One of the nicest park I've been to. Well taken care of. Playground is super nice. Lots of varieties. The only down fall is so many people. I've never seen so many people at a park like this. It was crazy. Specially the playground area. My son could barely run around without hitting other kids. Pond are was beautiful. A super nice and chill place to have a picnic and sit around for hours. read more

Douglas Park - Parks Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Location is great!! There is always plenty of parking with parking meters. I love to walk the park with my Loki. There are the ponds to see the duckies and turtles!!! They are nice and calm, never seen any of the ducks or turtles try to interact with people or dogs. Lots of beautiful trees. My Loki gets happy when we come to this park when I have my doctors appointments!! He cries when I am trying to park because he's wanting to get out of the car to roam the park!!! The park is clean and usually busy with people at the benches, laying out or just walking. read more

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A Santa Monica institution that has regaled several generations. Our daughter enjoys the duck ponds and saying quack quack. There's a mini skate board rink, 2 tennis courts, a well maintained children's closed play area for kids 5-12, several duck ponds, restrooms, free 2 hour parking across the street, lots of benches and walkways. Overall a decent park for kids with enough activities that will keep them coming back for more. read more

Now this is a place I would've never visited were it not for the pandemic. Jamie W. and I were tooling around Santa Monica recently and decided to stop at the Calif. Chicken Cafe for lunch. We discovered they weren't allowing dining inside and didn't have anything set up outside. With our takeout bags in hand, I asked the young server if there was any place nearby where we could eat. He immediately responded "Douglas Park on the next block". Not knowing if it was a homeless hangout or a massive kiddie klatch, we were more than pleased to see what a bucolic space it turned out to be. It was an aircraft factory (thus the historic name) and then a movie studio lot in the early part of the 20th century. There are plenty of features over its ten-plus acres. A huge playground takes up the northern part, and a lawn bowling green dominates the part closest to Wilshire. In the middle is a large pond populated with happy mallards and other birds (photo: https://bit.ly/3qqlGbM). There were well maintained picnic tables mostly surrounding the pond including a smaller one with its own rooftop (photo: https://bit.ly/3InSbNH). It was like it was calling our names and just shows that a silver lining can show up when you least expect it. RELATED - Exploring LA? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2TWT63v read more

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The regional park is popular in Santa Monica, which was formerly the site of an aircraft factory and movie studio lot. The park hosts a number of facilities, including a bowling green and the county's largest municipal pond, tennis courts, and etc. It is a vibrant neighborhood park with plenty for everyone, many wild ducks and turtles, though the water in the pond is very dirty with a lot of trash floating around. read more

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Fancy spying on the turtles, searching for hiding turtles or perfecting your duck call? Then this park is for you! One of the cutest things to see is the turtles lounging on the rocks sunbathing when it's sunny out. When it's not so sunny out they under the water and they're harder to find. If you hang out for a minute and wait, you'll see them pop up for air every once in a while. There's a lot of those guys swimming around in the main pond! Pretty cool :) It has a mini skate park, tennis courts, a playground, picnic tables and a trail to follow all around the park. There are little bridges over the ponds and when walking in the middle of the park, the sound of the water rushing over the rocks is pretty relaxing. It's small but doesn't feel like it and it isn't overloaded with homelessness which is a huge plus. I regularly see fitness trainers and their clients, people walking their dogs, moms & dads hangin with their kiddos and solo humans enjoying a spot on the grass reading and also friends picnicking and people watching. I dig this park and so does my dog, it's one of our fav little gems. read more

Lovely little park in Santa Monica. A great place for a relaxing afternoon stroll, curling up in a park bench and reading a book, or delighting at the number of terrapin turtles and ducks in the pond. The turtles are so adorable read more

This is such a cute park! It was my first time here and we came here with a group of 20 with a party bus to take photos for my friends birthday. Would love to plan a cute picnic here in the summer read more

Douglas Park - Parks Near Me - Santa Monica, California

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Used to be a wonderful place to visit, but I am taking off one star due to the homeless problem, which is unfortunately plaguing the West LA area, particularly Santa Monica, especially in the past couple of years. I took my family there to take a quick look at the pond and view the turtles and duck. Unfortunately, the place has a lot of homeless people, including one appearance schizophrenic lady that kept yelling obscene profanities and racial slurs out loud. This was quite disturbing because there was many groups of young kids and adolescents nearby. The parents were visually disturbed, and I even heard a couple of people say never again will they come there. Otherwise, a nice park to visit read more

Gated playground for kids, a skate area, bathrooms, big grassy area with tables, tennis courts, and a pond with ducks and turtles. Street and metered parking. We love coming here with our young toddler and our dog. The only issue is the homeless people that often stay at this park. They smoke weed and leave trust behind them. read more

They have ducks and turles who is nice for the kids, i recomend this is a nice family park for everyone

Adorable tiny neighborhood park! * YES - Ducks, turtles, pond, creek * YES - Park is right next to usual Santa Monica traffic (right off Wilshire Blvd.) * YES - Lots of families taking a nice stroll here & feedin' the ducks * YES - Lots of shade (trees) and benches What a nice little reprieve from every day hecticness~ read more

Douglas Park - Cute park! - Parks Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Oooh Mc. Douglas had a park. ee i ee i o And on that park he had some meters. ee i ee i o Hear a jingle, there a jingle, everywhere a jingle-jingle. Oooh Mc. Douglas had a park. ee i ee i o And on that park he had some ducks. ee i ee i o Hear a quack, there a quack, everywhere a quack-quack. with a jingle here, and jingle there. everywhere a jingle-jingle Oh Mc. Douglas had a park. ee i ee i o. And on that park he had some turtles. ee i ee i o. Hear a splash, there a splash, everywhere a splash-splash. with quack-quack here and a quack-quack there, everywhere a quack-quack with a jingle here, and a jingle there, everywhere a jingle-jingle. Oh Mc. Douglas had a park. ee i ee i o. And on that park he had some kids. ee i ee i o Hear a wahh, there a wahhh, everywhere a wahh-wahh with splash here, and a splash there, everywhere a splash-splash with quack-quack here, and a quack-quack there, everywhere a quack-quack with a jingle here, and a jingle there, everywhere a jingle-jingle. Oh Mc. Douglas had a park. ee i ee i o And on that park he had some Moms. ee i ee i o Hear an ahh, there an ahh, everywhere an ahh-ahh with a wahh here, and wahh there, everywhere a wahh-wahh with a splash here, and a splash there, everywhere a splash-splash with a quack-quack here, and a quack-quack there, everywhere a quack-quack with jingle here, and a jingle there, everywhere a jingle, jingle. Oh Mc. Douglas had a park. ee i ee i oooooo. **Side Note: Mom Alert. I spotted 28 Moms at lunch time. No animals or Moms were hurt in the making of this song. read more

Douglas Park - duckies!! (i took this) - Parks Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Charming park for a picnic and to observe the ducks and there might be lawn games. It's down the street from Erewhon so it's nice to pick up some food and then have lunch with a friend. The water area is not safe for toddler so the only thing is you really have watch them carrfully read more

Neat little find. This park's cut in the Japanese style. Waterfalls. Bridges. Lagoons. Lakes with ducks and fields, trees. Space for relaxing or tossing a baseball. Rebel: 3.5 read more

Douglas Park, "...named for aviation pioneer Donald Douglas, who opened a factory and airfield on the site of a former movie studio in 1922..."* is today's verdant, tree-lined, well-maintained open space in the heart of Santa Monica. A destination for play dates, brown bag lunch dates, a stroll, to engage in sport or just decompress. Find a large playground, splash pad, plenty of picnic tables and benches, a lawn bowling green, two lighted tennis courts with drop in use and three reflecting pools, home to resident ducks and turtles. Reserve the 40-person capacity, (no kitchen, one indoor restroom) Clubhouse for a gathering https://www.smgov.net/Departments/CCS/content.aspx?id=31694. Met a rehab friend for a leisurely walk on even terrain to challenge our recently replaced joints in the real world. We were pleasantly surprised, equally pleased to find so many people of diversity utilizing Douglas Park. We'll be back! Metered parking surrounds the park on 24th and 25th Streets to the west and east respectively, California Avenue to the north and of course Wilshire Boulevard. * https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/douglas-park read more

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What a fun park! Little one loves loves this "duck park" so much that it's a 20-30 minutes negotiation for 5 more minutes when it's time to leave :-0 The sandy playground provides different areas for kids to let their imagination loose. Love the big & little picnic tables -- so cute! Swings for kids and big kids alike :) Big trees with seating benches that provide much needed shades for the grown ups. The big pond was closed for work when we came. The pump broke and they're waiting for the part to come, as the nice guy cleaning the drained pond told us. The 2 little ponds still had many ducks, to the delight of the little one. Parking is easy enough on the streets, metered and some free 2-hour parking. read more

Very cute family friendly park. My son enjoyed sitting on a shaded bench and watching the ducks. We were also able to score easy, free street parking on one of the side streets near by. After being in that section of the park for a bit, we walked over to the playground area which is fenced in. Lots of fun! read more

This was such a cute park, we found it during our walk. They have turtle/duck/fish ponds, waterfalls, playgrounds. We had so much fun looking for turtles and watching the stork hunt for little fishes. Park is clean and landscaping is nice and neat. Green grass, benches everywhere, lots of trees. Fyi- keep an eye on your kids, I saw some little boy fall in the pond. Bottom half of him got wet, yikes! read more

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When I'm in the area and have time to spare, I love to visit with the ducks and turtles in this park. For being right on Wilshire Blvd., you're set back so far that it feels storybook and sweet - with no trace of traffic noise! There are always meters available, so I get a spot in two seconds. And if the sun is out, there's the shade of trees or benches in full sun to choose from. I see kids at this park a lot - there's a playground further back, and what little (or big) kid doesn't like to watch the ducks and turtles swim around? If I've planned well, I've grabbed a sammich from the Starbucks a couple blocks away, so I can give the bread parts to the duckies (and the hungry pigeons that always come around). I always feel like I've gone on a little tiny vacation when I leave this park - even if I've only been there 15 minutes! read more

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Beautiful park for most parts. Nice trees, places to sit. It has 2 tennis courts and kids' playground on the California Ave side. Lawn bowl on Wilshire side. A small useable building for meeting on Chelsea and Wilshire corner. A duck pond in the middle. I see a few people enjoy the grassy areas, have their lunch, walk their dogs, and relax with their kid(s). This park is used for kids' birthday parties on the weekends. Otherwise, it is nice and peaceful. The chairs are mostly clean. The area is well maintained but Monday can be a messy after all the parties. Sadly no dog area. And unfortunately there can be homeless. The City just or are renovating the plants around duck pond. There are restrooms by the kids' play area nearer to Chelsea. read more

Douglas Park - Main Pond is under construction. - Parks Near Me - Santa Monica, California

You can't bar-b-que here!! WTF? Practically every kid has a nanny or their well manicured parents freak when their kid picks up your kids toys without asking first! Lame! There was a dead duck in the duck pond last time we were there! Shut yo mouth! Ok, aside from that and all the homeless people hanging out all over the front half of the park, it's got a nice sand area with lots for the kiddies to play on. Ice cream guy is always in his usual spot at the back of the park. They built some nice water areas with lots of plants and rocks to climb around on. Step far enough back into this park and you wouldn't believe Wilshire Blvd. is so close! There's even a "water feature" set in a large concrete depression about the size of a swimming pool. It's a row of jets that shoot water straight up into the air for the little kiddies to run around in. What's not cool is seeing the kids in their underwear standing over the spray, using it like a bidet. read more

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Very small park. Recommended if you mainly have kids or need a place to lounge. Decent size playground and room to skate for kids. Will take you about 5 minutes to walk thru the whole park. They have a pretty decent sized duck pond but could use a cleaning. read more

The duck pound, duck pound!! Douglas Park has a duck pound and little (City)kids love coming here. The park is on the smaller side, though. So if you're throwing a birthday party, it's a much idea to go to Virginia park and or Ocean Park- where they have much more tables read more

This is a great little park. There is ample parking both metered and free a block up. There is a nice play area that can get crowded, but it is fairly large so you can get away from others if you need to. In the lower part of the park, there are picnic tables, lawns to lay out in, and ponds with ducks. This park is the best for kids, there is so much to explore and wander. Even the homeless people that hang out here (there are very few) are nice and friendly! read more

This park is so fun! We got to watch Ducklings grow up, and there are lots of wildlife including pigeons, ducks (and ducklings), turtles, and three different ponds. This park also offers a playground, and many benches and seating areas. The picnic tables were a bit dirty, but overall this park was very amazing. We have made many memories here and will remember this park for years to come. read more

I only wish there were more parks like Douglas Park. It's a decently sized park with plenty of space to lay out, run around, or play catch. There's also a sandy playground for kids and 2 tennis courts (free to play and lit up at night (some sort of incandescent light so there's an orange hue at night)). There are also bathrooms and plenty of parking spaces (metered and free) surrounding the park. Minus a basketball court, this park has everything you could ask for in a small, neighberhood park. read more

I came here the other day with my family, and man, did it bring back memories! This used to be the place I would come to almost every day after school to ride my skateboard around the rink and the pond. I would stay for hours until the police or park ranger came to kick us out. The funny thing is that there was really not that much here, but it was the only park in the area that had open spaces where I didn't have to worry about the congested streets of the city. The layout of the park has not changed much over the years. There is still a kids' play area, lawn bowling field, tennis courts, and the rink and pond. However, the park has undergone some significant refurbishment. Everything has been upgraded to look better than before. The kids play area has more apparatuses, the restrooms have been rebuilt, there are new picnic tables, and the pond actually has water with ducks and turtles in it. It is a great little park to take your family to hang out for a bit, but since it is on the smaller side there is not a whole lot to do here. There are not that many parks like this in the area, so even though it is small it is a great part of the neighborhood. I was happy to see that there are still kids that Skateboard here too! I don't know if they are now allow to skate here, but it was always a safe place to go and not worry about getting run over by a car. Douglas Park is a cool place to check out if you in the area! read more

I take my toddler here basically every day. We look at the ducks and turtles and pigeons, run around over (miniature) hill and dale, and hang out in the playground on our favorite play apparatus. It is almost always busy (except when it is wet out, Angelenos being well known for dissolving in water when it falls from the sky) with a nice mix of ages and nationalities. A relatively high percentage of nannies for other parts of the country I've lived in but totally normal for Santa Monica's parks. Playing in the sand is usually a friendly, communal experience, with parents/caretakers getting down there with the little ones and keeping things friendly and equitable. We never remember to bring our sand toys and there's always something lying around to use. Also the park has a picnic table art motif running through it, with clever variations on the theme of the picnic table. There's a giant table like a playhouse with a kid sized one underneath. There's a table built around a tree, with a big hole in the middle. There's one that's basically a back to back bench. Probably a dozen total. Very cool. One little complaint: There are only two baby swings in the playground, which are almost always full. For only being the size of a city block, and one right on Wilshire at that, it feels like a big park. I think that's because of the hill, the variety of areas (lawn bowling, ponds, small field, tennis courts, water area, playground), and the fantastic mature trees. City of SM: put some labels on those beauties! read more

A Park only 5 or so feet away from homeless people, grid lock traffic, smog, beeping horns and traffic congestion. I stopped here after leaving Subway when I observed a lawn bowling lane and figured this might be a cool little spot to spot and just relax for a bit. I soon got back into my car and bounced from the area. I have gone a couple of years without being in Santa Monica I can go a couple more. In the Parks defense I did like seeing that wild life calls it home and that right there is worth it to me. I can not even imagine what this place transforms into at night time. If you have driven by the Santa Monica City Hall you know what I am talking about. read more

This is our go-to park in Samo! Not only did my husband grow up going there, but it's our daughters absolute favorite on the Westside. Pros- Ducks and ducklings! Turtles Fenced in playground Open grassy spaces for picnics/spotrs Has (cleanish?) bathrooms Tennis courts Lots of shade Ample paid and free street parking Cons- Tends to have a few homeless people due to close proximity to the VA hospital. But it is an opportunity for a lesson on compassion. read more

I went to this park with my kids age 3 and 5. I love this park cause it is the closes park near my area that isn't too far away and it has all that the kids needs and the water play during summer. And finally I went back recently (which was yesterday Sat, August 21st, 2010) and the park had the play area fenced off with two little gates! very nice that they finally did that so kids don't just run off. I hope nothing life threaten had happened for them to put the fences up on the inner side of the park. This is probably the most packed park anytime of day. Of course during weekends even more, but I still love it because it is such a lively park and my kids can find a play date right on the spot and have a blast for an hour and a half. It is great for parties and get together. And one thing please don't let you kids touch the pond water. That pond always looks disgusting to me and actually one of the park care taker said you can get really sick from just handling the pond water. read more

Be WARNED: The ducks and swans here are VERY aggressive. One came after me the other day and I thought I was going to have to gouge its eyes out or wring its neck -- or die trying. Other than murderous ducks though, this is a nice park. The running water and the lawn bowling court give the space a certain relaxing civility. read more

You know, I've drivin' by this park thousands of times while living on the Westside and I just recently actually went here to walk my dog before his Vet appt., which happens to be next door. What a hidden little gem of a park this is!!! Besides the lawn bowling, jungle gym area and cement skate board area for the kiddies; they have DUCKS!!! The cutest little duck pond ever. This entire park could be walked in 10 minutes so they pack a lotta punch into a small little neighborhood park. The first time my pup got so excited he fell in the duck pond - OMG! What in the world did you get yourself into mister! Then I had to explain to the Vet how one momentary sneeze and my pup gets himself into trouble (and I do watch him like a hawk). Not real trouble just soaking wet! How do people of 'real' kids do it! Quack Quack Waddle Waddle PS- I will say, I went again yesterday and the pond was filthy - someone get on that please!! read more

A nice, pleasant park in Santa Monica. Not somewhere I'd go out of my way to go to, or that I'd visit if I were just in town. But this park offers respite from nearby city life. Lots of grass, trees, a pond with ducks and turtles. There is also lawn bowling, a small skate park, and playground nearby! Like any other city park, there is a mix of families, college kids, young adults, and hobos. Plenty of seating and space to eat, relax, read a book, or hang out. As a few have mentioned, this also seems to be a Pokemon Go hot spot. I briefly turned on my Pokemon Go to check it out, and there were several Pokemon I hadn't come across before! The park is also very close to Santa Monica and Wilshire bus lines...so a plus for the minority of us who use public transportation in L.A.! read more

Douglas Park - Beautiful day at the park! - Parks Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Douglas Park is gorgeous and really has something for everyone. A big perk is a giant concrete pit near the playground that becomes a splashy water feature during the summer months. When it is not getting the kids wet, it serves as a racetrack where they can zoom around in their mini-vehicles. Although it aesthetically has it all, the parent/nanny crowd at the playground is one of the more obnoxious. Cellphone chatting takes the place of interacting with children and there are just one too many languid adult expressions in the mix. If you cannot put up with that, shimmy over to the sketchy Reed Park, where people like their kids. Douglas Park Bonus- there is always an ice cream man parked right next to the playground. I find that man a genius. Bribe? Reward? read more

We love Douglas Park. It was the first park my son and I discovered when we moved to Santa Monica. Its especially great for kids. there is a little play area, with swings, slides, seesaw, jungle gym and sand boxes. There is a depressed, pool size concrete area for slightly older kids to bike or skateboard in. In the summers, jets of water shoot up in this area, turning in into a splash pad. The restrooms are conveniently located right next to the play area. There are also 3 duck ponds, with ducks (of course!), aquatic plants, fishes and turtles. And little streams which connect these ponds to each other, complete with rocks to use as stepping stones (not a great idea for little kids!). There a also a lot of trees, and picnic tables around the park. Right in front (that's if you come in from Wilshire) is a Lawn Bowling area. The park always has a fair share of children and their care givers, so if you are looking for clam and respite, stay closer to the pond and lawn bowling area. And if you have a kid and want to spend a happy morning/ afternoon, this is a great place to be! read more

Very cool park with a couple of ponds that kids love! A nice area in the sand and a water area for kids on a hot day. There's even a lawn bowling area on the Wilshire side. My only gripe is they don't have a parking lot, but there tends to be street parking in this mostly residential area. read more

One square block, completely redone a few years ago. They did an extraordinary job: little rushing streams bordered with boulders, lagoons with ducks & aquatic plants, picnic tables, tennis courts, lawn bowling, and a large, popular, kid's playground. I think the whole neighborhood gathers here to lunch. Homeless people are here, as in all public spaces in Santa Monica. read more

Since moving to the area, we've been to this park on numerous occasions and will continue to do so. My kids love it here. The trees, the creek, pond, ducks, playground, skate/bike area and more! It's not the largest park but for the space, it packs a lot of punch. read more