Mountain lion habitat and children's playground all in one... Hayward, you did it again!!! I like to come by and stare at the wall behind the tennis courts. Yeah thats my jam. Other people like to come here and smoke and space out too. You can walk along the river maybe if you've got a dog that isn't spoiled rotten they will love this place - not Baby Wrinkles tho - she likes the Marina Green in the city. She expects views of the Golden Gate Bride, hundreds of people complimenting her smile and thinks the Blue Angels come to wow her and her alone. But yeah - that wall... I come here to look at it for obvious reasons. Its creepy if you get what I mean. There is a narrow 3 foot opening next to a picnic table perfectly placed for your viewing pleasure. read more

Hayward Memorial Park - Parks Near Me - Hayward, California

What a great park!! And a beautiful setting to see the Hayward Municipal Band play for their free concerts! read more

Hayward Memorial Park - What a beautiful setting! - Parks Near Me - Hayward, California

a review from amom2kidsandapark.com Despite the fact that it's older and occasionally graffitied, I really like all that Memorial Park has to offer. There are two playgrounds, bathrooms, tennis courts, green open space, a bandstand, stairs and trails made of old brick, wild animals, big trees, and the start of the Hayward Greenbelt Trail. The two playgrounds are right next to each other, but separated by a chain link fence. The lower playground is a bit smaller with two slides (tube and sidewinder), stairs, a bridge, ladders, and a hollowed out step wall. There are bucket swings at this level. At the higher level playground there are standard swings and space for what was once, I'm guessing, a tire swing. The structure has three slides (double, sidewinder, and a bottomless sideless), steps, ladders, a sliding pole, and a crawl through tunnel). There are stairs up and behind the play areas but they don't lead anywhere all too special. Across from the playground is another set of stairs that lead to the Girl Scout Cabin, a building that serves the local @girlscouts troops. Memorial park shares the parking lot with the Hayward Plung, a huge indoor swimming pool (we did a class here through Hayward Rec). The Greenbelt Trail connects to other Hayward parks and eventually ends at East Avenue Park in the Hayward Hills. read more

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I came here to walk my dog... This park need some tender loving care! Here's what I saw... NEEDS LOTTA LOVE: ! - Dried up grass instead of lush green grass. ! - Dirty cages meant for exotic birds but instead had occupied pigeons in it. ! - A wonderful stone staircase that lead up to a boarded up cabin that looks like Jason from Friday the 13th lived there. ! - A stage... What could they possibly play here? If only there were some benches surrounding this, it can become spectacular. GOOD STUFF: ! - Tennis court, it was empty when came ! - Hiking trails? I was too scared to walk it by myself...I'll bring my security guard with me next time ! - Water Springs?! Wasn't sure what that was but I'll find out someday... Armed with my security guard ! - Swings playground for kiddies ! - picnic tables ! - Hayward Plunge swimming pool... But it was closed SCARY: ! - Someone was smoking marajuana ! - looks like gangstas hanging out ! - besides these people, it was very isolated Poochie didn't mind much and was having a ball...but all the while, I felt like Jason was around the corner and ready to get us... Jason Jason Jason.... read more

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This is a nice park just behind the Hayward Plunge. It has: Tennis Courts, two playgrounds, two picnic areas with grills, an amphitheater, and an entrance to the Greenbelt trails. The reason this park doesn't get more stars is due to the various vagrants that frequent it. Not as bad as some other parks, but there are usually some people around, sleeping or whatever. I've found needles on the trails. As with anything, be aware of your surroundings, this is a urban park, there is going to be stuff. read more

I really hate to give public parks a bad review. I feel that we're fortunate to live in a place that has so many wonderful free places to relax and play. But when Yelping, one must be honest. I really don't care for this park. There are so many nicer parks in the area. Memorial Park is on a busy part of Mission Blvd, right next to the Hayward Plunge, with which it shares a parking lot. There are two play structures, one for younger kids and one for older kids, unenclosed but separated by a fence. The fence serves no purpose that I can tell, aside from making it difficult to keep an eye on more than one kid if they want to go back and forth. The play structures themselves, and swings are pretty cool. My daughter loved the spinning plastic tire swing and some of the climbing bits and slides. They have tan bark ground covering under everything. When I went there yesterday, there were a bunch of skeevy looking characters who parked in a van next to the restrooms, and paused to piss on the external wall of the restroom, right in front of the playground. And then didn't leave, just hung out in the parking lot. Turns out the restrooms were actually locked, and I can't decide whether that was a good or bad thing. When nature called, we just decided to trek home. read more

I cannot review this park for the plunge or playground, but for the wonderful "Summer Sundays in the Park". We've been going to these concerts for the past five or six years. Concerts are held @ 2:30 and traditionally start on Fathers Day. Put on by the Hayward Muncipal Band, 40 members strong. 2008 will launch their 52nd season of performances. The concerts at the Tony Morelli Bandstand (named after the band's conductor from 1960-1998) are free and open to the public. The bandstand looks out on a big grassy area where folks claim their spots with chairs and blankets. Bring a picnic lunch cuz it's a great outdoor dining experience! Music includes show tunes, classical, big band, marches and patriotic music. Their performances begin with our National Anthem (nice to see young and old stand for this with hats removed and hand over heart!) & always end with a rousing patriotic number where anyone is welcome to go up on stage and march/ dance to the music. Concerts last between 1 1/2-2 hours with a short intermission. During the intermission is when my husband takes my daughter over to play on the playground. (this is not the place to let your kids run free, as Linda M has stated there are some 'skeevy' characters around.) Otherwise daughter is seated on our blanket with her bag full of books. Five star rating for a free down home community outing set to great music & to the city of Hayward & H.A.R.D (Hayward Recreation and Park District) for subsidizing these band performances! read more

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The Park itself is pretty good. I saw people cleaning the parking lot and raking the trail. I couldn't complete the hike along the trail. The trail after .9 miles goes past the backyards of some homes. In one case, a large Rottweiler up on a patio was barking and threatening to jump the fence. The trail forces one to go past the fence with no way to go around. I didn't want to anger the dog anymore, so I went back. Other than that, the trail is cool and has several spots that crosses the creek. Some areas are steep. Lots of spray painted graffiti on the rock faces along the trail and old trash really detracts from the park. Why can't people just leave our parks alone! read more

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DAY 1: "Hey before we hit the courts, let's go check out where all those sweaty people are coming from". "Oh look it's a trail map..let's give it a try...you up for it? Tiffany L: "Yeah". A mile up and a mile back..hmmm not bad. Sprinted the last half mile back to the courts, only to be defeated by Tiffany L and her long Tiffany L legs. DAY 2: "Let's keep going....see what's past the stairs". It's an upward incline that is not nice to your lungs. LE PANT, LE SIGH, LE HUFF, LE PUFF......."Ok let's go....back....that's enough". A mile an a half up, a mile an a half back.....WHOOOH...soon it will be adios cottage cheese and hello bootay!!! Now some tennis. read more

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This park is easily accesible from downtown Hayward and perfect for those from this town not wanting travel out of this town for a small park experience. It is right on busy Mission blvd. but set back enough to feel some seclusion. For food there are some fast food restaurants on Mission blvd. within walking distance. There is a bit of wear and tear on this park and it does need a little more attention. The playground is decent and an option to a newer one directly next to the old city hall just a bit further North on Mission blvd. An out door stage is used mainly for an occasional concert in the park but more for some occasional skate boarding. The tennis courts are a nice feature for downtown. The bird cages are an old feature that does not offer much bird viewing. Go to Sulfur Springs Nature center instead for bird viewing. The bathrooms are old and mostly locked. The occasional homeless person finds refuge here but I have never experienced any problems with them. I use this park mainly to enter and exit a creekside hiking trail which goes up in a canyon to East Avenue Park and beyond. After crossing Civic center drive this trail splits but the upper end can be used as a loop trail. There are more trails up higher on the hill and both run between homes built above the trail but rarely visible. The trails give you an out of the city feeling except for the occasional barking back yard dog. You do have to cross an occasional creek to get to the top of the trail so be prepared to rock hop or get wet in shallow water. You may also run in to a few mountain bikers and people walking their dogs but it is a very lightly used trail. I have hiked these trails after dark and so far no mountain lion encounters. So for me the higlight of this park is the ample parking space for my hiking trail. read more

I went to the park for the first time today and am in love with the trail system that starts behind the Plunge - fantastic running routes, all on well-graded dirt paths, fully shaded, with few people - all starting right downtown!!! Pretty rare and wonderful for an urban park to have this extensive of a trail system. A bit of graffiti and trash close to town center but decreasing as you climb the canyon; gets a bit steep at the back of the canyon (about 3 miles from downtown) but what a great resource for Hayward. read more

My husband and I have been walking this trail almost everyday for thirty years. I've never seen anything bad or scary other than a gang of turkeys on the trail. And maybe a deer or two. We like to watch the deer, and the ducks come ever year and have their baby's. There is a lot of cool wild life if you have the time to stop and look. It used to be a beautiful park back in the day. But I guess Hayward has more important things to spend the money on. The trail is still a great place to go to walk your dog. And you can still have a nice Sunday afternoon listening to the bands. read more