06-28-24 Scott Bruce, Elvis impersonator…read moreNever knew this place existed until I got invited to attend this event, "Dinner and a Concert Shows." It was so much fun dancing to Elvis' music and definitely worth the drive. Glad I went, can't wait to go back for more fun!

A nice park in Downtown El Cajon where during the summer there are Car Shows on Wednesdays and…read moreConcerts on Fridays. A great place to hang out with family and friends. They have a different theme every Wednesday for the carshow. The music varies, sometimes country, rock and they have Tribute bands.There are numerous restaurants in the area and street vendors selling food popcorn and icecream. I'd suggest you Google Dinner and a Concert El Cajon to look at the schedule to pick your favorites. I've seen reviews that mentioned homeless and thugs, I've never been bothered by either. Over all it's great place for locals to get out, enjoy the southern California sunshine see cool cars and listen to some great music.

I take my kids to this park often and it's usually enjoyable. I love the playgrounds for young kids…read moreand one for bigger kids. There is a larger exercise area with equipment as well and a place to ride bikes, scooters or play catch. There is a parking lot of you can park along the street. Pavilion areas are available for birthday parties and seem to be a first come first serve. I remember a parent saying her dad went out there at 6am to just sit and make sure they had it reserved for their 10am party. You can bbq and bring other foods. I think there is space for a small bounce house. Lately, it's gotten popular and the park etiquette is lower. People leave trash when there are bins available, play loud and inappropriate music (lots of cursing, vulgar language during our last visit), smoking weed (last visit). It was very crowded and more adults or teens than young children around. Overall, still like this park option due to proximity to home, bathrooms available, water fountain available, ice cream truck visits routinely and depending on the day/time it's not too many people. The kids always play nice and my daughter makes new friends each visit.

This is a cool and fairly new county park in Spring Valley serving a lot of newly built single…read morefamily homes in the area. The park consists of two acres and offers all new playground equipment and exercise stations. The park has E.V. charging stations, restrooms with drinking fountains, and well shaded picnic tables with trashed cans and recycling containers as well. It has a small lawn area and small outside theater for presentation and such. According to the county's website, the park is open from 9:30 am to 7 pm. There's a small parking lot available and street parking as well.

I love this park and it's beautiful and it's very nice to see people enjoying their own placeread more

I am writing to share some observations from my family's visit to the park yesterday, as I believe…read morethey warrant attention. We generally find the park to be a wonderful amenity, and we deeply appreciate its natural beauty. However, during our visit yesterday, we encountered several situations that significantly detracted from our experience and raised concerns regarding safety and park regulations. While walking along one of the trails, particularly towards the end, we observed a large group of individuals from foreign country spreading throughout the area. Concurrently, we noticed a distinct and pervasive odor of cannabis. Further along the path, my family and I also observed three men gathered near a rock formation up the hill. As we were returning from our walk, we witnessed an individual openly smoking a cigarette. We understand that smoking is generally prohibited in public park areas, especially given the presence of families and children. Additionally, as my children were enjoying their scooters near the path, a vehicle approached at what appeared to be excessive speed, estimated around 30 mph, without slowing down. This incident was particularly alarming as it created an immediate safety concern for my children and other park users. Collectively, these incidents led us to feel a degree of discomfort and concern for our family's safety, prompting us to conclude our visit earlier than planned. I wanted to bring these matters to your attention in the hope that appropriate measures can be considered to ensure the park remains a safe and enjoyable environment for all visitors. Thank you for your time and consideration.

This was an enjoyable hike that is best to do in the morning. I came with my hubby and a friend who…read morehas done this hike numerous times. The lot has plenty of parking and not crowded at all for being a weekend. There is a porter potty (bring your own toilet paper and hand sanitizer) but no drinking facilities. I could see this hike being miserable on direct heat so do bring plenty of water. I drank about 48 oz on a relatively cool day (when we finished the hike it was 82 degrees). It took us just short of two hours (started at 8 am) to complete the loop. When you see the trail split we ventured to the right of the trail (you'll come back on the other side). After a nice relatively flat walk you'll start to ascend. This is the toughest part of the hike but it doesn't last long. Key is to go slow. The view from the top is fantastic and totally worth it. Then you'll descend and end up going through this abandoned corral. The scenery is very nice. Only a slight incline awaits you before it goes flat again and you branch off to the trail you've started. It's a very nice easy to moderate hike (moderate being the incline). Terrain can be slippery due to loose dirt, rocks, and gravel so wear shoes with good traction. Nice hike overall. I'd definitely do this again. My advice- come early to avoid the heat, bring plenty of water/snacks, shoes with traction, and hand sanitizer and toilet paper in case the toilet is not stocked.

I haven't been out here for a while...Spring flowers are in bloom, everything was GREEN, water…read moreflowing! So beautiful! It was chilly early in the morning, but as you start to leave the valley, you'll feel a warm breeze coming off the mountain. As you ascend towards the mountain side you'll feel the sun beat down on you, so don't forget sunblock and plenty of water! There's plenty of shade down in the valley, but limited on the mountain. Get up and get out!

Not your traditional park this park is a nature park, it has two small walking trails on the top…read morelevel and big trails leading to the bottom level where the playground area is, the playground has a really cool kid suspension bridge. There are no bathrooms and you can't access the park in a wheel chair or stroller from Estrella dr it's only accessible through sierra madre. The parking lot is very small not meant to host large crowds. The little library is located on the top level off Estrella

This is a fairly new park in Spring Valley at the base of Mount Helix. The park is just over six…read moreand a half acres. It was built into the surrounding land escape so as not to disturb the natural native land escape. In addition to the surrounding native plants, drought tolerant trees have been added for shade and that nice natural park appeal. There's a durable play area for children and young adults made from natural elements such as wood and rock. When I visited, the park did need some TLC via some weeding and clean up, but as I was leaving, a county worker was arriving and he stated he was there to evaluate the park's needs. The park has a small parking lot on Estrella with an available charging station. The park can also be accessed, on foot, from North Bonita and Sierra Madre Road. Oh yes, there's a unique suspension bridge at the park and picnic tables, trash cans, but no restrooms.

This park is beautiful! A hidden gem. It is near trader joes which is how I originally found it…read more But it sits between grossmont hospital and its auxiliary buildings. So I can see how this would be a great spot to take a break while visiting at the hospital. It has a dry creek-bed running the length of the park. Theres a huge rock mound to practice your bouldering skills, elegant wind-chimes/musical instruments for kids or adults alike to play and lots of different areas to picnic. There is even an herb garden for kids to learn the different kinds like lavender, white sage etc. There is lots of lush green grass amongst trees. It really doesn't feel like you are right next to a freeway or busy shopping center AT ALL. You almost feel a world away. Love this park!

This park lacks a big playground structure, if that's what you're looking for don't even bother, it…read moreonly has a few swings nothing else. The walking trails are nice and there is a lot of open space to run around, the bathrooms need updating and I only found street parking. Seems like a good place to go walking not a place to bring kids to play.

I'd added parks in La Mesa and surrounding areas to my favorites in a map app a while ago,…read moreintending to check them out but hadn't. I was in the area of this park recently, and passed a parking area while driving on Bancroft. I was in need of a restroom so I turned at the first road after and that led to another, smaller parking area. I parked there, found the restroom I needed, then walked around a little bit. The park is on a slope. There is a covered area for family or company picnics@ some sort of a ball court. I walked down the slope to the other parking area. A dog would find plenty to sniff around at, but I didn't see much so I headed back to my truck. The parking area started filling. Some cars and vans with their clients, on outings. Some guy parked next to me was talking to himself and dumped what looked like grocery store dumpster finds out behind his vehicle, I guess to go through them. And commenting on stuff in my direction. Ok, time to go. 10 am by then so I made a mental note to come early again next time.

Came by here to eat our food from Valley Farm Market on our group get-together with Yelp Elites S &…read moreM. You would have to take quite a turn after seeing the sign on Bancroft if you are driving from the Valley Farm Market. Parking spots looked quite limited as there was only one way in and then one way out. The table we got was perfect for us to enjoy our BBQ ribs, chicken, and salads under the eucalpytus trees. But would say some of the other seating areas were pretty much in the sun, so wish there was a bit more shade to those closer to the parking lot. The area looked very family friendly, lots of shade, and the grassy areas looked perfect for dogs to run around. I read in another review that dogs aren't allowed there but don't think I saw the sign during our visit there, so might have missed it. The dogs that were there that day were quite friendly and no one seemed to mind. There were two pavilion areas towards the left of the park which were well shaded where parties can be hosted. Bathrooms are nearby the higher elevated one. Overall looked like a decent park.

This is an open space preserve in Lakeside. Its main trail starts at Los Coches Rd near Los Coches…read moreCt and ends at West Rym Rd near Skyline Church (on Los Coches). The distance is about 1.8 miles with 400 feet elevation gain. Nice view of Lakeside and El Cajon Mountain from the top.