cool place to go if u wanna just go for a chill walk or bike ride. definitely gonna go here often read more

Haster Basin Park - Parks Near Me - Garden Grove, California

Haster Basin Park, Garden Grove: $25 million. Two years. A facelift meant to turn a drainage ditch into a "recreational haven." They slapped on new soccer fields, jogging trails, shiny exercise stations, and even built a fancy pump station to keep the floodwaters--and maybe the city's reputation--at bay. On paper, it's a glowing civic effort, a love letter to the community. In reality? It's a postcard from the edge of dystopia. Step inside, and the illusion peels off faster than the faded graffiti on the crumbling fitness equipment. The gates are busted, the lake's a floating landfill, and wildlife swims through a soup of plastic and rot, like some grim nature documentary with zero budget for editing. The park's got more trash than a reality TV reunion show and enough drug paraphernalia to open a museum of societal collapse. Irony punches hardest in the form of a gated, compound-like structure smack in the middle--Spanish villa vibes, locked up tight. The most beautiful part of the park, reserved not for the public but for... well, who knows? Maybe the sparkling OC Parks truck parked inside holds the answer. Shiny, pristine, like it rolled off a showroom floor while the park rots around it. A metaphor on wheels. Clusters of people sit around, doing who-knows-what. I work in the homeless space, so no judgment here. But when the vibe feels more "post-apocalyptic gathering" than "community picnic," something's off. Suspicious characters, endless trash piles, and an atmosphere thick with neglect. Garden Grove wanted to hitch its wagon to the Disneyland star, sprucing up areas near the resort while the rest of the city gets left to decay. Haster Basin is the sad proof. It's a park dressed up for a party it wasn't invited to. Consider this review a beacon. I'll be posting it everywhere--tagging Disneyland, Anaheim, and the Garden Grove Council. Because if you're trying to lure tourists from the convention center for a quick jog, they deserve to know they're stepping into a facade. The closer you get to the park, the further you feel from any real sense of care. read more

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Update 03/2023: the park looks nicer and friendlier. You see less homeless and more regular people exercising and having fun! That's a huge plus for reinvigorated neighborhood Revised review here: This park is generally very quiet and quaint. It offers a quick one mile loop..more or less, in a circular run walk or jog setup. There are intermittent exercise positions along the way. The community here is polite. However, there is a homeless community here. Or vagrant. They usually occupy the last tables at the picnic area. Area rangers and locally police do stop by and the area seems safe. From 6am to 11pm. But visit around 9 to 6. You should be fine. Ample parking playground for the kids, people walk there dogs, the elderly are enjoying there walks and lots of space to just wander. read more

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What a nice little bit of green space! I came here based on a photo that a friend posted online. Wow, she did a good job of making it seem like you are in a serene place :) This is right in the heart of bustling Garden Grove!! Oh my! We came on a Sunday.. there was a small church service taking place with chairs and an amplification system... so it wasn't as peaceful as I'd hoped. The "loop" would make a nice route to run. There is a playground, too. Happy I came to check it out but since it's pretty far from me I probably won't be back. 2022: 4/100 read more

The park has a smooth paved pathway that acts as a track that goes around the basin. I came here at night, very unfamiliar with the most path, and was able to go about 16 to 20 miles an hour the entire way. There is also a dirt truck that goes directly parallel to the paved track, which makes for some diversified writing. I'd say I can ride around the entire basin less than five minutes. Lots of benches. Spaces for a hammock, taco trucks at night, and lots of shaded areas tables as well. I will say that there are no lights along the pathway, which is a bit sketchy. Overall, I would love to come back during the day to become familiar with the pathways so I can go full and on my Onewheel around the basin. read more

Park is kinda small. No playground, but they have a basketball court n picnic areas. Only thing I didn't like bout it was the homeless ppl at night time. Most of them are harmless, n friendly, but there's always tht one tht seems to follow u around n whistle at u. My suggestion don't go alone at night. There's also food trucks posted up on the street, so there's always slot of ppl hanging around. The trucks leave at midnight. read more

Haster Basin Park - Parks Near Me - Garden Grove, California

Love it. Love the food trucks. Love the peaceful trail. Love watching kids play soccer. Love just hanging out

FIRST TIME HERE! I decided to find a park close to work so that I can get my cardio done. I found this park on Yelp abt 3 min away. It's a cute little park with the following: - Grassy area to play - Has a playground - Restrooms - Plenty of parking - Track - Plenty of trash cans through out the track - Exercise equipment along the track - Plenty of benches along the way - Tables - A few spots for parties - Special place for hot coals to be disposed at - Water spouts - Nice water view In the day time this park is perfect! There were some people with their dogs so I guess it's pet friendly. There's plenty of greenery along the track. NEGATIVE FEEDBACK: The only bad thing is that when it gets dark, the park gets too dark. The lighting is not good. Kind of scary. A couple of times there were men sitting along the trail and I didn't see them but could hear them. I would see them once I was right in front of them. I could see this being dangerous for someone running/walking the trail alone. The good thing is that there are houses along the track so I guess you can always scream for help and hope someone hears you. read more

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This park is pleasant break from all the busy streets in the area. Over the years it's gotten much nicer and feels more welcoming to the public. There's essentially a large field area with a playground, and a walking trail that loops around the pond. This loop trail is very exposed to the sun so I recommend bringing a hat. Also once you get halfway you're forced to finish the loop since you can cut across the lake. My favorite part about this park is if you come later in the day (usually after 4pm) there's a taco truck and churro truck there. I like the smaller grey taco truck on the far left and the churros are great as well! Yes, you will occasionally see homeless people here. Given the area and housing/poverty crisis this is a common theme. From my experience I haven't really had a problem with them, and there's a mutual respect for everyone to just mind their own business. One gentleman was nice to warn me that I was about to turn in the wrong way and run into tire spikes. read more

Great park for running and doing some exercises. Playground was pretty clean. We brought food and enjoyed our little picnic their. Havent had time to discover all the park because it is big, but so far so good. Will come again. read more

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This is such a beautiful park after so many years of changes in our community I'm so glad that it's been upgraded to giving people free access to nature! read more

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I will always love this park because it's close to home & where I grew up but tbh this park is trash ! Lol I would not bring my kids to play here. We have to be honest living in California, every park has its vagrants, however this park has an abundance of it. Not just homeless but this park stays active all day & night with sketchy people. However I will only give it 4 stars because this place has bomb ass food trucks lol and you can just hang out in the parking lot and eat. But perhaps this is what brings the sketchy people around too. stop by and support a small business, clean your trash up tho ! read more

Nice and quaint park. Has a lake and good hiking trail. No play structures and bathroom was locked when we came on Sunday. A few benches and tables. Plenty of parking. read more

Haster Basin Park - Parks Near Me - Garden Grove, California

Playground is run down and restrooms are always closed. It def needs to be updated in my opinion. There is also a lot of tagging in the playground area read more

This really is the HOME of the homeless ! bomb ass taco trucks, & CHURROS. Active 24/7, so be careful!

Wow, two reviews and they both trashed the park. I'm surprised as I find it a pleasant place to walk or run lately when I'm in the area. I saw there was no picture on Yelp so I'll post a few. Haster Basin is basically a flood-control facility. If it rains cats and dogs, the local flood water would be directed here and the neighborhood would be safe. Yay. I used to walk in this park back in 1999 when I lived locally for a year. Lots of people walk the circuit loop, just less than a mile around. There's a lake in the middle. I remember it being OK but nothing special. The pond was not a pretty sight and I felt sorry for the ducks who hung out there. Fast forward to 2014 and the park is now completed after they took forever on their renovations. Now its new and clean and the kids have a nice park. The local hispanics are happy to play soccer and have their birthday parties in the gazebo. Always somebody's birthday, right? Maybe the lighting could be better but I've never been here at night. This is a day park. I'll give it four stars to up its rating average. read more

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Potential of being a great place to get your exercise done. Husband and I walk the dogs here on the weekend. We've noticed an increase in bums and druggies in the past 6 months which is very sketchy to go about alone. That's so unfortunate. Parking lot has trash laying around the past few times we've been there. Seems like the apartment communities around the area use the parking lot a lot so on some days it can be hard to find a spot. However, we're usually there around 9am weekends. And parking has been ok. Nice bike and running trail out back around the basin. Wish the bums didn't use this as a hang out place so more people can enjoy it. If you can look past this and go get your exercise done then I would recommend. If you're a woman I'd suggest don't go alone if it's getting dark. Definitely don't think this park should look like this, it's part of OC parks read more

Haster Basin Park has the potential to be such an amazing park for everyone to enjoy but seems to lack certain features that in my opinion makes parks great. Also it's not so much the park itself but mainly the people there that can make the whole experience mediocre. Let me start by listing the good. First off, the park is actually clean, well maintained and has amenities that can make your experience enjoyable. They have fitness equipment such as pull up/dip bars, push up station and balancing area surrounding the perimeter of the actual park. Also has a paved trail going around the park and water basin that can provide for a peaceful, nice and brisk stroll throughout. Playgrounds are all the same for the kiddos, I'm sure they will have fun there just like anywhere else. It has a very open grassy area big enough for 2 football fields so it's just wide open in case you want to hone in on your soccer skills or whatever you want to do there. The city does a good job keeping it clean. Haven't seen much trash but occasionally you get neglected dog poop from irresponsible pet owners. They have a nice shaded area with picnic tables as well. What can make the park better you ask? Well let me tell you. I think maybe adding a bball court or something related to sports as an extra activity/feature. Maybe some park police to keep the regular bums, prostitutes, drug dealers and irresponsible pet owners away would be nice. If it wasn't for these things I would give the park a solid 4 stars. The Parking lot is nice and big. I would only recommend lights for when it gets dark outside, the park lights would obviously make it well lit and would appear to be safer. But hey, those things are above my pay grade. Ladies, bring your pepper spray just in case. I haven't seen anything bad besides the drug deals but the crime has to start somewhere and when you mix crazy people and drugs you just never know what you're going to get. But anyways, try it out, stay safe and enjoy everything this park has to offer. I say all that to say a mediocre 3 stars. read more

I went here for my first time during my lunch break to get some steps in and it has a really nice breeze and views. I'll definitely be bringing my daughter here soon read more

Haster Basin Park - Parks Near Me - Garden Grove, California

They spent $25.2 Million on this park and it's still crap. Super Shady at night due to the lack of lighting on the track and field. There's also an alley way in the back of the irrigation plant with no lighting at all! Where's the common-sense in that. Don't you want your community to be safe? Soccer field is uneven, workout equipments aren't even usable if you're an average height person.... Too small & most of them are already broken! With the amount of money that was being spent, I was hoping for better lighting, equipment, basketball courts, & few tennis courts for the community.. Is that just to much to ask for?? Just wondering if our interest was considered during the planning and not just a big pay day for our county officials & their affiliates...... Park improvements: $2.5 million Flood control improvements: $22.6 million Total project cost: $25.2 million. Did they really need to spend 22.6 million for the Flood Control Improvement?? We're in a fucking drought!!! read more

Dirty park, playground is full of cigarette buds, broken glass. This is the last time I bring my son here. Homeless, addicts everywhere. Fighting over vodka bottles. If your planning on working out here, it's not so bad the track is great. Chances are I won't be bringing my son here to play. read more

Ventured here a few days ago taken a walk around, quite relaxing really... Dog walking activities to local joggers and it was a nice day too. read more

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This park is great if you are running! We saw a lot of people working out and walking around the park! It was beautiful in the evening and the grounds are well maintained. Only reason I give it a 3 is because the kids playground area was lame. And the bathrooms were so gross! Even my 5 yr old son said it was nasty! read more

The park is pretty big with ample parking and the grounds appear to be clean. I cannot speak on weekdays so my experience is based on weekend; should you or any of your family members and friends ever want to use the public restrooms please make sure to bring Multi Purpose Cleaner, toilet paper, wipees, gas mask, the gas mask was a bit much and that is just me excited rating but it smelled disgusting in there. I would not allow any of my kids to use this before I sanitize this area. I am unaware on the scheduled cleaning for public restrooms but perhaps the city should consider more public restroom cleanings. read more

Nasty park. Cat feces EVERYWHERE! All over the playground and in the sand. And it looked like it had been there for days. Clean your park up! For the children's sake. read more

I can't believe how much this park has improved!!! It was a complete mess. Formerly known as Twin Lakes Park, it has been totally turned around for the better. There is now a dirt trail paired with a cement walkway around the perimeter of the field and lake. It is kept up very nicely, with a variety of pretty flowers and plants accompanying the walk. There are also a few fitness stops along the way so you can do a little more than cardio. The lake looks so much cleaner! I also love that there are so many picnic tables and BBQ areas. There are some great sections for some family get togethers. I think that they should add more colorful flowers and keep the greenery trimmed so that it's not overgrown, but overall, I was very happy to see such a positive change in one of the local parks. It sets a good example for what can be done with others! An awesome way to give back to the community! read more

We really love this park. I take my kids often and have never seen cigarette buds or glass in the playground. It's always full of people for the most part, which I think makes it safer. The walking trail is nice. My kids love the playground, and there is a big shade tree for parents to sit under. There are homeless people that sometimes lay under the shady trees to the left of the playground but I've never witnessed them causing any problems or a scene. read more