It's a FREE public park / walking (hiking) area that's safe (dog free too) with a parking lot. It's a relatively small area however, so is more for strolling than having a rigorous adventure of challenges. It's perfect for all ages and abilities, 'tho the terrain might be naturally uneven in some areas, so watch your step. read more

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This park is nestled in urban Redondo Beach/ Torrance. It should be nicknamed Charlie Brown's Park because it looks like it needs a little love. No trash or odd humans, but a lot of forgotten trees and groundscape (?). Might be/ have been a scout campground. Some native plant restoration started and that should be good if people stop walking through it. It's pretty quiet. My partner is an aspiring bird watcher but was disappointed here. There is potential tho. PS - if you look at my photos you will see a reclaimed part of park that doesn't look open yet. read more

Hopkins Wilderness Park - Ok,, using that trail I found a fenced off section which looks like to developed nature area (lol) that may be made accessible. - Parks Near Me - Redondo Beach, California

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This park, while a welcome and random change in the middle of suburbia, is just fine. It's a little TOO untended without clear paths. I'm trying to cut it some slack because having a park is better than no park at all, but I feel like more could be done with this space. There are BBQ grills, with plenty of sinks; there is the small pond with turtles and fish; and there's one vista point of the ocean that's lovely. But there's not much else that you'd want to spend time extensively here for. I feel like even children would get bored easily with the lack of things to explore, and it's definitely not exciting (or even a decent walk) for adults. You can make reservations to camp overnight. There is a seed library and children's Little Free Library. Closed on Wednesdays, easy parking. read more

As a kid growing up in the area i remember this park. We would walk through the neighbors yard, hop a couple of walls, walk along the outside edge of the park where someone had already cut a hole in the fence. Awesome experience add kids that I'm afraid these days kids won't get to experience lol read more

It's imitation wilderness, but a good place to bring your kids or just take a shady walk in something that feels like nature. Lightly wooded, trees, some hills, trails, a stream and a duck pond, plus areas for picnics and overnight camping. You can almost forget you're in the middle of suburbia, but it's too small to get lost. (Also too small to recommend as a destination if you're not already in the area.) Over the last few years, South Bay Parkland Conservancy has been slowly re-introducing native plants to rewild the landscape. This works out well ecologically, makes it a touch more authentic, and adds another educational layer for field trips. Restrooms and water are available at the front and at each campsite, plus a few more drinking fountains scattered around the park. read more

Hopkins Wilderness Park - Parks Near Me - Redondo Beach, California

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This is an updated review post-pandemic. Unfortunately this park is not much. It's basically a little woody area in the middle of Redondo beach. It's small - slightly larger than a standard city park. It's foresty but not big enough to hike through really. It's packed with school groups who set up tents and camp here to get a sense of "wilderness". There are no nice grassy areas for a picnic. The paths are rocky and not stroller friendly. There used to be two ponds where you could feed turtles and fish. The pond in the back of the park is gone. Dried up. Blame the California drought? The one in the front is about the size of a backyard koi pond, but yes there are turtles and fish. But you cannot feed them. They've "temporarily suspended" fish feeding. I would suggest going to Charles Wilson park nearby or perhaps to El Dorado nature center in Long Beach depending on what you are looking for. read more

Really nice free park to go hang out and do a small hike. Its about 1/4 mile round trip. Very quiet and clean. They also have picnic tables and bbqs ti use. ( reservations required for bbq) read more

Hopkins Wilderness Park - Parks Near Me - Redondo Beach, California

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So, I guess one needs to cut it some slack because it is a "wilderness park" in Los Angeles but this is more like a big lot with a little pond of sorts, some trees and brush. So temper your expectations (a lot) as far as "wilderness" goes before you visit. read more

This park is located on Camino Real between S. Prospect Ave. and Palos Verdes Blvd. Please be sure to turn into the park entrance when you arrive at Knob Hill Avenue as this entrance can be missed quite easily. And there is plenty of parking (medium sized parking lot) as I was able to find a spot without any difficulties on all of my visits thus far. It may be a bit too small to be considered as the wilderness park, but nonetheless it is still large enough to enjoy and to experience the nature at this place. Considering that it is located in the middle of the city is quite unique by itself, and it is also a beautiful place to experience nature which may not be available at most of other nearby parks in the South Bay. Here are some of things which you may be able to enjoy at this park: 1. pond with koi fish and turtles 2. picnic benches with grills (reservation required) 3. camping (day camping is free w/reservation & over-night is permitted on Friday & Saturday w/charge) 4. walking trails offering different views 5. photo-shoot (person or scenery) 6. enjoy nature via four ecological habitats: forest, meadows, streams, and pond 7. Amphitheater use (reservation required) Once you visit here, you will realize that this place is a few and far between! And I recommend this park to those living in the South Bay area especially for those with small children. You and your family will certainly be amazed to find this park in the place where nature is least expected! read more

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I nice place to spend the day. Go during the week for a more relaxed and quiet encounter. Nice views, pretty nature. No dogs allowed and lots of beautiful butterflies during the season. Not expensive and a nice hideaway in town read more

Too small for me. Nice park to eat lunch, think, go on a nature walk. So parts are quite steep so wear good comfortable shoes that have a good grip! It's a gated park so its all enclosed. It would be a cool place to have a party. See my pics read more

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We love this park!! My son lovesss coming here to feed the fish and turtles! They sell food for $.25 (bring quarters) and a small cup /baggie. They serve food for the fish & turtles every day except Wednesdays. We enjoy walking around and admiring the nature from the trees to the wood peckers, lizards, ants, and walking up and down the stairs! Parking is easy and plentiful. Bring a lunch or some snacks- there are plenty of picnic benches and trash cans throughout the park. read more

Hopkins Wilderness Park - Parks Near Me - Redondo Beach, California

Cute park for little kids to explore! Not what it used to be with the bill frogs and crawdads but still a good place to visit.

This Presidents' Day weekend I took a great trip far into the wild. No seriously... right here in our backyard lies one of the coolest parks. A mini getaway to learn all about the camping fundamentals and a cool place to explore wildlife and plants. I remember shooting a zombie movie with my friend in back in high school because the trees were very tall and created weary scenes. The park rangers are always eager to inspire young pioneers and educate the public on biodiversity. I spoke with a Nancy who taught me that there are over 10,000 species of fungi that produce mushrooms. I got to see some wild mushrooms. This park always brings me nostalgia. read more

Hopkins Wilderness Park - Parks Near Me - Redondo Beach, California

An adorable park with plenty of picnicking spots covered in shade!!!! Whattt!!!!! Unlike so many other parks in LA, there's shade everywhere. It's set up more like a miniature camping getaway and it makes it feel like you're really away from the city here. I'm not sure if you can actually camp out, but it's a nice little park with a pond and a stream and short walking trails. The main attraction here is the pond with koi fish and turtles to the left of the entrance. A "creek" leads up to the pond and we saw most people clustered around here. The fish are probably used to people feeding them since they cluster round where people stand. Pretty funny to see them all coming at you. Turtles just hanging out sunning themselves too. Kids are just running round poking through the creek (there's nothing in there). I even saw some cub scouts getting their badges. Don't look too closely at the water though, it's pretty murky and gross. I didn't stand too close to the edge just in case. All over the park are picnic benches and grills. There's a ton of trees everywhere so it'd be a great place on a sunny day. Plenty of parking were hanging out on a sunny fall day having their picnics. This is also apparently a good place for birthday parties. On our way out we kept seeing kids running past in superhero costumes. The parking lot isn't that big though so we saw parents chilling in the lot waiting for people to leave. A mini getaway in the middle of the city. Going to come back to picnic here! read more

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As a photographer, I recommend this park for photography, a secret Southbay location! However, it has very diverse backgrounds in terms of fir trees, city overlooks, palm trees and a pond (as well as a bathroom for wardrobe changes) and free parking! As always, you can see my shoots on fb: Annika Alexandra Photography read more

Hopkins Wilderness Park - www.annikaalexandraphotography.com - Parks Near Me - Redondo Beach, California

Loads of fun. We got to feed the fish and turtles with the park ranger. Our daughter loved it

A hidden gem in the South Bay! I've lived in the SB and have driven by SO many times and I did not know that this place existed. I didn't even know you could camp anywhere in Torrance too! Theres a bit more dirt than grass, but it's a great park to have a photoshoot or be a little outdoors with the family and camp (permit required) or have a picnic while the kids run around. Surprisingly this park is also really big. I feel like the parking lot can hold around 50 cars? The 3 times I've been here, it's never been full so parking probably isn't an issue. I've been here 2 times to take pictures for a friends family shoot and maternity shoot and thankfully there weren't too many people in the background. The only bad thing is the wind + space between the trees leaving shadows/sun spots on your subject. read more

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Lights! Camera! Action! If you want to see photographers in action, apparently this is the place to be. We went for a walk with the kiddos and kept accidentally traipsing through other people's family photos. I sure hope they got a good shot of us! For a free public park, this park is larger and has many mature trees. Many have knots and low branches great for climbing. These trees give the park a woodsy feel and so is popular with the shutterbugs. Some are even showing fall colors for the best holiday family portrait! The park has a small man made pond that hosts ducks, carp, turtles and tadpoles. There are lots of large flat rocks surrounding the pond, perfect for the little one to have or share a snack. Being a public park often visited by kids, the grounds are a bit in disrepair. There are downed trees in the way, yellow tape marking off stairs that no longer are safe, fluorescent spray paint marking trees that might need spraying, etc. The trails are not clearly defined as folks just wander where they want; so there is little new life (eg saplings, flowers, etc) that's survived the trampling. If you want more pristine wildlife in the local area, try the Madrona Marsh or the South Bay Botanic Gardens. That said, we saw everything we had on our checklist: - talk trees, check - butterflies, check - tiny bird, check - turtle, check Two boys even found a lizard and showed it to us. Day and night camping available with permit. Might be fun when the kids are in kindergarten. read more

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This place is okay for what it is, but I prefer Wilson park more ‍. The trails are kind of all over the place, and very uneven (IMO), the area that has turtles looked like it needed a serious cleaning and honestly it wasn't impressive at all (I remember when Wilson park used to have their pond and you can see ducks swim around in it). I guess if you are the type of person who likes to camp with your kids, but you aren't really roughing it, then this is the place to go Honestly I think this place is overrated and not impressive at all (especially from the reviews the place looked bigger from other people's pictures). I guess I'm the kind of person who's looking for more of a challenge and adventure, I will have to check out the trails up in PV soon and see how I like those. I don't see myself coming back here anytime soon. read more

What an amazing park, it was cloudy and gloomy on the day that I decided to go so the park was empty for the most part. The winds were very strong that day and it was really nice seeing the turtles and some of the amazing views of this park has to offer. I would definitely go again when on the next pretty sunny day when I get the chance. read more

went here today to finally check his local park... not bad... small park with a small pond ... lots of trees and plants with picnic benches.... didn't know you can actually camp here ??? not bad.... read more

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I love this place. I've come here for a long time just by living in neighboring cities & passing by. It's small yes but I see this place really intended for kids & people just wanting to relax in a peaceful positive manner. It's a wilderness park but pretty small & I was happy to read some other reviews that talked about the history of the place. This place seems like it need a little TLC because the pond was lacking a lot of care & plants are overgrown but not in a good way...there's trash everywhere & there are some places where there are dangerous steep little mini cliffs & drop offs that aren't properly blocked off. Other than that it's beautiful here. Please take care of this place & throw your trash away. This place is a local gem. read more

Love this Park! Such lush and beautiful greenery. I'm a local Photographer and this is one of my top 5 locations in the South Bay. They always open right on time or a few minutes early. Only once in the last 5 years had it opened a few minutes late. There's multiple bathrooms and very kid friendly. Check me out on Facebook and Instagram at Christen Webb Photography read more

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Very fun, quaint little park. Small enough to not feel overwhelming, big enough that I'm comfortable allowing the kids to roam. Scenic, some fun photo locations, it even has a small amphitheater and a pond. Definitely worth a trip, and thoroughly enjoyed by a 9, 12 and 15 year old. read more

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Great time here! We loved exploring. Very clean and great trees to climb. Came for classmates birthday

Love this little park with several hiking trails offering several different views of the surrounding areas. Parking was free and so was getting in so that's awesome. I would say you could spend up to an hour hiking here if you wanted. There was also a pond with turtles and koi fish, pretty neat. read more

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This is a great place to get a little bit of nature! I wish there were more spots like this. We tend to spend about an hour here when we visit. Our toddler likes to dig in the dirt, find pine cones, look at the pond and jump off tree stumps. Today we even saw a bunny! read more

Hopkins Wilderness Park - Parks Near Me - Redondo Beach, California

I love koi fish, this park has one of the best koi fish pound in the area, so I'm a fan. I was miffed when some teenagers accidentally burned down the lower part of the park, then it was off-limit to the public for a long long time. Let's hope that never happens again. The camping price is kind of high as someone mentioned here, but if u don't want to drive far, this is the place to feel like in the camp. We did it once, boy, it was chilly there even in the summer. Camping close to home has it's perks and shortcoming too, one of us ended up going back home to bring stuff back several times, ^_^ we might as well stayed at home. There are two park attendants who takes the turn watching the park. I've noticed some interesting changes among them, one was mean years ago but now he is nicer; while the other one was nice before but is now grumpy, yeah he will snap at u if he sees u feeding the fish with something other than the fish food from the vending machine. If u got away with feeding the fish with bread crumbs, lucky u. He certainly let my kids hear his voice when they tried to feed fish with bread, even though that bread prob tastes better than the fish food. Still fish needs to eat fish food. Just sayin'. So bring some quarters and a cup to take the splattering fish food from the machine, enjoy the tranquil nature while the kids feed the fish. Also no butterfly net is allowed, even if the kids are just holding it, and promise to release them right after catching them. I think if they paid more attention to where it mattered, the park wouldn't have been burned down. I've kept my mouth shut all these years about that, maybe it's time for me to give them my piece of mind!!! Yeah, I'll have u know I have a voice too! The lower pound has this amazing calming effect on me, esp. when it's all quite around. The fish and turtles co-exist harmoniously in there, so peaceful! The rec. dept. of RB has classes there regularly, the exhibit room often is closed to the public when the class is in session. Bathroom there creeps me out a little, it's very dim in there. There was a geocache in the park, have fun looking for it. read more

Hopkins Wilderness Park - Parks Near Me - Redondo Beach, California

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Great location for kids to get curious with nature. Lots of great spots for photos and just letting the little ones run around. There are tons of branches and benches to sit around, have a picnic, etc. read more

Hopkins Wilderness Park is tucked away from plain view. It's easy to miss. It's surprisingly big. There's plenty of parking. The views are beautiful. There are ducks, turtles and koi fishes. We took cookies and even fed a squirrel. I didn't think that the water fountain worked. But it does, so watch out or you'll get wet as it shoots far. read more

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Was expecting a little more but my little one had a nice walk, they had a nice trail and a pond full of turtles, didn't see any koi like I had wanted but it was a nice weekend trail walk. read more

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Totally fun! I bought my husband a tent for his birthday a couple years back and wanted him to be able to use it rather than having to wait until summer (his b-day in December). I booked a night there and they gave us the fence code so we could leave and get back in if we had to. Then, when it closed for the day, they locked us in... completely alone for the night! Well, it was DECEMBER. Not that we have much of seasons here... It did rain that night, but we were cozy in our tent with our Stanley (for sure the old-school green one!) full of soup and some hot cocoa. The only dumb thing about camping there... we had to go ahead a few days to get the info all figured out and paid for in the recreation office at Alta Vista Park and I had trouble finding it at first. It was also a little pricier than I think it should be for just taking up some grass for a night. It's not like I used anything that they had to provide. I guess the payment was for the upkeep... which I'm okay with. Super cool mini-trip to help you get away from the traffic. read more

This is a great, little chunk of wilderness in the midst of a lot of concrete. I have taken my 19 month old here twice. He loves picking up rocks, sticks, digging in the dirt, looking at the critters in the pond. It isn't amazing by grown-up standards, but I love it for the little ones. It has free and easy parking. It is definitely worth checking out. Oh, and it is very shady for those hot, sunny days. Too bad the water is filthy. I won't let him touch it. It grosses me out. Also, I got my first mosquito bite in 15 years of living in Los Angeles. I saw what looked like a mosquito, swatted it, and now have an itchy bite. I will be wearing long pants from now on. My friend also got a bite from something. Update: I have been here many times since my original review. This is the perfect little nature oasis for a 2 year old. It is just big enough to really explore, yet not too big to be taxing. Also, they completely scrubbed all the algae out of the pond. read more

Hopkins Wilderness Park - Enjoying ducks. Bring a quarter for food. - Parks Near Me - Redondo Beach, California

Mother of two wild things that love to explore unencumbered by their hovering mom! This place is great for that. My guys are 2 years old, just starting to climb and run. The park is completely enclosed, the pond is maybe a foot deep, the animals are chill, the ground is relatively soft! So I totally chill when I come here, worry free and my kids think they're doing big things! Bring a picnic, there's plenty of tables. The park closes on Wednesdays!!! I didn't know this my first visit. Broke a couple of promises, yikes! Parking lot right in front, I've never had trouble finding a spot. read more

Hopkins Wilderness Park - When you're 30 inches tall, this probably looks like the "wilderness" ;) - Parks Near Me - Redondo Beach, California

This is a pretty cool place to take a walk and enjoy some scenery. It's free and small. I think you can camp at this place if you really wanted to, but the ground looks pretty darn rough. I've already pitched a tent though... In my pants. read more

I never knew this place existed, it's a hidden gem. The small pond has fish, turtles and ducks you can feed. If you weren't looking for this place you would surely miss it just driving by it. read more

Hopkins Wilderness Park - AUG2014 - Parks Near Me - Redondo Beach, California

Pretty fun. It's unique because the design follows the land, so some parts are hilly and others are flat. I counted over 30 turtles at the pond and I'm sure there are more. There are a lot of park benches and tables you can sit and eat at. For some reason, almost every single group I saw there had kids. I'm super curious why that's the most common demographic. I didn't really see any couples, teens, or elderly folk. Parking is pretty limited; I've gotten lucky so far, but I think it'll get more crowded in the summer. Also, a bunch of folks, including myself, showed up yesterday, and it was closed without any signage explaining why. According to the park's hours posted on site, it should've been open. So odd. Note: I think this place might be tough for someone in a wheelchair to navigate, unfortunately. I'm not in a wheelchair, so I could be wrong. But there aren't a lot of paved sidewalks or even gravel paths. Just want to let folks know ahead of time. Hope this helps. read more

Hopkins Wilderness Park is a handful of acres of maintained wilderness right in the middle of Redondo Beach. It doesn't look like all that much from the outside, but once you enter you find yourself transported from the urban sprawl to a more peaceful setting. Tip: There are a good number of outdoor grills and picnic tables here, along with reasonably clean restrooms. At one time, this park contained two very nice ponds with turtles and fish. Unfortunately, for reason's I'm not aware of, the larger pond was drained a while back (which is why I'm only giving this place three stars) There's also plenty of free parking here, so come and enjoy :-) read more

Had the most fun with the kids feeling the turtles and koi in the pond nice private area for photos