Such a cool neighborhood park with 3 different sets of slides and some shade. One set of slides is a long run, old school metal with several dips and generally there is cardboard at the bottom you can use to help you get more lift. There is a kiddie playground, too. And there is a basketball half court. Benches and picnic tables for snacks. Nice views of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk in the distance. read more

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A beautiful spot to sit in the shade and read, shoot hoops,or just gaze at the Boardwalk and ocean. Street parking only (including two handicapped spots), so try to come on a weekday. Several benches, but we take our folding chairs. Bring the dog -- they can be unleashed in part of the park. A functional restroom with two unisex stalls near the entrance -- an outside sink and soap dispenser complete the facility. I'm experiencing a profound sense of peace, despite the occasional screams from people on the rides at the Boardwalk. read more

Ocean View Park - View from Ocean View Park - Parks Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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My bf and I were looking for a nice place to play chess with scenic views and this park had it all! Tables to play chess, benches to sit and talk while also enjoying a beautiful view of Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I felt like this park was a hidden gem. There is plenty of space, it's nice size. Street parking so try and get there early. read more

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Ocean View Park is perfect for kids. There are so many slides and play areas. My kids had the best time running around and trying everything. The layout is really thoughtful with plenty of open space, shade, and spots for parents to sit and relax while the kids play. You can even catch a little ocean breeze! Definitely one of our new favorite parks in the area. read more

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This is a great park in a pleasant setting. The slides and climbing apparatus entertained my granddaughter for several hours. There are shaded areas, picnic tables, and bathrooms. Also a nice grassy area provides space for games. read more

Cool park with nice views and large slides. Our daughter (3 year old) had a lot of fun here doing the cardboard slides.

I was at a beach nearby and a search for a park brought me here. As far as parks go, this one has an amazing location. It does not have a running trail and is just for kids. But there were no kids when we were there and we had a blast on the slides! They have awesome slides here, reminds me of the Esmeralda slides in SF. read more

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Such a great park for all ages !! My kids loved it.. we had a blast. Great tables for a picnic.

Overall, nice park with a great view of the Santa Cruz pier and ocean. Not large but nice quite place to stop and take a rest or go for a quick walk Ended up here waiting for my hotel to be ready down the street Parking since you are coming through a residential zone is a little tough , but no problem in the morning. The park does not seem to have an independent parking lot It does have restrooms , kids play area , some small trails and great view Worth checking out and if in the area it won't take you long to stop , see the view , use the restroom if needed and probably not be back unless a local who all seem to walk their dogs through here Enjoy read more

Ocean View Park - View of the he Santa Cruz per in the morning before it gets crazy ! - Parks Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Great kids park and off leash area for the dog. Beautiful views. Amazing find for a family passing through on a road trip

We had a birthday party there for my grandson. The location was easy to find and parking was available early as well as handicap parking. There were activities for all ages from swings to basketball. Great views and the park felt safe, family and dog friendly. Looking forward to my next visit. read more

just up the hill overlooking the santa cruz boardwalk...stopping by for a quick picnic lunch...couple picnic tables with tree shading, standard swings and play structure...quick lunch turning into a longer stay...slides, slides and more slides...back of the park sloping down a hill...multiple slides of all kinds to go down...twisting tunnel slides, fast slides, side-by-side slides and bumpy slides...it was very difficult to take the child away to get to the beach... read more

Ocean View Park - most slides ever seen - Parks Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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What I love about this park is that it is big enough for my kids to wander around, climb, 8 slides to choose from, and tumble about. I can have a general overview of my kids from atop w/o having to hold their hand every step of the way. Whilst they play, I can workout. A bench was used to do step-ups, box jumps, and incline push ups. I also did squats, walking lunges, and glute kickbacks as well. I hate just standing there.... It's clean. A restroom is on the premise. Kids can play. I can workout. A win-win. read more

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Awesome slides and a great view of the boardwalk! The climbing section is for older kids but the park is pretty good. There's also a half court basketball court there as well. read more

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Small park. Interesting play structure for 5-12 year old kids. The slides are the top attraction though, they are really long and tall.

What an awesome park! We were visiting from out of town and trying to find places where the kids can burn off energy (for free) and this park was just the ticket! I think the best thing about this park was the slides. They have 2 super tall fast slides, 3 long plastic slides, and 2 covered twirly slides. The kids loved running up the little stairs and sliding! They also enjoyed the swings - 2 baby swings and 2 regular. The toddler play area was very cute. The big play structure was mostly for climbing and as a worrier, it wasn't my favorite. They have a few picnic tables and benches. We brought some food and ate at the park. The picnic area is close to the dog area so some dogs wandered over begging for food. There's bathrooms at this park as well as drinking fountains and an area where dogs can drink water too which is super cute. Though the dog owners at this park were not picking up after their dogs. On the opposite side of the park from the playground, there are some benches where you can sit overlooking the surrounding area. You can see the Beach Boardwalk from these benches. There was a big stretch of grass where people brought picnics and games to play. Parking is a little tight. Overall, this park was a great find and perfect for a family with children and/or dogs or even just adults to come enjoy a couple hours. read more

Ocean View Park - I match my kids to their surroundings. :D J/K super fun slides. - Parks Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Ocean View Park has some pretty nice slides for kids to play on. The slides are the older, metal kind and your kids will get happily tired going up and down on them. Tip: If you're bringing kids to enjoy the slides, bring along some wax paper to help them move better on the slides. The only reason I'm not rating this place higher is due to the dog park within. When we were there the place reeked of dog poop, and smelled like it hadn't been cleaned out in weeks :-( read more

Nice little park! Except for the bees located on the purple flowers by the metal slides!!

Great, great park! Tons of grass area for activities. About eight slides and four swings for kids, plus age-specific play structures. There was even a public bathroom. There weren't a ton of dogs off leash and running around. All of the people there seemed friendly. The only bad thing is the parking - there is none. You have to battle with all of the adjacent houses and neighbors in order to find a spot on the street. read more

Grab a book and head to Ocean View park for a relaxing read. There are many comfortable benches; Some look into the park and some look out. Some benches are shaded, while some are in the sun offering views of the boardwalk. A few spots even offer birds eye views of the roller coasters and the pacific ocean. Curious thing though. Black squirrels are normal here while grey squirrels are the exception. There are no white squirrels at this park even though some park-goers insist that there are. Maybe, with time and biogenetic engineering, this park can have a white squirrel. The unmistakable reality is that there are black squirrels at this park. Why are there black squirrels but no grey squirrels? Weird. To wit: I have only seen black squirrels in Vancouver Canada. Did they migrate like the Monarch butterfly and a few decided to stay behind? Are these black squirrels then illegals and, perhaps, wanted by the Canadian mounted police? If there are any evolutionary biologists reading would you please weigh in and discuss your thoughts on the presence of these mutants? An expert opinion on this topic will help other yelpers make an educated decision on whether this park is right for them. Please contact me on yelp if you'd like to enter a more detailed conversation about squirrel coat color/sheen before making your decision whether to visit this park. Peace. read more

This park has a good view of the Boardwalk, but it's a bit sketchy around the neighborhood and some of the people sleeping/wandering around through the park. There are some nice playgrounds and sculptures to explore in a few little areas. Also, when I was there, there were a few dogs off their leashes running around, and some suspicious people hanging about. I'd check out another park and see if it's a bit better to hang out. read more

Ocean View Park is exactly what a park should be. This is a bring your family (kids/dogs/drug paraphernalia) kind of place. First of all the park is aptly named. Ocean View is right. If you stroll along the main path, you'll find yourself gazing out across the lower mid-town section of Santa Cruz, complete with stunning views of the ocean and beach boardwalk. There's a fantastic children's playground, which is not only well maintained but fun as hell, too. The 40ft slides are like something straight out of Raging Waters, without the water of course. Although, man that could be fun. Bring a hose...and wheee! Seriously though. This is not a sportsman's/woman's/person's park (ugh, I hate that Santa Cruz has made me more PC). There's only a small half-court basketball area. The park also has a decent sized field, which is great for frisbee, but too small for most other sports like baseball, soccer, and javelin throwing. Truth is, the field area is mostly a favorite for dog owners, like me. Around 4pm every weekday there's a gathering of neighborhood dogs and their owners, and well behaved pups get let off leash to socialize. 99% of owners pick up after their dogs, but be forewarned, you might be unlucky someday and step in some chocolate surprise. There's rarely trouble, and local cops don't usually ticket people for the off-leashedness. I've heard tales of State Rangers coming through though and ticketing for like $180 bucks. Ouch. There's no off-street parking here; this is truly a neighborhood residents only kind of park. I think it's a double edged sword. Great for keeping out the riff-raff, but not so great if you're having a get-together at the park--If you plan to have a BBQ you can expect Ocean View Street to fill up, and quickly. read more

While this park is not the biggest place around, it is very endearing. First off, Ocean View Ave has beautiful homes on it that are really fun to look at while you walk down to the park. The street actually dead ends at the entrance to the park so there is no auto traffic to worry about in the place. It's much easier to walk here however because there is street parking only. Though I don't have kids, the playground looks really really fun and if I were 15 years younger and two feet shorter I would be all over it. There isn't any sand to worry about and the ground is soft and springy song john and jane don't have to worry about getting scraped up when they get off the slide. There are also picnic benches perfect for barbeques or packed lunches. On the other side of the park there is a basketball court and large field perfect for playing catch or frisbee. If you're a dog owner, there are many people who come and socialize with other dog owners as well. A lot of the dogs are well behaved (although one little bastard took a huge chunk of steak at the last bbq I had there) and it's fun to wrassle around with them. The field has a pretty view of the boardwalk/ocean and a path leads straight down to east cliff drive. The park is always clean and quiet and has bathrooms as well. I love coming to this place. read more

Note that this solely for the dog park. And I should preface my comments by stating that my expectations for the park were high, especially after reading all of the positive reviews on here. However, as evidenced by my one-star review, I was sorely disappointed. First, this isn't even a dog park, as there is no fenced in area to run your dog. Rather, it's more of a dog area, as it's nothing more than a football field sized strip of grass. If you want to go off-leash, your dog must be "under voice control at all times" according to the rules posted at the park's entrance. Personally, I have no clue what that means, but anyone who has a younger dog knows it's next to impossible to comply with this. Second, the park is constantly patrolled by private security guards. One dog owner complained to a guard that my dog was running around, apparently he was worried his little chow would get knocked over or something. The guard was pretty cool about it, but I'm not clear as to why a public park needs private security, especially one located in the nicer part of Santa Cruz. Bottom line, if your dog is larger than the average housecat, this park is not for you; if you're looking for a safe place to run your dog off leash, look elsewhere. read more

Gorgeous little hidden gem park with super cool built in slides and modern style play gym. Awesome view of the ocean and Boardwalk. Limited parking, find one in the neighborhood and walk over. It's a beautiful area so that won't be hard. read more

I just took my toy poodle Wanpo here today because I saw the great reviews on Yelp. This park is so great; my boyfriend and I absolutely love it!! It's not very big, but it's enough. The people there are so friendly and so are the dogs! Dogs were off their leashes and so well behaved. Wanpo made so many friends as did Kevin and I. People of all ages come here. There's a half court for basketball and a jungle gym for children. There are trails that lead to somewhere (I'm not sure where yet, maybe the harbor?). The park allows dogs on-leash and off-leash in the designated off-leash area. The view is so gorgeous. You can see the boardwalk rides and the water from the park. It's very relaxing. Couples come here to sit at the huge decor rocks that provide seating to watch sunsets over the water's edge. The parking is residential street parking; no meters and no designated parking lot. It's not hard to find a spot though :) We will be coming here regularly since our puppy has finally finished all his vaccinations!! read more

Our favorite park in Santa Cruz. Slides galore! Swings too, but the slides are what we go for. Covered slides, super fast roller coaster like slides, colorful fast slides with tall sides for littles. Benches with a view. Big grassy area that is excellent for small birthday parties. Beautiful view of river, beach and Boardwalk. All ages are accommodated here. read more

By far the best playground for we've found anywhere! Love the fast slides and tunnel varieties, swings, rope climbing and wide-open spaces for kids to run free. Wish we lived closer, this park is awesome! read more

Ocean View Park - This is the BEST playground! Lots of fast, fun slides, swings, and a rope climbing apparatus. My kids (6 & 3) were in heaven. - Parks Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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The park itself and the beach is just great, however, we drove all the way from another state here and paid $8 for parking and the people gave us this ticket and said nothing about parking hours. They do has a sign saying come jn come out time is not counted. And there is sign in nearby parallel parking lot saying " after 2am midnight, there will be citation" Then we enjoyed our afternoon and dinner and around 9pm, When we came back, we found a citation!! : sunset to sunrise is not allowed to park there" Why the people charged us $8 didn't say this in the first place? And no significant sign saying "sunset to sunrise is not allowed to park" . Be aware to be ticketed there. read more

I have been coming here since I was a kid and this park ROCKS!!! There's a few good trees for my kids to climb. There's a 1/2 court basketball court that's usually in the shade and there's a nice view of the ocean and the beach boardwalk. There's 2 slides that go down a hill about 40 feet and they're a blast! Bring some wax paper if you want to fly down them thangs! There's a very santa cruz inspired play structure that's pretty cool too. There's a couple of good trees for climbing and something for everyone (kids 3-12). The surrounding neighborhood is beautiful with a lot of old victorian homes and trees, flowers, etc. This my favorite park in Santa Cruz to take the kids by a long shot. Back in the day this place use to have a swingset with 4 swings that had like 30 foot ropes on them to swing from. These were the biggest baddest swings I have ever seen. I'm not kiddin' the ropes coming off them were crazy high. They were set on the edge of a gradual hill and if you were swinging full thrust and jumped off I can only imagine you would break both legs easily. I guess someone finally jumped because the swings got torn out about 5 years ago. Best park in the county for kids and it's FREE! read more

I love this park!! It has a pair of really long slides and is always clean when I go there!! read more

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We come here with our boys every time we come to Santa Cruz. We love it & our boys enjoy all the slides & play areas. Shaded picnic areas, basketball hoop, grass area with view of the boardwalk. Small walking trail. You can walk over & cross over to the boardwalk. We love it here :) read more

Came here to relax for a short period of time. They have books for you to read. And a nice area to enjoy the view and breeze. I absolutely loved this little spot. read more

Beautiful park. Tons of slides which my child loved! She's only two so if you have toddlers, take them! Bathroom is gross, thats the only reason why I am giving them a four start. Would have been a five if the bathroom had a door on it and a sink to wash your hands : / read more

Fun park! Toddler structure and huge slides and unique structure for the bigger ones. This park screams Santa Cruz style! Dog area, basketball, fun sleds and beautiful views all tucked back on a dead end neighborhood street! The one downfall is that you enter park on upper level and slides are on a hill. So, if you have smaller ones you will be running up and down stairs with each slide trying to keep an eye on them and unfortunately people can enter park from lower or upper level so I can't stay as close to everyone as I prefer. read more

Took my girls here one weekend and they enjoyed it. It wasnt crowed, it was quiet, lots of seating and of course the ocean view is nice to look at after they are done playing and having a drink to cool down. Only thing is theres no parking lot and we had a good walk since there was three birthday's going that day. read more

One of my favorite parks in Santa Cruz!! It is dog friendly and there is an off leash area for them to run around. The park overlooks the boardwalk and is in a really nice neighborhood. Lots of places for kids to play!! Everyone I have met here has been super nice and there are some seriously cute dogs that come here as well!! I've been to this park numerous times and it is always well maintained. Never stray poops laying around. read more

This park is my children's most requested park in all of sc....so duhhh it's the best!!!

This is a really cool park that seems for kids 5+. My son loved all the slides. Great views of the boardwalk. There are some questionable people hanging around but I still felt safe and the bathrooms were pretty clean. read more

Went here twice with our kids (2 & 4 yrs old). We liked it a lot. Ocean is not viewable from playground equipment. Slides were really cool. Bring a towel if you go in the morning to wipe off equipment. (That goes for any playground.) read more