$10 entrance fee to relax on the beach with a clean bathroom. Bring blankets, chairs, and cooler to…read morespread out, this beach is not crowded. We listened to the quiet of the ocean waves and enjoyed lunch and drinks.

Really great beach. Fee is $10 per car and dogs are allowed, on leash and please pick up poop! It's…read morea nice long stretch of beach that has a lifeguard tower, but wasn't managed while we visited during the week. We were able to see whales and dolphins on our visit. The parking lot sits on top of cliff with stairs that walk down to the beach. Depending on your physical abilities this can be deficient for some, however not impossible. There are also bathrooms in the parking area. Great views from parking lot!

Best hiking in the Bay Area PERIOD. Amazing rangers that help you plan out your hike, and mostly…read morewell maintained trails(although some smaller ones can be overgrown). Starting with small hikes is best as the elevation gain and drops are pretty intense.

Henry Coe has been in my "to hike" list for quite a while. It's the largest in the State Parks…read moresystem and while, technically, in the South Bay, requires a long, windy drive once you're off the 101. It can seem overwhelming to pick a day hike, given the vastness of the park, so I'd recommend coepark.net. That site lists several day hikes and shares route maps. It was a huge help to me, when deciding to hike the trail to Frog Lake. Henry Coe is popular for backpacking but moderate day hikes can be found and the loop to Frog Lake and back was a wonderland of green hills, tiny wildflowers and vast views of the Diablo Range. It's more about the journey than the destination and I enjoyed hiking through various eco systems that included marsh-like trails, rolling green hills, woodland and a small lake. Parking is self-paid or via the CA State Parks pass. There's a nice visitor center with rangers helping to acclimate you to the park, along with flush toilets and a small gift shop. You feel like you're in the foothills, while really, just a 30 minute drive from Morgan Hill. Now that I've acclimated a bit to the park and its hikes, I'm finally going to add Henry Coe to my State Parks rotation

Great place! It was my first time visiting, and overall, I had a great experience. The price was…read moreaffordable, and I definitely recommend this place.

First off, my family and friends camp here regularly, and this is the first time I have ever…read moreexperienced an issue like this or been denied entry to my reserved campsite. I arrived at approximately 12:15 PM. I understand that the official check-in time is 3:00 PM, as this allows the previous campers time to leave and for the campsites to be prepared. However, that did not appear to be the situation when I arrived. There were no campers in the RV area whatsoever, and the area appeared to be completely vacant. The booth attendant, Tina made an exception and allowed me to enter the park after paying the $6 entrance fee. She specifically told me that I could wait until 1:00 PM and that she would be happy to check me in at that time. Based on what she told me, I paid the fee, entered the park with my trailer, and waited approximately 45 minutes until 1:00 PM. At approximately 1:05 PM, I returned to the entrance booth, only to find that no one was there. As I waited, vehicles began piling up behind me while the booth remained unattended. I waited for approximately another 30 minutes before eventually having to use the self-check-in process. I find this experience extremely unprofessional and inconsiderate to the paying patrons who regularly support and camp at this park. If an employee makes an exception and provides a customer with specific instructions and a time to return, I believe it is reasonable to expect that employee to honor that commitment. I understand that employees can become busy or may have legitimate reasons for stepping away. However, there was no communication or explanation provided, and I was left waiting after following the instructions I was given. Imagine traveling several hours to camp at this location, only to be told that you cannot check in early, that you must pay an additional entrance fee and wait, and then, after agreeing to those terms, finding no employee available when you return at the agreed-upon time. That is not the level of customer service I would expect from a campground that I have supported regularly. I believe Tina would benefit from additional training regarding customer service, communication, and following through with commitments made to park patrons. I hope management will address this situation so that other customers do not have a similar experience. I enjoy camping here and have regularly recommended this location to family and friends. My intention is not simply to complain, but to bring attention to an experience that I believe could have been handled much better.

My daughter wanted to see ducks. We went by 4 times. We only saw them once but each time was an…read moreadventure looking for them. Thanks for the memories.

This is a review of Pinto Lake City Park…read more You may not believe it, but I drove all the way from Costanoa to Downtown (?) Watsonville just to get a breakfast burrito. By the time I got to the market taqueria in question (review upcoming), it was too late for breakfast burritos, so I ordered a regular burrito and then looked for a green spot on the map to eat my (non-breakfast) burrito in peace. That green spot was Pinto Lake City Park, which isn't as green as you believe it will be but which is greener than its surroundings. The park comprises a whopping seventy-eight acres, although seventy of those acres are the southern half of Pinto Lake. The remaining eight acres are mainly the greenish park-looking areas south of the lake and these funny thin strips of land along it southwestern and -eastern shores. There's a different park farther north called Pinto Lake County Park; I didn't drive that far, but if you're having any kind of gathering, make sure everyone knows which of the two Pinto Lake Parks you're actually visiting. Strangely, Pinto Lake City Park is within the city limits of Watsonville even though it's far from Watsonville. How's that again? Well, the park is an exclave of the City of Watsonville. That is, it's a part of the city that's separated from the rest of the city by a few miles of what I assume is unincorporated Santa Cruz County. If you still don't know what I'm talking about, type "Watsonville, CA" into Google Maps. You'll see that Watsonville has three exclaves: one to the south, one to the west, and this one to the north. OK, enough map-nerding. It was already quite hot by the time I got here, and the lack of trees, especially near the lake-view picnic benches, borders on the criminal. What kind of landscape architecture is that, City of Watsonville? It's not the most beautiful lake, so you wouldn't be blocking anyone's views with more trees lakeside. The main part of the park does have quite a few trees, and it looks like a nice city park that gets lots of use. I didn't use the restroom while I was here, but the buildings are in decent shape, and I saw lots of women using the ladies' room, and that's generally a good sign in terms of restroom cleanliness. The parking lot is huge. Besides the lake itself, there's a basketball court, a baseball diamond, plenty of green open space, and a children's playground, I believe. I was surprised by the number of people shore-fishing in the afternoon, although it was a Sunday, so maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. I probably would have enjoyed myself and my burrito more if I had eaten it at one of the tables closer to the park entrance, rather than near the water. Oh well. I guess if I ever wake up early enough to make it to Downtown Watsonville in time, I'll bring that breakfast burrito and eat it on the other side of the park, where it's greener and there's more shade.

Series of gravel walking trails that line the Watsonville Wetlands throughout town. Kind of a…read morehidden gem, I really don't see a whole lot of people out there, but they're such a great resource. Most of the access points aren't really obvious from the road, but the website has a decent map. Most of the trails are pretty much flat, and have benches and plaques telling you about the slough. Great for all skill levels. Because of the way the city is laid out, most people never see (or may not even know of) the sloughs. The trails are a great way to experience them. Some of the trails get a little slushy after it rains, so bring worthy shoes. Remember to pack your trash and respect the landscape. :-)

I have driven past this at least 20 times. We finally pulled off to stop and why would a treat the…read moreviews are breathtaking and the visitor center is modern it has a fun 3-D interactive tour of the damn very clean restrooms and lots of information written on walls for people who like to read that. It was warm, but there are lots of shady spots under the trees and a nice set of benches to just sit and take in the reservoir. Kid friendly. Not pet friendly.

If you want to have a newly experience in nature, put this on your lists…read more They got a mini theater for the public information. So nice about it i saw Pres. Kennedy speech did a speech . Try it! Be ready to have your jacket, it's kinda cold and windy too. So come a have a day tour with your friends and families.

My family has been coming to this spot for Easter since I can remember. They have the same spot and…read morewe bbq, we play games, the bathrooms are near by, the parking is easy, the view of the water is great. The park is very clean and well kept, as well as the picnic areas. This has been our go-to for years and there have been no issues yet!

Went camping for the night. Paid for parking, taped it to the windshield, and parked at a mark…read moreparking lot. I got a ticket though it was a scammer. I went to show the parking attendant. It was real, showed the attendant my receipt for paid parking he couldn't do anything about it. He said to talk to the sheriff. The sheriff would be coming in 2hr. So to fight the ticket I have to wait 2hrs. I cannot wait 2 hrs that is crazy, my drive back home is 3hrs. Bye Bye my $100

Really nice part clean has barbecue areas with playground and historical artifacts Just a few…read moreminutes from Hollister a real gem really quiet and peaceful

Come here to play basketball and hangout. The court is awesome and has plenty of shade all around…read more Huge grass area and playground.