I'm realizing more and more how vital it is for one's mental (and physical) health to spend time in…read morenature. During a particularly low day, I was literally craving me some nature. Which makes sense when you're in a concrete urban jungle day in and day out - we just weren't meant to live this way. I literally searched Yelp for a park in the area on my way home, and Lakeshore came up. Tucked away in a residential area, Lakeshore is a small-ish, serene, well-kept park with, as the name implies, a lake being the central point. I strolled on the path for a bit. I'm not sure how long the path is, but it seems like a good spot to get a decent walk in, and there were a few walkers and joggers. After stretching my legs for a bit, I grabbed some bench and watched the birds - geese (these guys are huge!), seagulls, ducks, and crows - hanging out and eyeballing me to determine if I had food. They were so cute. There is nothing that gets me feeling better fast than being around animals. The human animals that passed by were nice as well, with smiles and hellos, how refreshing. I spent some time just sitting and resetting. It was good. I need to do this more. Nice park, enjoyed a much-needed reprieve here, and would return.

I parked in a neighborhood and after a run around the park, I noticed a small lot. Tons of parking…read moreon a weekday evening. There are a lot of people walking/running around the park and there are half mile markers on the ground. There is a wide variety of geese here, some I've never seen before. Great paved path!

Scenic and well maintained courts in a friendly park…read more I found tennis hitting partners and open courts on joinplaytennis.com/san-francisco

Really nice park for children and dogs!…read more They have a good sized dog park with area for small dogs and big dogs. Some climbing structures for the dogs as well. Picnic tables scattered throughout the park, with lots of beautiful trees providing shade over most of the park. There are two adjacent playground areas. One side has a large caterpillar to climb on, along with a dinosaur teeter-totter and baby swings (only, no regular swings) The other side has another big playground structure, along with this rock formation that wraps around it. My kids mainly enjoyed climbing the rock formation that had little 'caves' that they played house in forever! Basketball courts, tennis courts as well. The only awful thing about this park is how absolutely vile the bathrooms smelled, like worse than most porta-potties.

This tiny oasis designed by landscape architect Mai Kitazawa Arbegast, was built with plants…read moreimported from Japan, in honor of the local Japanese American community, particularly Koomei George Kato, a beloved member of the Niles Rotary Club in the 70's and 80's. A small and simple Japanese garden I can sum up in three words: peaceful, pretty, and pleasant. I spent some time on a Saturday afternoon nestled underneath the shade of a garden viewing structure with seating, a great spot for meditating. The trees and greenery were beautiful in July, and there was much to appreciate in the little details and features of the garden. And if that's not enough, there's more to explore at Shinn Park. Easy free parking, too.

A nice place for a short walk, with birds singing all around. It was peaceful and a special time…read morewith my daughter.

This park is a gem for the Fremont/Newark community and a beautiful spot to watch the sunset and…read moremoonrise. I've done the Quail trail and bay view trail loop, moderate incline and easy stroll. That trail is also good for trail running. Parking is $5 and the visitor center lot is the closest parking you can get to the trails. There is free parking outside of the park as well, which it looks like a ton of people opt for that.

Hill of a Price…read more ±1,300-acre East Bay Regional Park that features stunning Bay views and marshes, as well as a visitor center. The Good: *Part of the 12-mile Alameda Creek Trail *Great views of The Bay and marshlands *Gentle, sloping hills with a gradual incline *If you prefer flatter trails, do the 3.5mile Bay View Trail or the Marsh Boardwalk *Biking & Equestrian OK on marked trails *Trails are mostly AC and the dirt ones are in fairly good shape *Visitor Center *Reservable and non-reservable picnic tables *Campsites *Dog-friendly *woof* The Meh: *$5 vehicle parking fee *Almost zero shade The Ugly: *It's a very popular place, and can get very busy here. Conclusion: Great park with superb views, but very little shade. ‍

Irvington Community Park is a decent park with a really big grass area and plenty of open space…read more They also have a sports complex area that can be rented, and a lot of people come here for games or other activities. There's also a basketball court and a community center, which makes the park useful for different kinds of events. The playground area is decent, especially for kids. I noticed the padding looks like it was recently redone, which is nice. The play area has a little wall climber, slide, pole, and stairs. I do think the wood around the slide area could use some updating because it looks kind of old, and the slides seem extremely high, which I think should be changed or made safer. The bathrooms are currently being redone, so that's good to see. Overall, it's a decent park with good space and activities for families.

This is a nice local park to go to. I happen to not come here for a long time even though that it's…read morevery close to where I live. The park has improved over the years since they added bleachers at the parking lot as well as renovating the playgrounds. It's not really a big park but it's convenient for those who live really close to it. They have a building called Irvington Community Center, which I think is a place for children's activities. There is another building which is small. I think it was supposed to be a library, but is recently closed. Right next to it is the ballot drop box, where I usually go to drop my ballot envelope. Nothing much changed overall but it's good to reminisce the memories I have going here when I was a kid.

We drove 45 min to reach this location from the east bay. Our lil one loves parks and we're always…read morelooking for new locations for her to explore. When we came across a video of this location on instagram we knew we had to plan a day to come. The weather says 80, but with the breeze and the slight shade from the trees it felt more like low 70s. We were lucky to get the only bench in front of the main play structure over looking the smaller ones. Others sat in lawn chairs and on blankets under the trees. There is no public restroom on site. There is a Ranch 99 about a block away, so if the lil one had to potty that is where we planned to venture. There is one food truck selling Mexican food - cash only - otherwise bring your own snacks. We were fortunate to snag parking directly in front of the park as space is limited. Around the park, there is a single block creating half a "circle" of parking availability. There is more parking around but it requires crossing the street. The residential street directly across from the park is no parking 9a-4p. There is a path for littles to ride their bikes, scooters or skate around safely, remaining visible. Our daughter kept hers in the car while she played between the multiple structures with different "friends." There is also a fitness area on site as well as a smaller tot area in a separate section of the park and a half basketball court. There was a birthday party being held on the premise. This is definitely a park we would return to if she requested. The lack of restroom does have me a bit torn, but knowing this allows us to plan a bit smarter. I would bring a friend along to accompany her as they could play on different structures while both remain visible. Our tall 6 year old played in both areas of the park - big and little kid areas - and enjoyed them both. They is quite a bit of exploring and lots to do for a free adventure day at the park.

Great park for families! Set up with a great layout and lots of entertainment for kiddos and…read morefamilies of all ages. Only drawback is the limited parking around the park but patience is your best friend. Can't beat these views while you run and kiddos play on the structure!

Amazing super tall tree covered in lights. Leaving a quickie review for other Eastbay folks to find…read morethis before they take it down since it's for the holidays only. We found this when cruising neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights with our kids. We saw a huge thing with lights on it from a distance and just drove towards it until we found this massive tree covered in lights. Park also has some other christmas decorations but the tree on the corner is by far the coolest. It's so big even from far away I couldn't get a picture of the whole thing. Check it out while it's up! Cool local find for fremont people and makes for an awesome "slowly scrolling up" IG story or Tiktok.

It's a cute and small local park…read more I wouldn't go out of my way to go here if I didn't know anybody in the area, but regardless it's a nice place to take a short walk with the dogs. It's very clean and well kept. During the holiday season, there are lights up nearby the pool, gazebo, and the very tall, iconic tree is adorned with lovely lights. It amazes me how they get up all the lights so high and it's a real delight to see at night!

Mia's Dream Come True Playground is one of the best playgrounds we've visited in the Bay Area. It's…read morethoughtfully designed, inclusive, and has something for kids of all ages and abilities. My biggest tip is to avoid after-school hours if you can. The playground gets extremely crowded, and it can be hard for little ones to navigate all the excitement. If you go earlier in the day, it's a much more relaxed experience. Overall, this is absolutely worth a visit and has quickly become one of our favorite playgrounds. It's easy to see why so many families love it.

This park is thoughtfully designed for children of all abilities. There's a soft play area for…read morebabies and toddlers, adaptive swings for kids in wheelchairs, and the entire playground is fenced for safety. The roundabout parking prioritizes disabled spots which is a smart and inclusive touch. There are shaded quiet areas, picnic tables for snacks or lunch, and a small free library (though it had little to no books when we visited). The bathrooms are high-tech with audio instructions and a 10-minute limit, but cleanliness was an issue as with most public spaces. Both women's restrooms had toilet seats up with pee on them, no seat covers, and people didn't seem to follow the gender signs. Overall, a great park with good intentions. Shoutout to Make-A-Wish and HARD for creating a space all kids can enjoy.

My family and I stumbled across Sabercat Playground on Instagram and absolutely had to make the…read moredrive out for my little one... Located on Lake Elizabeth/Central Park, you can't miss the infamously large cat structure. It is great for children of all ages and offer more than your typical slides and swings. Fossil bones are placed throughout the playground and you may find a set of two of animal footprints hidden. I was kind of skeptical of SP's overall size because I've been fooled a time or two while watching posts on IG and let me confidently confirm any doubt that may linger- the playground is good in size. Come prepared with some shades, water, a hat, and sunblock because there is little to no shade. The heat is no joke but rest assured that there will be more than one ice cream vendor ready and willing to help you cool off. 5/5 stars. This playground is definitely one of our more favorable spots to hit up.

I never knew about this park and we happened to stumble upon it via Google Maps when my husband was…read morein town for work. All 4 of my kids had a blast and there were things that kept all of them (ages 3-14) entertained for quite a while! The bathrooms were also clean. The grass was full of goose poop - so we did not go on the grass, obviously.

This is a nice local park for the whole family. There's a pretty walkway that's lined with trees…read moreand benches. We sat at one of the benches and enjoy a snack with the little one. The play area has slides, swings, rocking animals, and even a small rock wall. There's even a handicap swing with an overhead safety guard. There were lots of kids there, and they all seemed friendly. There are picnic tables (not sure if you need to reserve), and a large grassy area. Overall, it's a great neighborhood park.

Used to go to this park often to walk but recently we started walking and was attacked by a swarm…read moreof mosquitos, I end up with a bad infection from the bites, my arms and legs were swollen and bruised for about a week. Use repellant when visiting this park so you don't go thru what we did.