To celebrate Bastille Day, the French group again chose Emerson Park in San Luis Obispo. There are…read morelush shade trees lining one side of the park and abundant grass beneath them, perfect for a "Dejeuner sur L'Herbe," or luncheon on the grass, inspired by the French Impressionist painter, Manet. We were immediately welcomed by the host and hostess of our group, who had thoughtfully provided the tables and an umbrella. It is a bit hard to park nearby, but we all managed to ensconce our vehicles and find a place close enough to carry our picnic things. There was a long table with a tantalizing spread of French baquettes, cheeses, sausage, salad Nicoise, berries and an onion tarte. The deserts were almost a buffet in themselves, with Palmiers, cupcakes, an almond tart, Madeleines, tea bread, and a Tarte Tatin. A cooler offered iced beverages. We circled our chairs in the shade and enjoyed this tranquil space in the middle of San Luis Obispo, while our host enlightened us as to the history of Bastille Day. It is so enjoyable to share French culture with a group of people who are also interested! The park takes up an entire city block, and has play structures for children and a basketball court that was in use the day we were there. They also have two Petanque courts or lanes for bowling with bocce balls. We engaged in a spirited game after our lavish feast. If you venture online and explore the options for Emerson Park, there is a site sponsored by the city that asks for suggestions for improvements to the park. One of the many items includes parking and a public garden, as well as other ideas that would only make the park better.

Local Take: The first of the "Mondays in the Park" series started here, as well as, our first park…read morebased SLO Public Health Mobile Vaccine Clinic. The Parks department also help arrange alot & they helped with logistics, chairs, music, & invited a whole bunch of Food Trucks [Baguette About It; Cubanisimo, & Plant Ivy]. The event was quite a success from the Food Truck & fun point of view. Both kids & adults had a good time. The trucks had long lines & sold out of most things after awhile. There were some performances, dancing, & music. The park itself is really close to downtown SLO, but unless you know exactly where it is, you can easily confuse it with another nearby park that is a few blocks more toward Cuesta Grade. This park is more suited to Food Trucks being inside, but the parking around here is not so great. Our Vaccine event was more informative & it was to test the waters in a park setting. We did have a bunch of people stop by for information & did one shot, but oddly enough I had more requests for a free beer or Vodka. It seemed that the majority of the people here mostly had their vaccines done already, but it was nice to chat. Since we just finished the second "Monday in the Parks" event in DeVaul Park, which was less packed with a much better turn out for vaccines, this series in these challenging times, seems to be a hit. While there are two more events like this, in two other SLO City Parks, it is probable that if these continue to be a success, it might become a regular thing. People seem to love the Food Trucks, the fun, & do appreciate the health promotion/ disease prevention aspect as well. Of course, we also enjoy these events as we also work. It is a pleasure for us, especially the Medical Reserve Corp Volunteers, to help our neighbors & our community, in these community settings. Every shot that we do can potential save many lives by slowing down, or even stopping an outbreak...especially with the most recent finding that any one Delta case can spread to 8-9 other people. This is now a very transmissible virus that rivals Chickenpox and even exceeds the transmissibility of several other serious infectious diseases including the now extinct Smallpox. Evolution can be amazing, but can also be very deadly when it works against a species. Over the past months were have done dozens of Mobile Clinics in almost all towns & cities in SLO county. We have had Mobile or Pop-up clinics in a wide range of venues, both inside & out. They include Parks, Community Centers, Churches, Schools, Food Banks/Pantries, Low Income Housing Areas, Farmers Markets, Swap Meet, Workplaces, and more. If anyone wants to propose a place for us to do a Pop-up, we are all ears. If anyone wants to get a vaccine [either Pfizer or J&J] please look for either one of our future Mobile Clinic sites, or head to one of 3 SLOPHDs [Grover, SLO, or Paso]. While it is harder to find, some Pharmacies may have Pfizer, but we definitely do. J&J is used for those who prefer a one shot deal. Things are getting more serious as the C-19 Delta spreads & testing is ramping up again....as well as cases. The completed vaccine rate in SLO County is not the best by far, but we are trying our very best to increase awareness & accessibility for everyone. Please get vaccinated if not already & please kindly encourage those who are resistant to please come out to at least chat with us. We keep up with the latest information and can help address people's concerns as well as help correct misinformation or myths. It is great that the Parks Dept. as well as other groups help support us in these community outreach projects. While it may seem odd to get a vaccine in a park, it is hard to think of a safer more pleasant way to get one. People seem to feel much less anxious in this non-clinical environment. Thank you!

We stopped by here on a Saturday, and it seemed unusually quiet / deserted for a playground on a…read moreweekend. We then immediately understood why - a lot of homeless people sleeping on the grass nearby, random people sitting on benches and a guy filling a plastic bottle from a water fountain and drinking from it, in between dancing in a tweaked out state and rifling through a trash can. It is sad because the play structure is a good size and there is a lot of green space nearby.

Mitchell Park is a very quaint place in San Luis Obispo. It's a park my children played at when…read morethey were toddlers, wee tikes. Now, we visit Mitchell Park to attend events, take a stroll with our fury love, and/or have a lunch picnic there. There is a great apparatus play area for children. Bathrooms are located adjacent to play area. Picnic tables abound throughout park. The surrounding area can be busy with traffic depending on time of day and which day it is; therefore, parking can be a little tricky at times. There is a very small homeless situation at park. I say small because I was born and raised in a big concrete City and homeless situations are far more greater. In the 14 years we have been visiting park we have NEVER had a problem with the homeless; truly. They tend to disburse, because they too don't want to be bothered with or by us. Don't be afraid to visit or enjoy Mitchell Park. Mitchell Park is located in a central location of some yummy eateries. It's in walking distance to downtown SLO. It's also located in middle of some beautiful vintage homes, so one can also take a stroll throughout neighborhood and enjoy. Amtrak is 3 blocks away. Again, Mitchell Park is quaint and lovely; and, don't shy away.

My family and I saw this park while driving to Solvang a few weeks ago and knew we had to check it…read moreout on our way home! Dinosaur Caves Park is just gorgeous! A lovely neighborhood park with amazing views of the ocean! The park was clean and well maintained - they offered bathrooms as well! Swings, slides, spiny rides - you name it. Our daughter had a blast! After our daughter enjoyed the park, we walked around the trails and took so photos of the flowers and ocean views. Why is it called Dinosaur Caves Park? Apparently per the information area, there used to be a massive dinosaur statue that was eventually taken away - caves? I did see a cave or 2 when we were checking out the ocean views. Overall, I think Dinosaur Caves Park is a great place to get out and stretch your legs - it's especially nice to let the kiddos get some energy out before heading back to your roadtrip!

Such a great place to bring the family…read more Brown Family 2025 Always make time to visit and let the kids run loose, enjoy the fun and waves!

A surprisingly large neighborhood park hidden away in the Arbors near Marigold Shopping Center…read more The play structure is off limits right now and people need to practice Social Distancing to avoid spreading the Corona VIrus, but this was a bright happy active place on Saturday afternoon. The park has an uphill slope, with a baseball diamond on the lower field surrounding it. If you go up the hill, there are a play structure, a tennis court, and restrooms. No one was on the play structure, which had a warning sign and was closed. There is also a fairly large area to BBQ and have a picnic. People were leaving space for others, and enjoying the beautiful sunny atmosphere in this hidden green gem of a park.

What a nice neighborhood park! They have a baseball field, two playgrounds, tennis courts, and a…read morebasketball court. However, the popular sport seems to be Pickleball. The courts were full and folks seemed to be having a lot of fun. Perhaps I will give it a try soon. Also, very friendly people in the neighborhood and there were a lot of smiles and waves.

Laguna Lake Park has a lot to offer and with the newly upgraded dog park, I had to come visit and…read morewrite an updated review. Overall, was a bit disappointed with the upgrades they'd done to the dog park. It is fully fenced and has completely separate small vs large dog parks which is good. But for the amount spent, I was expecting there to be a much larger grass areas and generally a bit larger of a park for the large dogs. The grass area in the large dog park is in the middle and the majority of the park is actually bark and small rocks, which isn't great for the pups' paws. There are benches throughout and water stations for the dogs which was good to see. They've added some obstacle courses for dogs to play on, which was fun. However, I strongly disliked that I saw folks come in to bring their kids to the dog areas and obstacles like it was a kids playground (which clearly it is not). Generally, from what I have seen thus far, most dog owners are friendly and self aware of their dogs' behaviors which is always great to see. Nice upgrades overall just was expecting a bit more but that's okay. Still a great place to take a walk and enjoy the lake views or go to the dog park!

We were in the area after traveling all day and needed a place to walk around. Laguna Lake Park fit…read morethe bill. Numerous people were out walking, walking dogs, fishing, and picnicking. The park was clean with ample parking and had multiple trails to choose from. The lake and plants made for nice views as well walked. A good stop for us.

June 25, 2026 I used…read moreto take my son here back when the park was new in the early 2000s. Now I brought my 2 little grandsons here today. They really enjoyed the park play equipment as it was all new equipment to them. Seeing it through their eyes they went from one choice to another and loved it. The park is spotless and the equipment appears as good as new. The color theme is green which is a SLO City theme. It's very calming and I'm glad it isn't bright gaudy colors. We had a great time and will come back. We came on a weekday and it was not crowded. Just a good amount of people taking turns on things so everyone could play.

Easy in and out trail. It was flat and well shaded. You can enjoy many bridges over a small creek.read more

My boys loved the skatepark with bonus basketball courts right next door. Bathrooms available and…read morea gas station mini mart walkable without crossing a street. Huge plus, the bowls have drains so the park was skateable despite having rained the day before.

Great hockey! Hard to find on the central coast so we'rehappy to have a rink. Pickup…read moreInformation at @ slohockey on Facebook.

This museum is so neat! As you enter and pay for admission, you'll find a craft area, a small gift…read moreshop, and the museum's first floor, which includes an outdoor water table and some play-and-explore areas. Then there is a second floor with all the make-believe establishments, where kids can explore different jobs, etc. There is so much to do and discover for kids! We took our 5- and almost-3-year-olds here, and they both loved it so much! They were a little sad when it was time for us to go. It is also worth noting that there are a couple of single-room bathrooms on each floor, which is great for kids, as they can easily access them and then go back to exploring! The bathrooms were maintained well and kept clean.

Amazing options for young kids to expand their creativity! Highly recommended for your young ones…read moreand even adults!