This location was a nice place. There were multiple groups of people setting up for birthday…read moreparties and there was still plenty of space for everyone to enjoy the park. It's pretty much a long stretch of land going around the coledesack near the back of Dearborn Elementary Charter Academy . There were so many beautiful trees at this park, perfect for shade and enjoying the breeze. It also had a couple of basketball courts. The playground was gated which I thought was good for if littler kids are playing. It was a nice and peaceful place. There's street parking right along the front of the park from end to end so plenty of places to park easily. This was a nice park, I'd go here again

If you know me, you know I'm always on the look out for a good park that I can bring my dog to to…read morepractice her training and to play ball with her. This park looks nice and clean, well taken care of, and well shaded. I came by around 1130 and I saw a very nice large green area open, I wish I had my dog with me because this is perfect. I usually put her on the 30 or 45 feet lead and let her explore and throw the ball. Also I love that this park is closer to me than lake balboa so I can alternate environments for her. The park is surrounded by houses in a neighborhood and I found parking easily on the street. The kids playground is nice too, very clean and well kept as well!

I spent the week in Calabasas and realized Porter Ranch Community Park was having their last…read moreconcert in the park of the summer, and the theme was Yacht Rock.I mean... I listen to yacht rock ALL DAY LONG. Obviously, we had to go! As I started going through my checklist of everything we needed to bring, my friends started laughing at me. "We don't need all that stuff!"I'm like, LISTEN. THIS ISN'T MY FIRST RODEO. I've been going to concerts in the park all summer. I'm basically a professional at this point. One of the things they made fun of me for bringing was my big giant hat.Guess who was the ONLY person comfortable at the park ? THIS GIRL. ‍You're welcome, everyone. The park is huge and wide open, with a really cool stage and a great setup for concerts. The only problem? There's basically no shade. So while everyone else was roasting in the sun, I was happily sitting there with my giant hat like the concert-planning expert I knew I was. They did have several ice cream trucks and a hot dog stand behind the stage, where there was some shade and a couple of benches. Eventually, we ended up hanging out back there and realized...WE WERE LITERALLY BACKSTAGE. Suddenly, we felt VERY VIP. We had such a great time singing along to all the yacht rock classics, enjoying the beautiful summer evening and soaking up one last concert in the park before the season ended. Honestly, it was the perfect way to end the summer.Thank you, Porter Ranch, for the good times, the music, and for proving once again that you should always listen to the friend who brings the giant hat. Five stars!

As a local resident for 40 years in Porter Ranch this is the beautiful Los Angeles Park but fails…read morein having community events. If other city parks can have great concerts that support lot's of charities what is going on with this park, Maybe it's a mismanaged events planner. This is a great community city park with more that average community wealth. Why not put this outdoor theater to better use. A concert or farmers market every Sunday I'm sure would be community supported. If not now than when?

I stopped by Northridge Park over the weekend for a nice morning walk. I found parking easily…read morebecause I came before noon. The park was already having some kind of event near the kids playground. There was also a kid soccer game going on too. I saw people were playing basketball at the court, tennis in the tennis court and other people were just walking their dog. This park has a pool as well but I think it was closed because the pool was drained. This is a nice big and relaxing park in Northridge.

This park is huge. It provides great opportunity for kids to play soccer. They also have festivals…read moreand community services. There is plenty of parking for all who want to see a game. There are lots of trees for shade.

Unfortunatley the food canister was broken. As we approached the larger pond with most of the…read moreturtles, they started climbing the rocks and approaching the edge. We tried several different quarters, but the food wouldn't come out. None of the quarters went all around (imagine a gumball machine). My 1-yr old nephew was quite disapponted that we didn't stick around the area. But quite honestly, he was disappointed that he couldn't jump in with them. There were ducks in the area too. Online it says that you can take a fruit from the citrus tree, but they weren't quite ripe, so we didn't bother. My nephew enjoyed running over the bridge and checking out the HUGE Koi fish. Needless to say, he was also disappointed that he couldn't jump in with them either. Please don't bring your own food to feed the animals. Here's What I Think...The next time we come back to the area, we'll have my sister, a current student, check to see if the food canister is working.

Such a beautiful space kind of hidden within CSUN that a lot of people don't know about. It's…read moresituated among the orange groves by Lindley and Nordhoff. I love walking here. I love to visit the ducks, turtles, and fishies. For those that do come here and are looking to feed them there are signs posted that tell you what you can feed them.....please read them beforehand. Please don't just feed them anything. Let's keep them beautiful and healthy! They are so cute! :-)

Came here on a wednesday around 9am no wait to get in. Ticket 5 dollars parking lot free. Serivce…read morefriendly. Took around 30 minutes to walk everything. Its in a loop. Restrooms inside clean. It was a really nice and relaxing well kept garden. Cool history and plenty of photo opportunities. It had wildlife as well ducks and goose. All in all a hidden gem.

This 6.5 acre lush Japanese garden is unlike any other garden you'll ever visit…read more Conceived by engineer Donald C. Tillman and designed by UCLA professor Dr. Koichi Kawana, it opened in 1984 with a message in mind- recycled waste water can sustain new life. The result was a landscape of lotus and ponds, home to wildlife from mosquito fish to egrets. Meanwhile in the backdrop, pumps as wide as 8 feet in diameter are elevating sewage to be treated. The crowd was sparse on a weekday, ideal for a leisurely stroll. From the Shoin Building, a series of screen windows look out into the vast garden. It's an opportunity for rest and reflection. Operating hours are 9:30 am to 3:30 pm M-Th and one Sunday a month. Admission is $5 per adult. Restrooms, including gender neutral ones, are behind the Shoin Building. No filming allowed of any kind without a FilmLA permit, even on a phone for personal use. Seems overly restrictive by modern standards. Photos are fine if not posed/professional. This lush Japanese garden is fed by 6 million gallons of reclaimed water a day, making it unlike any other. You wouldn't know by looking at it, and that's the beauty.

Once a year this former reservoir site turned nature preserve opens its doors to the public for…read moretheir annual Earth Day Open House. It was a fun experience and a great opportunity to learn about the history of the site and about the trees, plants and animals that make this special place their home. There were a number of informative environmental/community-related booths. One of the booths even gave away free fruit trees. There was Native American Storytelling. My kids got to enjoy the live animal exhibits where they held snakes and other reptiles. The guided nature hike allowed you to walk a loop within the inside of the preserve. The grasses were green and the wildflowers were blooming. The Ecology Pond was brimming with tadpoles while blue dragonflies skimmed the surface. It's a shame that the public is restricted to visiting only one day a year but it's entirely understandable considering how people will reliably ruin good things. Overall, it was a fun and inexpensive way to spend quality time with the family. It will be an event that I will look forward to attending every year.

Nice park for nearby residents to picnic, play at the playground, bring dogs, and see sunsets…read more It's clean. There's trash cans and no restrooms. Which is perfect because for those who live nearby, we don't need restrooms. There's picnic tables and a playground. Ample street parking. Multiple levels and very spacious. Also leads to trail heads as well. And some say this us where ET was filmed.

I am a fan of Wilbur-Tampa park and wished I had something like this closer to my area!…read more The trail can be a loop depending on how you go about it. Being a loop it is a little over 2.5 miles. The trail is very easy with some slight incline/declines as it snakes through the area between Tampa and Reseda. My sister lives in the area and I feel jealous that she has something like this literally in her backyard. The trail is clean (except for the hill side) and not too many people go. This trail is perfect for a jog, brisk walk, biking, horse riding solo or with your friends and family. I come an visit once in a while when I want to get a quick hike in with my sister and nieces. During my first ever visit I was amazed that a trail like this is available without driving too far. At that time the trail area was nice and green and some trees from a previous year's fire were still standing. Parking: street parking VERDICT: Rinse and repeat

Great hiking trail! It is uphill the whole time, so it's a little harder, but take breaks as…read moreneeded. Nice hike to see nature!

A great park at the north end of San Fernando Valley. So many areas to spread out and enjoy…read more O'Melvany is listed as the second-largest public park in Los Angeles(behind Griffith Park), but still seems a pretty good secret, for the most part. On any given day you may see dogs playing, or training in social skills, exercise classes, families picnicking and kids running around. BUT ALSO BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR WILDLIFE! Coyotes and mountain lions are very common, as are rattle snakes. But also bunnies, squirrels and an array of birds, for those who take the time to stop, listen, and try to identify. There is not a playground at this large park. Instead, the draw is toward it's many, well marked, hiking trails. This use to be John O'Melvany's ranch, until he deeded the land to Los Angeles(1976), with specifics for it to be used as a park. You'll still see orchards of grapefruit as you enter, with signs requesting you not remove the fruit from the area. The fruit has not been properly tended to in decades, so it's not really yummy grapefruit, but on occasion you'll see some people plucking and tasting to quell their curiosity. Mainly, to avoid the spread of fruit flies, the city requests that the yellow spheres be left in place. BUT OH THE AROMA OF THE FLOWERS FROM THESE TREES! And so many happy bees flitting about. Quite nice. This is also a park that allows access for equestrians. A very large dirt area for trailers to park and horses to be staged and prepped before heading off into the hills on the marked Equestrian Trail. If you do take the time to hike one of the many trails, you'll be rewarded with beautiful view of SFV. If you squint, you can almost imagine what it looked like pre-WWII, before the tract homes welcomed the veterans here. Many beautiful, very old, oak trees, eucalyptus and various maple species, along with a LOT of native shrubbery are found throughout the park and the one large bathroom at the center is well maintained. Hours are dawn to dusk, with gates at both the pedestrian entry and parking lot. Plenty of free parking in the lot and along the street. If you're up for an easy, but fairly long excursion, check out Bee Canyon Park. It starts just across the street from O'Melvany and DOES have a play area for kids. Also, it's trail runs all the way to Balboa. Cheers! "CC"

4 stars because I'm a fan of old westerns. It is cool to walk where the Lone Ranger rode and…read moreimagine the ambushes and shootouts of countless films. But it is tiny and cramped. Not really a hiking spot and might be OK for Instagram, but not for the kind of photography I do. The worst part is that the movie ranch that was here has been replaced by a subdivision. Boring beige boxes of unremarchitecture that have become so emblematic of SoCal suburban sprawl. It is undoubtably cool to have this location in your backyard, but not so great to have those houses in your photo background. Worth a quick stop if you are in the area and a film buff.

What do you associate with the northwestern SFV city of Chatsworth? It's surely that it is known as…read morethe 'Porn Capital' of USA. Even non-Cali residents are aware of this scandalous 'fun fact'. But there is more to this city edging the 118-freeway than just a perverted satisfaction. Chatsworth is also the home to some of the most gorgeous geolithic structures in the Valley. Anyone who has driven on the 118 has seen these glorious rock structures comprising of Stoney Point, Santa Susana, and of course Garden of the Gods. What is Garden of the Gods? Garden of the Gods is located essentially in a Chatsworth neighborhood on Redmesa (a very aptly named street) and isn't a park in the traditional sense of having a lot or ornate entrance. Rather, this entire acreage of Chatsworth is basically one large rocky, cavernous, geographic wonder making Valley residents feel like they are at a national park in Utah. Okay, it isn't on the level of Utah but it is pretty damn good for Los Angeles. After parking on the street, a sign welcomes visitors to the glorious area. A plaque proudly boasts of the Hollywood history of Garden of the Gods: it was part of the ranch that filmed countless westerns on the grounds from Buster Keaton classics to the opening credits of Lone Ranger hence Lone Ranger Rock. Garden of the Gods can also be seen in several big-budget films creating either an African or desert backdrop. Pretty cool, right? The 'trails' (if we want to call them that) vary from light rock climbing to open spaces and from bushes/grasses to sand stone outcroppings. Garden of the Gods is simply breathtaking and you can't help but take a moment to truly think about the amazing-ness of Mother Nature and the age of the rocks. There are several cave-like spots, smooth eroded boulders and stunning views of the SFV and the neighboring rock formations. One can see all the way across to the Verdugo Mountains and the tip of the LA National Forest. I visited the Garden of the Gods with a crew for a lingerie modeling shoot. That's right: I was basically naked here (and actually completely 100% naked when changing). I suppose that is fitting for the Porn Capital? We didn't come across many people (golden hour on a Wednesday in November) so Garden of the Gods was peaceful, quiet and serene. This place is perfect for a modeling shoot or for your IG with various nooks and crannies that make love to the camera. Or perhaps that was me doing that. Be careful though, because there of plenty of snakes and mountain lions who call Garden of the Gods home. So why am I not giving this gorgeous wonder of the world (or at least LA) 5 stars? Simply because people are assholes and decided to use Garden of the Gods as a garbage can. You will come across a lot of trash, bottles, and broken glass EVERYWHERE! These losers also defaced some of the beautiful rocks with tags and graffiti. News stories run rampant in the Stoney Point/Garden of the Gods/Santa Susana area of murders, fights, drugs, etc. Geeze Chatsworth, calm down. I would suggest, for the ladies out there, to not venture here alone. Although Garden of the Gods was quite empty during my visit; we did come across some hikers, families with small children and even mountain climbers with legit gear practicing on the rocky faces. Garden of the Gods caters to a diverse cast of characters. Side note relating to Covid: some people wore masks and some didn't but obviously there is plenty of room here for social distancing. Chatsworth may be known for porn but the rocky topography of the area is much more orgasmic and certainly worth more of a visit than just from from your car window when driving on the 118. Hey you never know: you might see someone modeling in lingerie!

A kind of sketchy park. Not a lot of people seem to know about this place. There is a senior…read morecitizens center that has meetings and such. I've seen outdoor AA meetings on occasion. There have been large homeless encampments directly across from the "wash" which separates the park from the back of the train station. Right now it's empty but it's only a matter of time before they return. There are gates separating the encampments from the park but some enterprising folk have pried them open so anyone can walk across from multiple locations. It was mentioned elsewhere that there are some mature trees that provide some shelter, but only about two picnic tables. Lots of undeveloped land. I guess they don't want to encourage kids as there is no playground equipment or a soccer field. There is a grass path around the perimeter where I've seen some brave folks stroll in groups or walk their dogs. I walked with my son there the other day and got a bit nervous when some big homeless bro started walking across the empty encampment towards us. Another time, when I was taking some photos of the epic gangland "murals" on the back of the train station some dude from the encampment came over to ask if I was a cop! Anyway, to sum up, this ain't the kind of park I'd feel too comfortable walking around alone especially in the evening -- unless I was with a pet -- like a Doberman...

Kinda sketchy at times, not only is it next to an actual mobile modular home trailer park its also…read morehome to quite a few motorhomes some that actually think that they are security which is laughable and have taken up permenant residence in the back corner of the parking lot . There are also a few parked around the culdasack. Lots of picturesque views of a smelly concrete converted creek on two sides of the park and a very active very very busy railroad track with an actual sort of train station/unmanned stop i think there are two to four trains every couple of hours mostly metrotrains but frieght aswell lots and lots of tagging on tbe buildings along the tracks which usually isnt very intimidating to me except thus park is on the boundary of several rival gangs clamied teritory yes gun shots ars a constant reminder that were still in los Angeles county not compton but heading that way fast also i cant forget to touch on the tent town along the tracks good place to walk your large pitbull breed protection animal not to take the kiddos they do sereve the senior community of northridge several meals and provide AA/NA buildings to hold meetings another reason fir me to avoid the place but i leave it up to you to make your own informed decision enjoy!!!!