Spacious park with plenty of benches and BBQ grills. Lots of homeless folks living in the park. Bathrooms are available. Parking fee is $6. read more

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This is a nice park to just stroll around in or relax. The parking lot costs $6. but you can can also walk over to History Park next door which is worth doing. The Japanese garden here has much of the water drained out however there is one big pond with very large Koi in it. read more

Lovely park with winding pathways, an abundance of lush green trees in June, grassy fields ideal for picnicking, several different picnic areas with tables and seating (and tons more picnic tables scattered throughout the park), and a circular greek-style amphitheater (sometimes used for events). The surrounding nature provides an alluring and tranquil oasis whether having a family barbecue or simply taking a stroll through the park. But this place offers so much more... a disc golf course, Japanese Friendship Garden (which is currently dry due to previous flood damage that impacted the ponds), Happy Hollow Zoo (great for the little ones to enjoy rides, shows, and animals), and History Park... basically different parks within a park. What's more, History Park is actually considered an indoor/outdoor museum and is made up of individual little galleries and museums as well (History SJ collections at the Pacific Hotel building, Portuguese Historical Museum, Chinese American Historical Museum, Viet Museum, and others)... basically different museums within a museum. The many elements of Kelley Park make it quite unique, each a destination on its own. Parking isn't the easiest, unless you're willing to pay a fee. It was quite busy this past weekend, with the annual SJmade Fest going on at History Park. But there is more than one parking lot, so they didn't run out of space. Also, be aware that wifi/internet access is spotty or nonexistent on site. read more

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The Japanese Garden's lake is under maintenance; it has no water. It's not attractive for children. read more

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Kelley park is an okay park. Not amazing but not bad. It's very close toy house so having a place to walk to is great. There are some parts of the park that look not well maintained and dog poop on the walk way (people, pick up after your dogs please!). Other parts are good, decent shade. It's close to the Zoo, Japanese Friendship Garden and History Park. Has a bathroom for men and women. Pretty clean for a park. Park rangers that passed by seem to be very friendly. read more

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Life is either too short or too long. But for one person I knew for almost half of my lifetime, it was sadly too short, passing away at 46. Instead of having a a depressing funeral, I thought why not have a celebration of his life as a memorial service? If you have never planned a celebration of life/memorial service/funeral before, it's like planning a wedding. I wanted an outdoor venue since some peeps still freak out about socializing indoors due to COVID. My man told me about his friend's celebration of life at Kelley Park so I decided to check it out. The ladies at the front desk were friendly and informative. The Wisteria Arbor was perfect for the event - surrounded with luscious greenery. It had a stage for my niece to sing songs and where some guests shared their memories. There are electrical plugs for speakers and a movie screen. It also includes a patio where guests had many appetizers and drinks. FYI, you can't have a sit down meal. Denise was the contact person for my event. She quickly replied to my emails. I have no complaints about her. She wasn't there at the event, but she notified me that Monica and Hermina will be the staff that day. I was at the venue at 10:30 am even though the four-hour event I signed and paid for started at 11am. We thought maybe we could drop off stuff by the gate since we had a lot of stuff and parking was pretty far from the venue. I panicked when the office was closed and I couldn't see anyone inside! Ummm... why didn't anyone inform me that the office is closed on weekends??? I probably should've checked that but it would have been nice to be reminded. I wish they told me what to do or how the heck I'm going to get in or get in touch with the staff??? I called and it went to voicemail. I was really nervous at this point because we had a lot to set up and I was expecting about 100 guests. Luckily, there was an event going on and I asked the person how they got into their room. Who did they talk to? She lost her key to the office to ask the ladies, so we went to the front office and knocked on the door. By the time I got in touch with Monica it was already 11:10 and guests were coming at 11:30! Well, good thing I have a lot of family and friends to help so we were ready to start on time. Whew!! If you're planning an event here, I have to warn you, it gets really hot and sunny. I rented 100 chairs, but half of the guests stood in the shade. Maybe have umbrellas or tent or something. If you're having a movie/show play on the screen, it will be hard to see because it's super bright. We had to move the screen in a shaded area in the hallway, but it was perfect because it was near the food area. Our event ended at 3:00, but they only gave me half of the deposit back cuz I guess we were still cleaning for an extra hour. Oh well. Death of a loved one is emotionally and mentally draining, but having family and friends celebrating/sharing memories of the deceased can be comforting and relaxing. read more

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I had a wonderful visit to Kelley park today. There are a lot of trees and it connects up with the Coyote trail in the back. Enjoyed the run along the stream and the beautiful weather. It was cold initially but the sun was out and I warmed up quickly. It was cool to watch some folks practicing frisbee at the course. PS - note of caution... there are some homeless embankments in this area so please be wary. read more

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Its an ok park. There is a lot nearby, history park, happy hallow zoo and a Japanese garden. There are a good amount of first come first serve picnic tables and BBQ's. They also have large group areas you can rent out. Only three stars because the area is a little ghetto and the park is not as nice as others in the area. I only go here because it is walking distance from my house. I would not drive to this park if i was not nearby. read more

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I had made a reservation for Kelley Park. SJ Parks Recreation and Neighborhood Services promptly reached out about an error with their system and offered a solution. When I received the email, I was very worried and thought to myself, "How much of a hassle is this going to be??" I was very relieved to work this out with them promptly with very little inconvenience, and I am very grateful to the representatives for going above and beyond and delivering excellent customer service. THANK YOU! I would ABSOLUTELY 100% recommend booking through Kelley Park for all your outdoor needs. The park is BEAUTIFUL and has gorgeous features. The staff is exceptional and very accommodating. read more

Review is for 18 hole disc golf course only. I didn't think poison oak was a problem here like I've read about and this area is known for. Not a beginner friendly course. I won't probably return as I live like 45 minutes away and there are better options about the same distance from me. Not a bad choice for locals, especially considering the low hole to population ratio for the South Bay. Recommend using a spotter on a few blind/narrow holes. Pros 3-4 basket placements per hole. Basket placement is well marked with metal spinner on each hole sign. Nice Mach X baskets. Rubber tee boxes. Bag holders on each hole. Decent course maintenance, though it doesn't require a ton of labor. Cons Hot. Flat. Crowded. Parking Fee. A few wonky holes that are hidden behind shrubs and trees that are impossible to birdie and quite difficult to par. Very flat (no elevation changes.). Desert like, without grass. Lots of garbage in the parking lot (though they had a few community service members cleaning it up.). Saw several homeless wandering in the parking lot and through the course. They should have included arrows to next pin on either the baskets or hole signs. I had to pull up the digital course map a few times to find where to go. read more

I usually end up coming to Kelley Park for the Stranger's Car Show. It's a fantastic backdrop for a sangria and hot dog filled warm day of walking around seeing the different older cars and their paint jobs. There's always a ton of parking at Kelley Park, and this makes it easy to visit and head out once we've had enough sun. I do wish they had more natural seating - but I love coming here and seeing the old homes after I'm done viewing the cars! read more

I suggest that everyone come here at least once to get some San Jose history. This place is 408!!!! read more

Kelley Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

I used to LOVE this park when we moved up here 8 years ago. Now it's crap, not taken care of ever since the floods. I should say I'm referring to the Japanese Friendship Garden that is in a Kelley Park. It used to be so well manicured but when the flood happened in 2016 it took out the pond system, so 2 out of the 3 ponds are empty because they don't have enough money to fix them. Yet, you have to pay $6. to park and if you go into Kelley Park you usually have to pay as well. Today we went, still nothing ha been fixed since the flood, they changed their hours to close at 4. It used to be at sunset which are like most parks. The park ranger showed up at 4. We heard him on his bullhorn, started to walk out, got to the front and he already locked the gates. He didn't even wait 5 minutes which is BS. So we had to climb the fence to gee out. Never again will I go back, beyond pissed that the rangers are that lazy and impatient to get the people out the park. There was another couple that had to do the same. City of San Jose parks can kiss my a** and their park rangers. read more

A nice and large park, with overpriced parking. In the words of Forrest Gump, "that's all I really have to say about that."

Went here for a Volkswagen car show this park is absolutely beautiful to host a car show explored the park had a great time will be back thanks for keeping this place beautiful read more

Kelley Park - 1962 Volkswagen bug - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

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***Review based off of the Zombie Run 5k held on October 24, 2015 This was my very first 5k run and I wouldn't have chosen another. The Zombie run consisted of people with a zombie makeup. Of course you didn't need to be a zombie, because what's a zombie without humans? So I decided to be the human to run away from the zombie. This was more of a fun race and family friendly. The 5k consisted of running through Kelley Park and also out on to the streets and back in. There were some uphills and downhills here and there. In addition, lots of curvatures and paths that varied. This was a great event for me to really venture out besides the usual San Francisco park. It was wonderful to see much grass and also free roaming squirrels everywhere. I can see the park as an ideal picnic location. read more

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I came her for the UYE Dessert get together and have not been there since I have only gone to the Happy Hollow zoo. Ok first drive in and horrible construction is a huge turnoff since it's all gated up and not sure where to go but once you get parked after paying $6.00 (Rip off!) then your fine. I know they need to maintain the park but man! Park is actually huge and could use some work on the left side near the zoo and assume they will take care of it. But if you walk around the park towards the back is nice with huge redwood trees, picnic tables, trails and is pretty nice. The Japanese garden is just amazing that was behind where we had our table/area. The garden has tons of coi fish in the pond, ducks, fountains and was such a serene and gorgeous area! I now could see why we payed the $6.00 to keep that area looking pretty. There were tons of kids in there having a blast feeding the ducks and fish. Also if you walk towards the back they have the history museum as well but we did not go in since a bit far away. Our picnic area turned out pretty nice and great job done by Vicky T who got this all set up for us. We had tons of yummy desserts that I loved: -Carrot cake was the bomb! -Snickerdoodle & chocolate chip cookies -Carrot cake muffins Oh MY! -Chocolate bundt cake from Flor YUM! -Rum balls! -Egg rolls were so good -Mint cupcakes from Mara were unreal! -and many more!! Great time at the park and hanging out with fun yelpers! read more

Review for Kelley Park Disc Golf Course. With the recent floods, a lot of the debris and trash has been washed away and with the help of San Jose and SVDGC volunteers, the course/park is back to pristine conditions. Kelley Park DGC offers almost everything a disc golfer could desire. Each tee has an all-weather rubber pad, informative sign and bag pole. Each hole has at least 3 positions and presents a different challenge with every throw. From natural obstacles to long open fairways, the 18 hole course will test your ability to pick that perfect flight path. Parking is $6 daily and situated next to the course. Two caveats: mostly flat and a handful of blind shots (would highly suggest joining someone who has played the course before). Thank you, Jim Challis and SVDGC for all your hard work and devotion! TL;DR Best 18 hole disc golf course in the South Bay that offers technical and open fairways. $6 daily park next to course. Visit www.svdgc.org for more info read more

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Minus 1 star for the $10 parking on the weekends. There is a mini lot on the side of the yellow Vietnamese historic museum building that allows free parking but it fills up quick since it's not too big. Other than that this is a great place to have a family picnic or bbq. There are plenty of tables, lots of shade and giant forest trees and it neighbors the Japanese Tea Garden so it's a 2 for 1. There is also a train track that I saw running through the middle of the park. It reminds me of Vasona Lake Park. I'm not sure when the little train runs or whether or not it still runs @ all but if so then KUDOS! That'd be great fun for the kids. I also saw a mariachi band here coming to different family's picnic areas for some entertainment. That's San Jose for you. Pretty neat. read more

I'm saddened by the way The Japanese American Friendship Garden look now. Two years ago I was so impressed by the calmness it brings me and the entertainment the Koi Fish offers. Today was a different story. The water was dirty and you could barely see the bottom in some parts of the pond. There was about a total of 8 fish left. They were small compared to how they looked two years ago.They look pathetic. Where does all the $6.00 parking fees go? Will somebody clean the pond? read more

Even though it neighbors a busy road, you can easily find solitude in Kelley Park. The deeper you go the better. It's secluded from the city yet still accessible for families. I believe there's a play area for kid's and a lot of tables and bbqs. Watch out for the homeless. They are rather hostile. Kelley Park neighbors the Historic Kelley Park area and the Japanese Gardens. You can often find a lot of amateur photographers here. The odd thing is that I like Kelley Park most for its parking lot. It's pretty huge. I use it for the Spartan games. Parking is free on weekdays. I wouldn't recommend coming on weekends because of the crowds and fee for parking. read more

Kelley Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

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I have been going to Kelley Park since I was a wee little mz. tizzle (back then called Vicky T.) I used to go to the summer camps or to Happy Hollow on a field trip. Two years ago I went to a coworker's wedding here... it was perfect. I definitely made trips to the Japanese Friendship Garden (I find it funny you can only bring beer, wine, champagne and SAKE into the park). This place is $#@*ing huge. There are several groves and areas you can either reserve for events or be a first come first serve at a variety of picnic tables spread through out the park. In trying to figure out a park that would suffice for a UYE-- This place was easy to reserve (I did it two months or so in advance) and near several major freeways. What I liked about the Redwood Grove (where the Dessert UYE was at) was it was close to the potties (which were actually 75% clean and had tons of toilet paper/ soap) and a hop, skip and a jump (in some people's cases *cough* JM a stumble) away. This is a totally kid friendly spot and even the most ADHD person has tons of places to walk, run or dance. The shade can be spotty so be prepared to rotate (thanks folks for helping out with that yesterday) but there are trees and shade to be found in numerous locations. The pluses- 1. Weddings at the amphitheater are awesome 2. Great place to walk in the morning or on a date 3. Happy Hollow 4. Friendship garden 5. Historical Center 6. The groves have BBQ pits and plenty of seating 7. If you are an SJ resident you get a discount 8. You can have air jumpers in most places in the park (can you imagine yelpers in an air jumper HOLY HELL) 9. The rangers and staff could not be nicer more down to earth folks 10. There are a million things going on at once (our UYE, a car show, a model shoot, Asian invasion tourists, and multiple birthday parties The downsides 1. If you aren't going to be there all day (I was there since 9:45 AM) the six bucks is super steep for parking 2. Parking can be tricky if you don't get there before eleven 3. If you are a non resident you pay 10 dollars more (which makes sense but still!) 4. There are multiple entrances...if it is your first time there is can be frustrating (sorry guys I should have re-posted the area again :-( ) read more

This park is a good place to BBQ and have fun. I use to go here for family parties when I was a little kid. This park is cleaner then other parks in the city. read more

Bringing beauty to East Side. I wish people would respect it more. Kelley park is truly a very nice park with a lot of great parts to it (History Park, Happy Hollow, Friendship Gardens). The downside is the parking... absolute RIP OFF!!!!!!!!!! $10 parking, or $6 parking... my gosh. Anyhow, nice for a quiet stroll, shaded, lots of GREAT picnic areas that can be rented out WITH BBQ PITS. I recommend the park highly! Give History Park a stop when they have events going on, especially Halloween. Super cool read more

Kelley Park sits between Japanese Friendship Garden http://www.yelp.com/biz/japanese-friendship-garden-san-jose#hrid:RZjT2L1vVAA30rrwlU4Rdg/src:self and the History park. http://www.yelp.com/biz/history-park-at-kelley-park-san-jose#hrid:-0i3OM-9CBFpMjv1D0o5uw/src:self And near the Happy Hollow Zoo and Park. Parking is $6. read more

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San Jose really need to spend some resources to fix this park up. A lot of the restrooms and parts of the Japanese Garden are "under construction" from the flooding back in Winter 2016. I don't see any signs of construction or updating at this park, and it's pretty sad. The portapotties are absolutely disgusting with fecal matter smeared everywhere. The koi pond is beautiful however. Sad about other park features. read more

PRETTY AWESOME PARK!!!!! It's located where the Zoo is so we had to pay $10 for parking! That was a huge downer!! We went out to have a picnic date on the grass on a sunday afternoon and it was lovely ! There was a little birthday party there with a pinata which looked really fun! We found a nice grassy area and there was very few people around us! The zoo looked really cool; there are little metal animals outside where you can sit on and take pictures with :) Great for a walk with you kids too! read more

I took my dog here for a walk today and based on his excitement to sniff and mark his territory on everything, I give it 3 stars. It was early so there was practically no one at the park which was quite nice and peaceful. My only gripe with the park is that there was trash everywhere. You can totally tell that people bbq and have parties at the park since there was trash all over the ground and the garbage bins were full. read more

Great nature park. Especially loved the Japanese garden there but sucks that it's currently going through maintenance so the aquatic scenery is not as good. Took a good hour to two to casually walk the entire park, would definitely recommend for scenic pictures and or dates read more

Kelley Park - Japanese garden - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

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Beautiful and entertaining park. Worth the price for parking. They allow dogs (just not in the Japanese Garden).

Came for the dessert UYE...having never been to Kelley Park before...finding this place was a study in confusion involving slight cursing, many u-turns, and almost toppled cuppies. When we finally happened upon it after feeling like we were just about to turn around again, we weren't sure which side to park and enter from, and as the park is quite large, some signage indicators would be nice, but this is typical of so many large parks...how the #*!& do you know where you are going? Parking lot was huge, total perk with some shade, and the gal at the front was nice and helpful, but $6...seriously? For less than 2 hours...is this parking in Union Square with shopping right around the corner??? Loved that there was a fair amount of shade in the bbq spots and on the trails. But it was not all that pretty....it seemed worn and graffiti covered many of the hardened brown picnic tables...the grass was spotty. Function of the overall location I guess, but Kelley Park seemed a little sad by inattention. Good spot for what it was...but we won't be hastening back...unless of course it's for more dessert made and brought by fabulous Yelpers! read more

I've been going to Kelley Park for more years than I have fingers and toes. As a little girl, I would come here with my family, picnic and ride Danny the Dragon in Happy Hollow. As a teenager, I would hang out with my friends and cousins in the picnic area during the summer months. As an adult, I've come here with my children on field trips and picnics. I've attended wedding receptions and family reunions. Most recently, this was the site for the first Dessert UYE! With the help of my handy dandy digital camera, I was able to capture the event from my point of view. http://picasaweb.google.com/mercy.bobiaslain/UYEDessertTheOfficialAfterpartyOfDYFLivestrong Good times - and more to come! read more

2 stars for: -the catfish in the Japanese Garden. They're more well-fed than my own dog. They are HUGE. The ducks also willingly swim up to you! - park was pretty clean Other than that, there were a lot of ghetto looking folk here: teenagers making out (can't afford a room yet), people who look like they just got out of jail or will be going to jail, people who might have a gun/gotten shot and some not so friendly looking families. We went on a random Monday afternoon too, around 4 with my niece and nephew. My older sister called her husband to tell her where she was, in case anything happened to us. That SAYS something. Granted I only saw a very small portion of the park, but from what I've seen, I won't be back. read more

The wilderness area next to Kelley Park is #8 on my top ten list of FREE places to visit while in Downtown San Jose. To get there, go to the intersection of 10th Street and Senter Road. Walk north to the abandoned giant wood trestle train bridge. Yes, you can walk on the bridge and sit there 50 feet over Coyote River, over the water, over the trees, and forget about the bustling city just 200 feet away. In 2014 there used to be a nationally known homeless encampment here, called The Jungle. It was bulldozed over after the city got in trouble for letting the settlers pollute the stream. Google "jungle san jose" if interested. read more

I came here & the booth was closed, which meant FREE PARKING!!! Just my luck too. This was a nice place to walk around. There seemed to be so much going on. From the Japanese Friendship Garden to the Happy Hollow Park & Zoo. We just came here to check out the park, take a nice relaxing stroll through the park. It was actually a lot bigger than I had thought. I ended up walking across a bridge to a different parking lot. Did a few laps & returned the way I came. Next time, I'll adventure more. Very nice park with so much to do/see. I give it 5 stars because of the free parking; hopefully, next time will be the same! read more

This park is a HAPPY HOLLOW ZOO PARK, HISTORY PARK, & a cute JAPANESE GARDEN. often times I'm here for a BBQ or some kind of celebration which is a good idea because they allow alcohol and closing time is usually around sunset. Reserve a spot ahead. on the weekend if you wish to park early, you pay $6 for the small parking (the right) and $10 for the bigger lot (on the left). If you're lucky and come a little late the $6 parking will be free if closed. Overall worth it if you're going for a small outdoor adventure. read more

I came here for a big bbq bash, not expecting the fabulous time in the shade. My friends had reserved for the Family circle area. It was a bit hard to find (the parking lot past alma, follow the path on the left and around the train tracks to a shaded circular picnic area) but once there, it was worth it! The day was hot with a slight breeze so being in the shade was fabulous. We had two men brave enough to face the grill all afternoon long, grilling hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken. There were tons of tables all around the grill and everyone had a lot of fun. My only complaint was that if you come to this particular area, don't wear flip flops! Your feet will get absolutely filthy since it's just a dirt ground and walking around to talk to people will get dirt in between your toes! I didn't get a chance to see the rest of the park but it looked nice and that everyone was having a great time! read more

Its an amazing park however in evening many homeless are seen around the park. There are few corners which smell bad, however city keep the park clean. Great place to everyone to run, play frisbee, football with family, sit by the fountain and many more things. There is plenty of parking and the base ball court is lively place during the days when kids are playing. I used to run here in evening and recently also had been here on a spring day evening. The 4 cherry trees had beautiful flowers. read more

Nice park, unexpected crowd. The garden and ponds are incredible, the entire set-up is a work of art. That is why it is no surprise that so many people come to do photography here. Just wonderful. This garden is right in the middle of Happy Hollow Park (which is closed until early 2010 for construction) And History Park which I also rated 5 stars... I really gave it a 5 start because I want to do justice for the park. HOWEVER some of the crow is a major turn off and bring down the appeal of the park a few notches. For example) Bums laying on the lawn. Teenager making out everywhere. Loud Music to the tune of Chihuahuas barfing on a accordion, and irresponsible parents who let there children get in the pond to grab fish and mess with the ducks. As if it where not enough that the cat fish are no longer there due to bacteria and people stealing them. It's a shame. However it's a great experience. read more

Nice park, some parts are taken of better than others. But was nice to let my kids run around through the park, on our way to the Japanese friendship garden. The park rangers drive like maniacs! Blowing right by people walking. I've never seen park rangers drive so fast. Cray! Slow down, kids and people are walking around! Try to drive 5mph around people and not 15 read more