms. The times we have been here there were no encampments of those down on their luck. The outer perimeter of this park is somewhere like 1200 steps if you are counting. With the mature trees present, about 70% of this walking is in the shade if you go in the morning.

Emerald Cove Park, located on the Southwest corner of Patton and Hageman, is a great little park…read morewhich I've been visiting on and off for over ten years, though not as much in the last two or three as I used to. Ten years ago, when my youngest brother was still in high school, we would raid the deli department at Vons and have picnics here on the grass under one of the many shade trees. Parking here is a little tricky. You can park along the curb on the West side on Patton (east side is marked no parking) or you can turn West onto Maleta, then North onto Gallio to park in the lot next to the elementary school. There are individual picnic tables spread randomly throughout the park under the trees, some with their own individual barbecue grills. There is also a large covered area shading a number of long picnic tables which were being used for a children's birthday party on the Sunday I was there with a large bouncy house set up nearby for their entertainment. The group picnic shelter, with a capacity of 80 people, can be reserved by contacting the NOR Parks & Recreation District at 392-2020 and filling out an application form. The cost for reserving the picnic shelter is $15 per hour, with a minimum 3 hour reservation. You can access the application at http://norfun.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/FR-100-Use-of-Facility-Online-Packet.pdf There are public restrooms located nearby. There a a number of recreational options available at this park. There is plenty of playground equipment available for kids of all sizes, some with bark below and some with a rubberized safety surface. There is a basketball half court complete with one basket that has a net. There is also an area for playing horseshoes with poles on either end. There is also a huge grassy area suitable for playing soccer (there was a group playing there this Sunday), picnicking, or for just running around. It has something to appeal to everyone in the family! There is even a geocache hidden somewhere within the park. Yes, I've found it, but I'm not giving you any clues, so don't ask. At 12.4 acres, this park can accommodate quite a few weekend picnickers and sports enthusiasts and the same time.

I've been to Windwolves several times for a hike over the past few years. We recently visited Wind…read moreWolves Preserve and had such a wonderful experience! My husband and I went for a hike, and it ended up being the perfect day to be outdoors. The trails were clean, well-maintained, and easy to follow, which made the hike really enjoyable. The weather was absolutely beautiful with clear skies and just the right temperature making it ideal for taking in the scenery and spending quality time together. It's such a peaceful spot to disconnect and enjoy nature. We'll definitely be back for another hike!

This is a beautiful land reserve that is huge! I didn't realize how big it is until we went on a…read moreguided hike yesterday with a ranger. There are so many trails and cool things to see. I have been here twice now, once when it was sunny and beautiful. Yesterday it was foggy and we couldn't really see much, but it was still beautiful and a cool hike. We hiked the Los Osos Trail, we signed up on their website so we got to ride to the trailhead in the rangers car. Which saves time and energy. To get to Los osos trail is a hike itself. The rangers were super knowledgeable and made it a fun experience! I would definitely sign up for a guided hike with them and check this park out! Camping is also free here the informed us and parking is also free! Entry to the park is also free! You can also volunteer or become a docent here

This is probably my favorite place to come and chill and fish with the family. It only costs $7 to…read moreenter, and there are a lot of places to park and set your canopy and chairs and fish poles at. It is so peaceful just sitting there. There are catfish, bass, trout, carp, blue gill, ect, and it's rare you won't catch. There are squirrels who will come close if you throw food on the floor. There are bathrooms close by. Just bring your own TP and sanitizer. There are trash cans. There are rangers who will drive around, so make sure you have your license on you. Kids under 16 years old fish for free! Bring bug spray and snacks. Hours go by so fast......hours your family can spend talking, laughing, taking selfies, getting bites, and catching fish.

We camp here every year we love it calm and chill spot haven't had any issues well the first year…read morewe got a ticket for driving on the grass to unload our car we were unaware but never any issues after that