Great place to fish with the kids. Went with my son and his Boy Scouts group. Although it was slim picking, it was an overall nice outing. The park is kept clean. read more

Awesome place. I've never caught any fish though. Boat rentals are reasonable. They really don't care if you bring beer or bottles. If you want a new fishing spot, this could the spot. read more

Unfortunately, a friend and I came here with high spirits and left in disappointment. Guest service here is spotty and moody. Frances, who works on the boating dock, has a big chip on his shoulders and is very loud, brash, and underhandedly condescending. He did not show that he was 100% confident of the rules and regulations of his own work area. The staff in the concession stand and on the docks all need sensitivity training--and need a refresher in customer service, in general. When my friend and I asked for reasonable accommodation to a misunderstanding, things immediately became hostile. The apathy unstable work ethic at this park are rampant. Our call-out of vague park rules, misinformation, lack of information on-site and online, and pick-and-choosy enforcement of said apparent regulations got us kicked out of the park, with no full or partial refund of our boat rental fee. But, on the positive side, our encounter with the less-than-cordial Frances must have subconsciously motivated him to actually do his job as a customer service representative and be fair and equal to all other patrons that arrived after us, thus, hopefully, contributing to their happy Easter Sunday. There's the silver lining. What really tipped the scale was the lack of support from the on-site ranger. He did not show any compassion toward us as guests in his park. Though he potrayed a slightly more professional demeanor than Frances, he was in no way acting with professionalism. We were labeled as "liars" and given a business card with a point-of-contact and number to call, but that we "probably won't have any luck, so...." The park and lake is well-maintained, surprisingly. Prices were fair for entry, fishing licenses, and boat rental. But that's not enough to get some people to return for a next visit. I do not intend for my one review to deter future visitors from enjoying the park. I'm just putting it out there that this place isn't AS perfect and awesome as previous reviewers have stated. Our experience was the flipside of that coin. read more

The lake here is beautiful and there are many wonderful trails too. I hiked the trail through blue sky ecological preserve and the sights and trees there were worth the trek. I then hiked all the way up to lake Ramona which is a hike! I recommend that you don't do what I did and bring water and don't wear jeans! It's pretty hot there, it is one heck of a view and is very peaceful. I intend to return and see potato chip rock in the other direction. read more

Hosted a Mother's Day Picnic and BBQ there. Was looking for a place that that mom's could relax with a beverage of their choice and the dad's could keep track of the kids. The park was great. Well maintained and clean. Plenty of things for the kids to do between the play areas, paddle boats, and feeding the ducks.. Highly recommend it for a nice casual relaxing outing. By the way the paddle boating is harder than it looks...... read more

This is the coolest park in all of San Diego. My favorite part is the boat rental dock. There is a super cool dude who is known as The Honster- the dock master. Friendliest guy in San Diego. He knows everything about fishing and is really good at rescuing stranded boaters. I recommend that you rent a boat and pretend to get stranded. Offer the Honster a beer in appreciation for the rescue, he will graciously decline but it's the thought that counts! read more

Every time we come to Lake Poway I always wonder why we don't visit more. It's a beautiful green grassy park with plenty of shade trees and a decent amount of parking. $5 entry fee is a little questionable but it's not too bad...if that's what keeps it so nice, clean and green...then I guess it is worth it. read more

Recommended by family in the area as we were visiting from out of town. 1. They charge $10 for non-Poway residents. Not a big deal just make your stay worth it. 2. Several play structures for kids of all ages. Also lots of shade to sit in while the kiddos play. 3. Lots of parking all around the park. 4. The lake is very underrated but you can rent paddle boats and fish from the shore or a small dock. No SWIMMING - not that you would want to...the water is pretty gross. 5. Lots of hiking options but bring all your water with you as the only place to fill up are some rather dirty water fountains. 6. The park is right next to a water treatment plant so if the wind is blowing it can get smelly. read more

only a 30 minute drive from San Diego. I liked that the place was not overcrowded on Sunday. I enjoyed it a lot and can't wait to come back. read more

So not impressed. I thought it would be fun to go here with the family and take a walk around the lake but it was not at all what I expected. The "lake" is small, ugly, and industrial and you couldn't set foot in it even if you wanted to. There is nothing scenic about it and the picnic areas are on steep hills. The only positive is a nice little playground for kids which is the least they can do since the kids can't actually go in the lake. What's the point? read more

Really beautiful place had a lot of fun with paddle boats. I tried to catch come bass they were extremely finicky probably because the lake is heavily fished umm only thing I can complain is that they close early on weekdays read more

It's all about summer concert series!!! A great place to relax, throw the frizbbie, rent a boat and go on the lake to fish or relax. I recommend this lake, especially in the summer when they have the summer concert series. Get there EARLY for this series as the parking lot fills up quick! read more

Honestly one of my favorite lakes to fish, but there's a park ranger that always yells at everyone, harasses people and threatens to ban everyone from the lake. I've never met someone so rude to paying customers that fish the lake. I fish the lake 2-3 times a week and will continue fishing but every time I run into this ranger he's either threatening to kick someone out of the lake or yelling at them. read more

After arriving at the lake and finding out the system was down and you couldn't rent boats Ann T at the front gate took over and made sure that all of your clientele was very well taken care of nice job Ann read more

Great place to spend some time outdoors and has a variety of things to do and see. There's various areas that meet your choice of activity needs: picnics on the grass, bbq grills and tables, playgrounds for the kiddos, big fields for sports games, fishing/boating, ducks to feed, and hiking. The most popular hike is probably the trail leading to Potato Chip rock but I have not attempted it yet as it is apparently a 7 mile hike with a lot of incline. But the photos that people take are fun and I'm sure the views are amazing. The trails do seem to get busy on weekends but not a big deal. Truthfully, the whole park gets busy on weekends so be prepared to take a little time searching for a parking spot. If you want a bbq grill then plan to get there early to reserve a spot. Otherwise, there should be plenty of grassy areas to plop a blanket down and enjoy! read more

Always beautiful here and very well maintained. We had our company picnic and I was pleasantly surprised at all the room and shade we had. I love this place and come here a dozen times a year. read more

Absolutely beautiful park. I really loved it. Well maintained, just lovely. Had a picnic there and it was delightful!

This is my little go to fishing spot. I don't always catch something but the view is great. I usually just rent a little boat and float around for a few hours. The customer service at the concession stand is always friendly and the prices are some of the cheapest around...hands down. I'd fish somewhere else if you go with more than two people though. The hike to potato chip rock is pretty fun too. read more

Love this place! It is so nice and peaceful. Perfect for a picnic, rowing a boat, hiking or riding a horse.

This is such a cool place to come hiking. About a 10 mile hike, but worth it to see how great the view is. Not recommended for beginners but even if u are... Go do it anyways. The views are awesome from start to finish. read more

Gorgeous view all the way around. We haven't hiked the trail to Potato Rock Chip from this side yet, but looking forward to it. This place is nice to bring your kids to feed ducks and take a boat ride. Btw, if you're not a resident of Poway, it is $5 to park. read more

Love it!!!!! They have playgrounds based on age groups. One for toddlers and 2 other playgrounds for older kids. My little one is a tot, so we stayed in the little 2-5 year old playground. Plenty of grass, nice hikes. Big lake. It appears it's also an alcohol friendly park, I saw it was for sale at the little snack shop, but we did not inquire about the "rules." They also have a nice deck attached to the snack shop that provides a nice escape from the southern California sun. Parking was 5$ and is collected at the gate *cash only* Poway residents park free. read more

Nice place to take the dog for a walk. A few hiking trails and ball fields, paddle boats, fishing, ducks. No swimming though. You can spend 2-3 hours here hiking and just relaxing it's really pretty nice. Parking can be a stone circle death match though, so be mentally prepared. read more

Great place for picnic ,hiking and fishing ! The parking is free during the week for everyone and at weekend is $ 5 and free for poway residents ....... read more

Went there today 4.2.17 at 11:30 AM. We were told by the girl at the booth, parking has doubled to $10 per day. We paid it because we wanted to have lunch there and rent a boat, as we had done the year prior. When we went to the snack bar to get lunch and a boat they were both closed. We waited around for an hour waiting to see if someone showed up to open the snack bar and the boat rentals. Nobody ever came to open them up, so we left. I pulled over to the entrance booth to ask why we weren't told about the closures and when they would open. Before I could say anything, a older ranger man yelled at me "WHAT!!!". The guy was a complete jerk. I asked him why I wasn't told before and he yelled "it is what it is". This place has deteriorated into an ugly place. I recommend Santee Lakes, it's 100% nicer in every way. I'll never go back to this dump. read more

Of all the local parks this is the one I like the best. A little greener than the others which is refreshing as we are facing a drought. The lake is nice and still actually has water in it. The hikes are easy, the terrain is nice, varied, not too steep, good eye candy, and the people who come here are mellow and nice. The surrounding area is up scale, the only downside can be that the parking lots can get a bit on the full side. Worth the extra drive for the incremental amount of enjoyment as compared to some of the other local parks. read more

Great area to relax and spend time with family and friends! We held my son's birthday party here this past weekend. Paid $5 to enter since it was the weekend (and we aren't Poway residents). We were able to find a perfect spot on the hill to grill. There is plenty of grass to roll around in and lots of shade. The bathrooms were close by and the park attendant was very good at emptying the trash for us every few hours. The bait shop was walking distance from us-we rented a paddle boat for an hour. They don't allow glass bottles (in case anyone wants to bring alcohol) and they do sell beer at the snack shop. We will definitely come back often to hike and fish! read more

Read the reviews and thought we could make an afternoon here fishing with my 10 y/o son who's a fishing enthusiast. Read some reviews that said it was a good place to catch bass. We stopped in at the concession store to get some baits. We were told we had to buy a day use license, $3 for our son, $6 for my husband, good only at this lake. Got there and the lake is almost crystal clear but very small. No boats, no swimming, and although we saw lots of fishes, no bites at all for the whole 3.5 hrs we were there. The lake area itself was nothing to gloat about but the picnic benches and grass areas were nice and there were people there eating lunch. I regret wasting 4 hrs of my time there. Good if you want to sit down in shaded areas for lunch, take a stroll or feed ducks but not good for fishing and no swimming. read more

Amazing hiking trails. Beautiful picnic spots. Fun lake activities. Poway Lake is an incredible place to go while in North 'County

Mt. Woodson trail was a great hike. Plan on doing it again but maybe not on a holiday. Very crowded but the people were all very friendly and courteous. read more

The loop around Lake Poway is 2 miles and this makes it a fantastic little jog. You can go around 2x or more for a complete workout.

hiked to potato chip rock with my cousin once here. 5 years later, she has a picnic for an after wedding activity here. the lake view is very nice. pretty good picnic spot, but got very windy when we were there, and the food started to get blown over. read more

try to come in the winter when the stream in the back of the lake is flowing! I visited this summer and it was dry (obviously), but i cant wait to return when its up! read more

Great place! Great get-a-way! I come here all the time to hike, jog, bike & BBQ. The place is wide open during the week, anytime of year, you almost have the whole place to yourself. They do charge $5 to park but that is only on the weekends from April to October, after that it is free. Perfect timing for the best outdoor weather, November - March. I don't fish but my friends do, mostly Bass. They swear by this lake but said it was hard to learn. Nice, clean and open. I will keep coming back. read more