This is the closest park to my house and it's always looked like a nice and clean park. Today, I…read moretook my 2 pugs here for a 10 minute stroll and they didn't want to move. I felt the "grass" and it was painful to the touch. Like a bunch of needles stabbing me. This is disappointing that the mostly dead grass is also razor sharp. Wish the city (or whoever is responsible) would be able to at least make the grass safe for dogs to walk on or children. If a child falls, their hands will be stabbed. Come on, Bakersfield! Please use my property tax money to turn the sprinklers on at the park next to my house! Thanks!

This park is clean and fun to go to. My daughter always has a good time! Definitely a return park…read morefor us!

Decent local park with sports park areas. Attached to the school. It's a good place to walk the…read moredogs or to take a walk- especially when the weather is nice. Kids at night load up the park- I wouldn't recommend going after dark.

Great expansive park with plenty of grassy areas to roam with the kids the dog - on a leash of…read morecourse. There's even a paved walkway all the way around the park which is great for walking. You'll find full sized basketball courts, four smaller baseball diamonds + one larger and a splash pad. We've also always see a ranger closing up towards the evening - which is nice to see. This is a great park for the community.

We recently had a special yearly tradition for The Park at River Walk, the Memorial Day Thousand…read moreFlags Ceremony. The entire park is covered in USA flags and it is always an awe inspiring sight. The day of ceremony always draws a large crowd. I took the family dog on a walk the night before to avoid the heat and enjoy the sight. It was nice to have a quieter moment to soak in the flags. It's also good to see families and friends gather at this awesome local park. It's nice to see the the park is being reinvested in with the playground currently under construction to bring in new equipment. I'll have to post some pictures of the structure once it's done!

The Park at River Walk is a lively place for people to have picnics, enjoy a walk/run, admire the…read morewildlife, or head to the Dignity Amphitheater for events. My best friend and I took a break from studying so that we can go for a walk here. Honestly, this park is so nice and I wouldn't mind laying out a blanket on the grass and reading under a tree. It was a refreshing place to relax our minds. I loved seeing the ducks and geese wading in the water. For the most part, the park is kept clean but it makes me sad to see garbage accumulate where the animals swim.

The water wasn't turning on. We called at 12:04pm and they told us, "well it's only 12:04pm. Keep…read morepressing on the buttons and wait." We then called at 12:10pm, they said they would send a worker. A worker never came after we waited even longer. We left. Kids were sad :( upsetting day.

This is a nice park that we use for walking. There are a lot of big trees, and the "footprint" the…read moreshade provides is very good. We generally walk the outer edges of the shade in order to avoid the sun and the heat. The park is clean, including the restrooms. The times we have been here there were no encampments of those down on their luck. The outer perimeter of this park is somewhere like 1200 steps if you are counting. With the mature trees present, about 70% of this walking is in the shade if you go in the morning.

Raised my kids and now grandkids here! Great park with a great field of grass with plenty of room…read morefor parties and BBQ's Excellent playgrounds with basketball courts and clean bathrooms

I would think they would update the parks that are already here and watch on how fast everyone…read moreproperty value will go up good clean and updated desperately needed parks and just think about it how the community can all come together and help bring life back into our once beautiful parks

Came to this park for a Dog Vaccine clinic. Park is wide, mini hills, not too busy. The baseball…read morefields were all in use with children. Shady areas near the road. Tons of parking. Husband said bathrooms were not that great. It's public. I understand.

This is a great little park. It's well taken care of/maintained and has 2 different playgrounds.read more

My review is based on the NOR Basketball League. While they…read moredo have nice basketball indoor courts with two refs per game, My complaint is the price of the NOR league has skyrocketed $35 per person up from $50, which is crazy considering they don't supply uniforms, but require it for your team. The courts have a dividing curtain, but the bell they use is too loud in general, and connected to the same system so you hear the other courts' buzzers which is confusing and annoying. If you could fix these issues and do something about the price (whether it be discounts for repeat players/team or provide some sort of customizable jerseys as part of the package would make us feel better about dropping $85 to play for 6 weeks of games.) Lastly, open basketball times need more slots and later in the evenings, most of us are at work during open gym.

Amazing park for large group events…read more My work recently held their annual picnic and opted to upgrade from Yokuts. We ended up choosing RiverLakes Ranch due to their multiple shaded picnic areas all connected via a concrete pad. We reserved all three online through the North of the River website. When we arrived a ranger was there to open the bathrooms, and had the trash bins empty and ready to use. There's also a nice childrens play area, grassy area (albeit overrun with ground squirrels) and a very nice community center. Our group was all very complimentary about the new location and no doubt we will be back!

North Rosedale Park is a rich green 14.4 acre oasis perfect for outdoor activities smack in the…read moremiddle of dry brown Bakersfield, and until today I never even knew it was here. My friend, Joan, likes to bring her dogs here to play and get exercise, but I'd never joined her so I was missing out on all the other opportunities there are here for good clean outdoor fun in the sun. There's quite a bit of equipment for children of all ages to clamber about and plenty of bark below to help soften a fall. There are public restrooms, though I did notice that there were also port-a-potties out front - not sure what was up with that. There is a large covered area with long picnic tables and adjacent barbecue grills perfect for large groups to picnic. You can reserve this picnic shelter, which has a capacity of 80 people, for your own group by contacting the NOR Parks & Recreation District at 392-2010 and filling out an application which can be downloaded here http://norfun.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/FR-100-Use-of-Facility-Online-Packet.pdf If you're into outdoorsy sports, there are four lighted sofball diamonds complete with bleachers. There is also a full sized tennis court, a full sized basketball court, and two basketball half courts. There were people practicing or playing on two of the baseball diamonds and on the tennis courts and random people picnicking with families the day of our visit. There is plenty of grass for kids or dogs to play on (please clean up after both groups) and picnic tables scattered randomly about the park. I think I may join my friend and her dogs for their next outing here.

It isn't the most glamorous parks but it gets the job done with the huge fields, the basketball…read morecourt and the playground. My kids love it right after school so it is one of our major places to attend.

We had an amazing morning walking my pup at the Kern River Parkway! It was a gorgeous day, and…read morethere were plenty of squirrels for him to try to befriend. We obviously stopped to grab a morning cafecito as we embarked on our walk! There was so much life happening! People walking their dogs, jogging, biking, and just enjoying the beautiful Bakersfield weather. Such a fun and peaceful time. I'll definitely be bringing my pup here more often!

I cycle all over the USA and some other countries, so last Sunday thankfully I was able to travel…read moreto Bakersfield to cycle the 20 mile (40 mile RT) paved Kern River Parkway Bike Trail I heard so much about. First I just have to say that the other cyclists I met on the trail here was so friendly that I thought that I was in Louisiana. What I mean is that when I am cycling in Irvine, Newport Beach or Santa Monica where I ride most of the time, less than 5% of other cyclists will say hello to you and less than 5% of other cyclists will respond if you say hello to them. But in Bakersfield, at least 75% of the cyclists that I past on the path said hello to me!! I could not believe it! I did not know what was going on? I was not used to that hospitality. What do they put in the water in Bakersfield? Maybe they all knew I was not from the City so they were being friendly--they probably all knew one another? It was a weird contrasting experience to life in LA. Anyway--I can write a book about my day on the Trail but will keep it concise: I parked at the River Walk Park which is located at 11298 Stockdale Hwy, 93311 (for those not from the city). Or you can can park at the outdoor shopping mall next door that has lot's of restaurants and a Target. (Don't park in front of any stores to bike ride--park in the middle or back.) From here, I first road the Trail West 9 miles to the end point. It's a lonely desolate stretch--I have never ridden anywhere where I was so alone for miles with no roads or cars. You can ride as fast as you want over here and bother no one. Every so often I came across someone. I did see a few single men and women riding alone that made me feel better. Then I returned to the River Walk Park--had lunch at the car from my cooler and then traveled East on the Path to the end. The East section passes bike stores, exit Coffee Road (which comes up right away) for Trader Joe's or Sully's Convenience Store or Starcrooks. You pass many parks and lakes and some restrooms. I saw on the East section of the path along the Kern River an Ecological Disaster with tons of garbage all over the river bed, graffiti, and homeless camping for endless miles. Some of the homeless were so entrenched that they had well developed tents, backyards, dogs, and even hanging clothes up to dry as if they have been living there for a long time. There were certain sections that were either scary or disconcerting riding the path alone. I felt like I needed to bring a handgun for protection to do this ride. As nice as it was having 20 miles of no car, well paved bike path in each direction, I am not sure I would do this ride again alone--I would if I returned with a riding partner. I gave the path 5 stars out of respect for Bakersfield years ago taking the planning time and resources to build a great bike and walking trail for the public. But what I saw going on along at least 8 miles of that path was an absolute disgrace that if was in charge of this city I would not tolerate for a second. I would fight every legal battle to return that River bed and it's adjacent areas to the condition it was 20 years ago. You do not have a right to set up residence in a public area. What I saw will cost tax payers Billions of Dollars in environmental cleanup. And yes, here is LA this is a problem too. Overall it was a Great day in Bakersfield--I can tell some of the best people in California live here.

I had some time inbetween meetings while in downtown Bakersfield and wanted some fresh air under a…read moreshaded tree, so I pulled up to Jastro Park and took some time to enjoy this nice public space. It was great to see it a buzz with a large family gathering bumping good tunes, individuals escaping the heat in a similar fashion to myself, and folks taking pictures. It's cool to see the city continue to invest into this park with the pickle ball courts and upgrades being done for the pavilion. I need to come back to get some time on those pickle ball courts!

If anyone was at the Juneteenth event here on Saturday, and was at the playground, I was the girl…read morethat fell backwards whilst swinging up high and landed on my side. I feel a bit embarrassed now, it is too late to be embarrassed, my pelvis, hips and arm are very sore now, when I hit the ground, my legs felt limp...My experience, not very good and had to be extra careful.