Lake Cunningham Regional Park has an incredible amount of potential. It is genuinely a very nice park in terms of concept, size, and location. It is easy to imagine this place as one of the best public parks in Silicon Valley. Unfortunately, it clearly feels neglected and underfunded. Many areas are not well maintained, infrastructure is broken or worn out, and some parts look like they have been ignored for years. It also feels like the park was never properly restored after COVID. While walking here, you constantly see not only what this park could be, but also how much potential is being wasted. This is especially frustrating in Silicon Valley, where residents pay extremely high taxes. It raises a very reasonable question about where this money is going if parks like this remain in such poor condition. I would really like to see real investment and development across all parks in Silicon Valley, not just a few showcase locations. These parks are incredibly important for families, children, and the community as a whole. The taxes we pay should go toward restoring and maintaining places like this, not allowing them to slowly fall apart. This park truly deserves care, funding, and attention. read more

Attended a fall festival at that place and it's a huge park. There are a lot of slides and a good play area for the kids. In one section of the park, the fall festival was held and all the vendors could easily setup their booths without crowding anyone. Other end of the park had a nice reservation area and bathrooms. Someone reserved it to celebrate a baby shower. Parking is huge and the lake is quite serene. Overall a nice spot for a bunch of activities. read more

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Attended Viva CalleSJ this past Sunday at Lake Cunningham Park, with plenty of merchandise vendors and food trucks set up and a crowd of visitors, many on wheels of all sorts, passing through. Picked up some bbq nachos from Old Greenwood, enjoying lunch at one of the picnic tables at the park (there are countless picnic areas most of them shaded with no shortage of tables and seating). Was also entertained by the bmx freestyle show at the Lake Cunningham Action Sports Park, part of the Viva CalleSJ program. Other perks and offerings of this park are the beautiful lake, large playground area for kids, several restroom buildings, trails galore (with exercise stations), multiple parking lots, and just a large and lovely space for spending time with friends and family, while perhaps encountering a squirrel or two. Also, the Calibunga Waterpark nearby to cool off on those hot summer days. read more

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Lake Cunningham is beautiful during the springtime. The hills surrounding the lake are all green and everything around the lake is green and beautiful. But during the rest of the year, it looks very neglected. I remember the days when people can rowboat on the lake and even go swimming. That was way back in the day lol. But I've heard rumors that the city the San Jose will pump lots of money in revitalizing Lake Cunningham Park in the future. I last went to Lake Cunningham to watch the fireworks on July 4th and it was really fun but there were several small fires and it was quite concerning at times. But anyways, I love walking around Lake Cunningham and it's absolutely beautiful at sunset. I hope that with some love, Lake Cunningham can be a great place to visit all the time. It is East San Jose's crown jewel. There's great wildlife, outdoor activities and of course Calibunga water park formerly Raging Waters. Can't wait to see Lake Cunningham get some love in the future. read more

This review is based on my first and most recent visit, and I had no expectations. I didn't expect a fee to park, but I decided I'd pay the $6 and see if it was worth it. Some might say that summer isn't the time to come to Lake Cunningham Park, as the heat in San Jose is considerably more intense than during spring or fall, and the whole place is much drier than during the rest of the year. But that parking fee felt like nothing once I got going. The real highlight of my visit was the wildlife. Within the first few minutes of walking along the main trail, I saw a red tailed hawk with a freshly-caught ground squirrel in its talons. I spent a good 40 or so minutes just watching the hawk dissect and eat the squirrel. Another cool run-in was when I saw a turkey vulture feasting on a dead snake. I have no idea whether the vulture killed the snake or found it, but it looked to be a smaller rattlesnake. Sadly I scared the vulture off when I approached it, so hopefully it came back for its meal. Other animals I saw: - Great egret - Canadian geese - Grackles - Turkey vultures - Mallard ducks - Coots - Seagulls - A feral cat I enjoyed that there were both paved and unpaved sections of the trail, and plenty of benches and curbs to stop and rest should one need along the way. There were some steeper hills, but nothing too long or strenuous. Loose gravel was not an issue at all, and the abundance of ground squirrels made for fun sightings. I saw some people feeding squirrels and ducks even though there were signs not to, but at least from my experience, that feeding hasn't made the animals *too* trusting of people, since they still ran away from me when I got too close. Overall, the drier grass and hills made the scenery unique, especially as the sun began to set and cast a golden light over everything. On some especially forested sections of the trail, it was easy to forget you were in a park and not an actual wild area. There were also areas I didn't have a chance to check out, like the skate park and BMX park, which I'll likely go back for in the future. That said, here's why I'm giving Lake Cunningham Park four stars instead of five: - The bathrooms were nothing to call home about, but were still cleaner than I had expected. I only wish the faucet stuck out from the wall more, as every time I tried to wash my hands under the running water, I ended up hitting the back of the sink. In the end, I just collected water in my cupped hands and rinsed away from the faucet head a few times. - Some of the workout equipment was pretty dusty and unattended. - There was no easy indicator that I could circumnavigate the lake, and I only figured out this was possible when I started walking through the parking lot of CaliBunga. A sign could help correct this confusion. read more

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We reserved the Cascade Picnic Area. Lots of space and shade. The grill was extremely dirty and the crank was broken. The city has LOTS of rules, however luckily we were not bothered by park staff on that day. The bathrooms are interesting... metal toliets and stall doors are optional apparently. Definitely bring your own toilet paper and seat covers. read more

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View is effin awesome, especially at sunset. Rainy season can get pretty ugly and flood is everywhere but it usually goes away by the summer. I took out 1 point because there are bad pet ownership who do not bring poop bags so when u are running like myself... Be warn... Morning is best and night time. They close at sunset. read more

Lake Cunningham Park - Lake view is awesome - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

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https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/08/03/opinion-lake-cunningham-a-local-resource-drowning-in-neglect/ Yes please! They now have the funding. Please do whatever it takes to restore this park we grew up with. There are so many potentials to this park with the vast land, location, and the once beautiful lake. They definitely need an upgrade on the restrooms and the playground. Why can't we have something like the Magical Bridge Playgrounds on this side of town? Something with shade sails will be the dreams of the kids and parents here. read more

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Sun was out, weather was beautiful, and my Babygirl needed some fresh air... cue in Lake Cunningham Park. I came here with my sister's recommendation and although I didn't expect much, I ended up walking away quite surprised [in a very good way]. For starters, parking is absolutely FREE!! Yep, it really doesn't get any better than that!! All docks surrounding the late is closed off but you still get a killer view while you navigate around the lake. During our visit park was on the busier side of things there is plenty of room to keep up with social distancing. Picnic tables are plentiful and there are BBQ pits available for use. Downside: a lot of visitors didn't see of feel the need to wear face coverings and they didn't have the common decency to move away to one side of the path. SUPER RUDE if you ask me. Shade comes very far and few in between. Come prepared with a hat, umbrella, and/or sunblock to avoid burning. The path is blocked off in a lot of areas. We were stuck turning around and backtracking due to dead ends. 4 stars for Lake Cunningham Park. read more

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I am surprised at the low ratings for Lake Cunningham Park. My rating is based on the one visit yesterday so perhaps there is more to the story. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon yesterday and we had a great visit. There was plenty of parking and not a lot of people around which was nice. The lake itself is stunning and makes for great bird watching. We enjoyed a really nice walk around the lake and stopped for pictures along the way. read more

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I've been to this park several times for bbqs in the past. It's really nice just to take the dog for a walk around the lake. It's not too busy w/ families biking or walking around as well. Once you get to Raging Waters you have to walk around the parking lot. The lake is closed, so all of the docks are closed off. The picnic areas are open, lots of room for lots of people to be spread apart. We're planning to come back w/ more family to spend the day outside. read more

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Me and my family really enjoys this park. It is huge and offers a lot of this to enjoy. We like to take our bikes and scooters and ride around the beautiful scenery of the lake, looking at the ducks wading. Then we hang out at the their huge playground. This park also has an action sports park for you dare devils to enjoy. I haven't gone inside but we checked it out near the entrance and we saw bikers jumping ramps. It looked really cool and fun. This park is also a great place to have a gathering or a party, they have a few sections with picnic tables and pavilions with restrooms near by. We like to bring the kids on the weekend to have some outdoor fun and if you are there during sunset be prepared for a beautiful sight of color in the sky. read more

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I would give the park a better rating if it was not for tonight's fireworks event that scared the hell out of me. At first the fireworks were awesome. I loved the lights and sounds. No live music though before hand as I thought there would be but that was fine. Anyhow, as the fireworks got larger, I saw an orange glow on the land where the fireworks were coming from. There was a fire and it was growing! Something went wrong apparently, and with the heat plus the dry grass made this a dangerous mix. I hope the large water park was not affected by the fire. After the fireworks show, walking back to our destination, I saw lots of illegal parking where there were obvious signs -NO STOPPING ANYTIME. Bike lanes were filled with cars. Wow, here is a suggestion for the city. Next time you plan to hold an event like this, have fire trucks on stand by. Get the police to patrol the streets and cite the illegally parked cars. The city can get rich cracking down on these people who should know better. Issue parking citations can equal more revenue for the city for safety protocols. I mean, pedestrians have the right of way on the sidewalk and along the lake's residential areas as is the law but these drivers had relatives directing them on how to get out while blocking the pedestrians from safely getting back. Pedestrians were being forced to walk onto the street to get around the illegal parked cars!!! WTF?!?! Really placing people's lives at risk so they can get a parking spot near the lake!!! OMG!!!!! IDIOTS! It was too crowded here tonight. Perhaps not only should the city have more policies in place for possible disasters like today's could have been as well as more police enforcing the laws. Also, let me suggest limiting the "free" events for safety reasons and make it less crowded. I am now scared about coming here if they have another fireworks event next year. I would rather go to Morgan Hill, on the Green which has always been fun and well regulated. Actually, perhaps the city should plan to charge people $3 admission next year for the firework show. That would solve a lot of the problems of tonight's event. read more

I absolutely enjoy coming to this beautiful Lake Cunningham park! I have been coming to this place many times for so many years, especially now more than ever because of the Pandemic going on. Definitely a Charming hidden gem! It is located next to the popular water park Raging Water, which is one of the best attractions in the bay area for many Visitors. This park has a huge spacious playground, bbq picnic areas with lots of seatings, and the most beautiful lake right in the Center of it all. A great outdoor getaway from the busy city life. I often take my dog here for our morning walks. I love the peaceful serenity, the Gorgeous surrounding trees, and the many pretty plants and flowers. Quite an amazing Views here as well! There are many beautiful kind of birds, ducks, geeses, and lots of Turtles too! We really enjoy walking around the entire park! Just plenty of Sunshines!! I recommend coming here during weekdays. It is definitely much better! In the weekend it can be super crowded. read more

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Been to this park a few times now to ride my one wheel with my fiancé and family. There's always a good amount of people on the weekends and more quiet during the weekdays. The trail is nice, but if you go around raging waters there's a lot of poop everywhere! There's a lake with lots of ducks to look at or to take pictures of. A bbq place with seating and overhead to cover you from the hot sun! *There's a nice playground *Downside is you'd have to pay for parking *A lot of parking lots to park *Public bathroom is never that nice *Few workout stations read more

Lake Cunningham Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

Great Place to be and spend quality time with family and friends. It is well maintained and crowed is also very descent !

This is one of my favorite parks and have come here almost all my life as a San José native. It's about 2 miles walking the car path but 1.5 walking the inside path. There's always people walking here so I feel safe walking along during the day. There's security driving around but I've never had an issue with parking or anything. The security will drive during closing time to ensure everybody is out. During the summer, Raging Waters gets packed and the parking lot there is always full so be aware. This is an amazing park that I've enjoyed more as an adult but still has so much to offer kids. Their playgrounds are spacious and full of fun activities, they have a cool skate/bike park and there's always people around. Watch out for geese poop but otherwise enjoy! read more

Lake Cunningham Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

$6 for a small park is awfully overpriced. The city website does say there is discounted rate of $2 for senior, however, there was no attendant at the entrance booth on a sunday morning, and the pay machine does not have any option for your to choose the senior rate, other than some discount coding thing which I am sure most people don't know... tried to call the number on the paying machine but certainly no one received the phone. Therefore if you are eligible for senior rate and there is no attendant, you either have to pay $6 or leave, which we did. Just for comparison, other park system like east bay regional park is much helpful, the website is always up-to-date, and they do have people answering call even on weekend to address issues right away... read more

Came here for a quick walk. And that walk became 2.5 miles later. Beautiful park with amazing views. Long trails for a good walk/jog/or run. Would definately reccomend coming to this place. Also, due to the pandemic there is free parking. read more

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We had a nice time today at Lake Cunningham Park. We took a nice walk. Others were out so it was fun to do some people watching. Dogs were enjoying the day too. This is an awesome park (once things reopen - not sure when) for Raging Waters, as well as skate boarding. This is one of the best skate parks in the USA. Although not open yet, we still had a good time during this delightful day in JUne. read more

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Parking is $6, barely any shaded areas for picnics or leisure. There was also little to no greenery or any sign of good scenery, since all the plants were dead and the dirt was cracked dry. Do not bring any food to the area either; wasps will overtake your food and sitting area, which is what happened to us, ultimately resulting in us abandoning our food entirely. Overall, not worth it; there are better parks nearby. read more

Oh my gosh talk about childhood memories when I came to visit this park. I still enjoyed seeing the ducks in the lake. It reminds me of when my parents used to take me and my siblings here to feed the ducks some bread after our lunch. I enjoyed passing by raging waters even though it was closed due to Covid and winter season. I would definitely come here and visit if you are local or even if you moved away. That's what I did and I live two hours away and miss this place. There's no place like home. read more

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B E A U T I F U L Lake, gorgeous scenery, and plenty of space :) Perfect place to get some fresh air, go for a nice walk around the lake, or get a little close with nature. Lots of benches and tables so this place would be great for picnics (think some areas require reservation). Warning: A LOT of geese, ducks, etc. I'm also seeing boats for sailing or paddle boating, but I think those are on hold until after the shut downs end. read more

Very big place. Lot of benches for bbq. Not much shade though. Dogs allow. Not really nice scenic view. Can get really hot. Just decent park. Parking is $6 ; just park on glen dundee way and walk over. I only came here for the pokemon meet up to get free lure :) read more

Lake Cunningham Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

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It's great place for picnic and playing the kites. There's a lake to easy make people relax. read more

Lake Cunningham Park - My son loves this park! - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

I've been going to this park essentially my entire life! I have soooo many good memories here, but as of today this park has become much more run down. Just look at what's unfortunately happening to the lake. There's toxic algae in it which has basically closed it for almost an entire year now. Summer in the park is as you'd expect not the best time to go, especially with the closed lake as many of the piers and some pathways are closed/blocked. There is still the water park Raging Waters, but it seems that place isn't as popular anymore as well. So the only reason I'm here now is to go on my runs. Obviously I'm not going to pay to park everyday I decide to go on a run. There is one side of the park by neighborhoods where you can easily find street parking, which is what I do. This is a great place to run at now, especially since not many people come here anymore. I run around here any time between 12pm-6pm and have honestly seen very few people running here (probably because it's HOT!), but I have the whole path to run on to myself w/o other people getting in my way haha. Just watch out for those pesky geese droppings scattered everywhere! read more

Geese paradise, but I feel bad for the fish in this pond. The water is toxic and low on oxygen. The pond doesn't feed out and doesn't receive fresh water so it stagnates. Poop and shady people everywhere. Try lake Almaden for fishing/walking. read more

************************** 563 **************************** What happens to this Lake Cunningham? I used to boating here, but now coming to Raging Water regularly, and brought my nieces by here. This place is a disaster here. Not even a single boat out on week days, not even anyone paddling? All picnic tables were empty? No grass, just weeds, so sad! What happens to our parks and lakes? read more

Lake Cunningham Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

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I use to cone here a lot when I was a kid, but not so much anymore. The water here are dirty and the walk path have a lot of bird poop. They use to have a park area with a play set for kids. Pros: Walk in free. Cons: Dirty 6 dollars parking fee. read more

Lake Cunningham isn't as lively and clean as it was back in the days, but I still find this place pretty relaxing especially on a hot sunny day! My sister and her fiance reserved a spot in Lake Cunningham for my niece's 3rd birthday! The picnic area was nice, and it was next to the parking area, which was really easy to find for the guests that showed up! There are plenty of picnic areas around the park some by the lake and some of them are just behind a small hill! The lake isn't that clean, but few people still attempt to fish and what not. Despite that, it's still a good venue for a bbq or a potluck! There's plenty of grass area to run around and set up different activities near your assigned area. Parking is $6 which I think is pretty reasonable... TIP: Avoid the bathrooms if you can. It's filthy, smelly, and old. :X I guess none of the money they make goes into cleaning their facilities. read more

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This park is so big! There is a one part of the park where you can do exercises in a course-like event. Great to do if you are in need of a spontaneous workout routine. Another section is the lake where I believe I saw either tadpoles or guppies in it. I even saw a man fishing in that lake! Next to the pond was ducks...of which I saw one take a huge dump in front of my face. I still have yet to explore the rest of the park, I'm looking forward to it. read more

Lake Cunningham Park - You can see raging waters from here! - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

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What a GREAT park! My first time here. It's lovely and peaceful with a large lake and lots of room to walk around and see sucks, geese, squirrels, gulls. I especially liked the exercise equipment which is like gym equipment but outdoors. Instead using weights and settings which are hard to maintain and set up, the Greenfield equipment uses your weight, so the heavier you are, the more you work. Brilliantly designed and effective. Parking is $6 (more on holidays) and it's all-day. So if you want to come for a half-hour walk, it's still $6. (But machine was broken the day I went and had a sign that warned that you still have to pay, which means finding another machine in another lot, an annoyance). read more

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We were in town for my sons 14th birthday, he spent the afternoon at Lake Cunningham Skate Park... it made his birthday special and memorable. The staff are genuine and caring... he had a few wipeouts with bleeding wounds, the gal providing him 1st aide was so sweet and wonderful, she bandaged him up and off he went for a few more hours of skateboarding! We are from Washington State and I know he hopes to return to visit the skate park in the future!! read more

This place is picturesque, found my new running spot! There's a really nice trail that encircles the lake, then it suddenly stops when you get to the amusement park nearby, so beware. Lots of kids playing in the multiple play areas, with lots of covered spots to just sit and enjoy nature. What more can a girl ask for? I was in heaven as I watched the sunset- see pictures. Noticed potter potties, no real bathrooms. Also smelled heavily of urine along some spots on the trail- I guess people are too lazy to walk to the designated areas for this? Please don't ruin this place for others' enjoyment. :( read more

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This park is huge, big walking trail, lake, bunch of ducks, nice place to bbq -1 for dead grass. I -1 for all the duck crap everywhere. read more

Lake Cunningham Park - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

Great park for walking, running, and biking. Plenty of picnic areas (subject to reservation) Several poke stops. Lots of ground squirrels and Canadian Geese. New playground. No swimming. Closes at sunset. $6 parking. Several lots. read more

There is definitely a lot to do here. Every 5 steps there is a different section of the lake. The list goes on from the actions sports parks to raging waters. As someone who grew up in the area, this lake was very much a childhood dream. The park now is still always changing. This is a vey underrated park, but if you know then you know. The beauty of lake cunningham is known mostly to the locals. read more

Pretty nice spot to walk or jog or even just hang out and look at the lake. The bathrooms are not that desirable (the doors are pretty low and it's a little dirty), but it is a park. Other than that pretty great view and paths to walk on read more

Lake Cunningham Park - View of Lake - Parks Near Me - San Jose, California

Love it here The quality this park packs in is amazing. You can read all the great reviews detailing the fitness and running paths and you can read about the people complaining about the lake being down this year and nature (insects) ruining their picnics warranting a 1 star review. There is also an incredible skate park with a full pipe (don't think any park nearby has one) and a challenging dirt bike obstacle course. Amazing! You have to pay a very small fee but it's worth it. The ones complaining and low rating this place must be very spoiled bc I can't think of another park in SJ that packs in as much awesome as this one does. I would love to know if there is one though read more

I run here all the time. It's a small regional park, but it's got great trails for short runs. You can pretty much just keep looping all around the place. On nice days there are some really nice views of the lake. Lots of intermediate hills for running intervals. Not a great place to hike, but great for jogging and walks. Only downside is the lake itself is sort of nasty. Water is muddy and cloudy. They actually have closed the lake up for boating and fishing for close to a year now. read more

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