Beautiful park that manages to feel wild and serene minutes away from mid-density housing and commercial districts.
The upper park offers wonderful elevated views to the north, clear across the hustle and bustle of Sprague Ave. all the way to distant peaks. When the fair is in town it's a cool view down on all the lights and Ferris Wheel. Wild hawks circle above. Geese and ducks set down in the pond. Early morning mist lolls among the ponderosa and moss splattered basalt formations.
You can walk the short loop at the upper park which offers sweeping views and the pond, or veer down the path to the manicured and crowd-friendly lower park with playground, grass field, bathrooms and picnic pavilions.
The path down the hill features gorgeous towering native rock. It's a pretty steep incline however, seriously buckled in places and coated with ice in winter, so be fore-warned if one or more of your party isn't fairly vigorous and ambulatory.
The bathrooms at the lower park remind me of facilities at the best state parks. Nestled right up against a rock formation with a low profile and built of native stone. read more