this was a great little rest stop. For decades, we've driven 152 east whether going to Fresno…read morelinking up with I-5 and we typically just blow right past this overlook. however, being short sleeve, and with an ultimate destination being the Mojave to do some plains, spotting had a clearly drink too much coffee and needed to make a quick stop. Clean bathrooms, nice shaded areas benches, and actually nice views of the Reservoir and surrounding hills make this actually a pretty cool stop It does have a gate and it may not be open at all hours, but if it is it's worth a quick stop if you need to stretch your legs or have other business lol

I have driven past this at least 20 times. We finally pulled off to stop and why would a treat the…read moreviews are breathtaking and the visitor center is modern it has a fun 3-D interactive tour of the damn very clean restrooms and lots of information written on walls for people who like to read that. It was warm, but there are lots of shady spots under the trees and a nice set of benches to just sit and take in the reservoir. Kid friendly. Not pet friendly.

This is my favorite spot to stop for lunch on the coyote Creek trail. It has a great covered…read moreoutdoor area for eating. It's in deep shade, so it remains cool even in hot weather. It has five picnic tables under the shelter and all are in shade. It has a garbage can which is almost always not full, so it is obviously maintained regularly. It has nice water fountains for both humans and pets. The restrooms are awesome and clean! I would give this park five stars, but the lake is closed until 2032. Otherwise, it's still my favorite spot at the end of Coyote Creek trail.

Ok so supposedly it cost six dollars to get in to the parking lot. Um... the parking lot I went…read moreinto had nowhere to pay, none, zip,zippo, nadda "not that I'm complaining lol!! Looks like they are doing seismic retrofitting stuff so we couldn't walk over this cool bridge that was over the stream, lots of chain link fence and construction going on... sad face. Wifey and I were able to sit on a bench near the stream "which honestly was quite beautiful if you didn't look to far up" We sat there for about 2 hours watching the Black Phoebe's fly around catching bugs. Beyond that there doesn't seem to be much else going on in this parking lot site. There is another entrance, haven't been there as of yet, maybe that entrance will be better.

Great place! It was my first time visiting, and overall, I had a great experience. The price was…read moreaffordable, and I definitely recommend this place.

First off, my family and friends camp here regularly, and this is the first time I have ever…read moreexperienced an issue like this or been denied entry to my reserved campsite. I arrived at approximately 12:15 PM. I understand that the official check-in time is 3:00 PM, as this allows the previous campers time to leave and for the campsites to be prepared. However, that did not appear to be the situation when I arrived. There were no campers in the RV area whatsoever, and the area appeared to be completely vacant. The booth attendant, Tina made an exception and allowed me to enter the park after paying the $6 entrance fee. She specifically told me that I could wait until 1:00 PM and that she would be happy to check me in at that time. Based on what she told me, I paid the fee, entered the park with my trailer, and waited approximately 45 minutes until 1:00 PM. At approximately 1:05 PM, I returned to the entrance booth, only to find that no one was there. As I waited, vehicles began piling up behind me while the booth remained unattended. I waited for approximately another 30 minutes before eventually having to use the self-check-in process. I find this experience extremely unprofessional and inconsiderate to the paying patrons who regularly support and camp at this park. If an employee makes an exception and provides a customer with specific instructions and a time to return, I believe it is reasonable to expect that employee to honor that commitment. I understand that employees can become busy or may have legitimate reasons for stepping away. However, there was no communication or explanation provided, and I was left waiting after following the instructions I was given. Imagine traveling several hours to camp at this location, only to be told that you cannot check in early, that you must pay an additional entrance fee and wait, and then, after agreeing to those terms, finding no employee available when you return at the agreed-upon time. That is not the level of customer service I would expect from a campground that I have supported regularly. I believe Tina would benefit from additional training regarding customer service, communication, and following through with commitments made to park patrons. I hope management will address this situation so that other customers do not have a similar experience. I enjoy camping here and have regularly recommended this location to family and friends. My intention is not simply to complain, but to bring attention to an experience that I believe could have been handled much better.

My daughter wanted to see ducks. We went by 4 times. We only saw them once but each time was an…read moreadventure looking for them. Thanks for the memories.

This is a review of Pinto Lake City Park…read more You may not believe it, but I drove all the way from Costanoa to Downtown (?) Watsonville just to get a breakfast burrito. By the time I got to the market taqueria in question (review upcoming), it was too late for breakfast burritos, so I ordered a regular burrito and then looked for a green spot on the map to eat my (non-breakfast) burrito in peace. That green spot was Pinto Lake City Park, which isn't as green as you believe it will be but which is greener than its surroundings. The park comprises a whopping seventy-eight acres, although seventy of those acres are the southern half of Pinto Lake. The remaining eight acres are mainly the greenish park-looking areas south of the lake and these funny thin strips of land along it southwestern and -eastern shores. There's a different park farther north called Pinto Lake County Park; I didn't drive that far, but if you're having any kind of gathering, make sure everyone knows which of the two Pinto Lake Parks you're actually visiting. Strangely, Pinto Lake City Park is within the city limits of Watsonville even though it's far from Watsonville. How's that again? Well, the park is an exclave of the City of Watsonville. That is, it's a part of the city that's separated from the rest of the city by a few miles of what I assume is unincorporated Santa Cruz County. If you still don't know what I'm talking about, type "Watsonville, CA" into Google Maps. You'll see that Watsonville has three exclaves: one to the south, one to the west, and this one to the north. OK, enough map-nerding. It was already quite hot by the time I got here, and the lack of trees, especially near the lake-view picnic benches, borders on the criminal. What kind of landscape architecture is that, City of Watsonville? It's not the most beautiful lake, so you wouldn't be blocking anyone's views with more trees lakeside. The main part of the park does have quite a few trees, and it looks like a nice city park that gets lots of use. I didn't use the restroom while I was here, but the buildings are in decent shape, and I saw lots of women using the ladies' room, and that's generally a good sign in terms of restroom cleanliness. The parking lot is huge. Besides the lake itself, there's a basketball court, a baseball diamond, plenty of green open space, and a children's playground, I believe. I was surprised by the number of people shore-fishing in the afternoon, although it was a Sunday, so maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. I probably would have enjoyed myself and my burrito more if I had eaten it at one of the tables closer to the park entrance, rather than near the water. Oh well. I guess if I ever wake up early enough to make it to Downtown Watsonville in time, I'll bring that breakfast burrito and eat it on the other side of the park, where it's greener and there's more shade.

Best hiking in the Bay Area PERIOD. Amazing rangers that help you plan out your hike, and mostly…read morewell maintained trails(although some smaller ones can be overgrown). Starting with small hikes is best as the elevation gain and drops are pretty intense.

Henry Coe has been in my "to hike" list for quite a while. It's the largest in the State Parks…read moresystem and while, technically, in the South Bay, requires a long, windy drive once you're off the 101. It can seem overwhelming to pick a day hike, given the vastness of the park, so I'd recommend coepark.net. That site lists several day hikes and shares route maps. It was a huge help to me, when deciding to hike the trail to Frog Lake. Henry Coe is popular for backpacking but moderate day hikes can be found and the loop to Frog Lake and back was a wonderland of green hills, tiny wildflowers and vast views of the Diablo Range. It's more about the journey than the destination and I enjoyed hiking through various eco systems that included marsh-like trails, rolling green hills, woodland and a small lake. Parking is self-paid or via the CA State Parks pass. There's a nice visitor center with rangers helping to acclimate you to the park, along with flush toilets and a small gift shop. You feel like you're in the foothills, while really, just a 30 minute drive from Morgan Hill. Now that I've acclimated a bit to the park and its hikes, I'm finally going to add Henry Coe to my State Parks rotation

Opened to public two weekends per year. March 5-6 and March 12-13 this year(2022). You can make a…read morereservation at EventBrite app/website under Open Space Authority. This year I only saw one Bay Checkerspot Butterfly ( saw tons last year). Flowers in bloom as of 3/5/2022; Poppies, lupines , blue dicks, popcorn flowers, tidy tips , blue eyed grasses, red maids etc ... Beautiful as ever. It's not exactly Antelope Poppy Preserve or Carrizo Plain National Monument during the super bloom but this place has its own charm. You can do the easy lower section which is 2.5 mile or the full ridge loop which is 5 - 8 mile round trip . Two sections are pretty steep. I'd like to thank the hardworking volunteers who make these public hikes possible.

A Ridge too Far…read more Máyyan 'Ooyákma ("Coyote Ridge" in the native Chochenyo language) is an 1,800-sq ft Open Space Preserve located in the South San José foothills adjacent to the scenic Hwy 101 freeway. Weekend reservations are required for weekend hikes in March - May (book through Eventbrite), and a Butterfly Pass is required to visit this park. The Good: * Free to visit * Private parking lot (no street parking) * Restroom (pit toilet) in parking lot * One of the few places in the Bay that you can (allegedly) see Tule Elk in their natural habitat, and it's the closest place to home for most of us South Bayers. We visited during a Tule Elk guided hike and didn't see bupkis. According to the guide, later in the day, closer to sunset (after 5 p.m.ish), is the best time of day, as that's when the herds start looking for food. * Access here used to be limited to guided hikes only, but now it's more freely accessible except for certain times of the year (see above). * Guided hikes are still available (see website). * Approx. five miles of trails which are in reasonable shape except for the Serpentine Spring Trail (see below). The Meh: * No running water in the restroom, only hand sanitizer. * Trails have no switchbacks on the uphill and downhill. Just straight up and down for 1,000' of elevation gain. The Ugly: * Absolutely zero shade on the entire property, so definitely avoid this place during hot days and in the summer in general. * Coming downhill on the Serpentine Spring Trail was an absolute nightmare; the entire trail is full of really loose pieces of shale that in and of themselves are no bueno, but combine that with a really steep downhill decline and you have a recipe for disaster. I highly, highly suggest if you're coming here to do the 5 miles of trails, go clockwise from the parking lot: Serpentine-to-Tule Elk-to-Butterfly Trail and then back to the parking lot. Conclusion: I rarely give parks a low rating, but honestly, this place was not our cup of tea. With the lack of shade and steep, dangerously slippery trails, I just don't foresee us ever coming back.

Spent an amazing day in May at sunset beach. The weather was breezy and warm and surprisingly very…read morelittle traffic at this beautiful beach. There is plenty of space to spread out for bbqing, fire pit, sunning, frolicking in the sand with no disturbance. Super clean beach, and clean restrooms. Parking day pass for a $10. If you enjoy Northern California state parks, an annual pass is $125.

This beach was great. Had a great time…read more Something didn't feel right about the parking. Basically was told the parking was full but I'm free to park outside. I was told to still pay the $10. Also when we were waiting in the queue to pay for parking, some people drove right by us and parked. They looked like tourists and not an annual pass holder.

This is a small park near the Nob Hill Trail Park. There is a really nice picnic area, and it…read moreboasts the Peace bridge. It is a peaceful area with the mountains in the background.Some educational signs and a bronze statue of the California grey fox are there too.Nice photo opportunity when the weather is right.