We came here today and I honestly don't understand the positive reviews. It's a smallish park that is quite ordinary looking and you walk around a circle of grass. It's very popular with dog walkers but not much to see in terms of flowers or landscaped scenary. Lots of trees that look wind blown and tired. There's a warning about coyotes. This is supposed to be coyote territory so I was scared to venture beyond the busier main area to explore. There's also a small community garden nearby but it's locked up and you can't enter it but it's super small so you can see pretty much everything from the outside of the fence. A bit of a sad park. I recommended Blake Garden in Kensington which has very limited hours but there's so much more to see there and it's also free. read more

"Secret gem with beautiful gardens." I had no idea this park existed until recently. I had a pleasant time walking around the grounds and checking out the trees and the other plants. There's also a community garden, very close by. I had a nice chat with a gardener there. You rent out a space for a small amount per year. There doesn't appear to be many facilities. But parking is plentiful. I would've liked some brochures but I did not see any. I guess they're online only read more

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I love this park- I spent a lot of time walking and doing yoga here during Covid. This park helped keep me sane during that period I haven't been in a while, but I wanted a nice place to walk my foster dogs. I love that it's cooler and shaded here verses going on walks at other places. I always find something new and stunning when I go. We usually go during the week and never have trouble parking read more

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The parking lot here is convenient, making it easy to pay a visit. I went running along the Galindo Creek Trail and was able to explore this beautiful park and nature area which includes a tree walk, bridges crossing over the creek (partially dried up in summer), community garden, and international garden, with maps on site and trees and plants clearly labeled. I admired the variety of species along the pathways of this serene environment, including the century plant "alba" and grey honey myrtle. I appreciated the scenery as well as the grassy field ideal for picnicking. Lots to love about the place. read more

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What an incredible asset in Concord! I grew up in WC nearby and never even knew about this park. I recently found it driving down Cowell and decided to pull into a nondescript parking lot. Turned out to be a great decision because it's so beautiful. It has a lovely green in the center with plants from around the world around the green. It also appears to connect to a trail. There are lots of volunteers working on the gardens and there seems to be a summer camp here too. read more

Markham Nature Park & Arboretum - Parks Near Me - Concord, California

It's a beautiful park, full of squirrels, birds, trees and lovely paths. See photo below.

This park is sooo beautiful! Its a secret park lol , the only bad thing is you can only sit on grass not many benches or tables to enjoy the day. read more

Markham Nature Park & Arboretum - Small lake - Parks Near Me - Concord, California

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My boyfriend and I stopped by this park, after eating at the Veranda in Concord, Ca. Pro's: 1. Safe area (you drive through several homes before finding this gem) 2. Lots of parking 3. Beautiful flowers and plants to look at 4. A large grass area for you to have picnics in or to walk your dog 5. There's a garden area you can look at, but only from outside the gate Con's: 1. It's a small park, so don't expect to have a lot of trails Overall, I enjoyed the area and loved seeing all of the different flowers. Follow me on Instagram if you'd like to see more of my photos: https://instagram.com/dabi_photography read more

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Great little hidden gem garden! Very quiet and secured in a residential neighborhood. Multiple walking paths read more

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Okay, I'll admit it... I'm kind of a bad local resident. I love traveling and discovering the beauty of my state, but this often leads me to neglect the hidden gems that are practically located right within my backyard. The Markham Nature Park & Arboretum is one of those wonderful hidden treasures that I've recently rediscovered. I say "REdiscover" because I've been here before a few times in the past, but I never took the time to actually explore it. This stunning arboretum is hidden off Cowell road and features an array of different flowers, plants, cultural gardens, and walking trails. There's a small parking lot located off of La Vista ave that offers free parking for visitors and street parking right along Cowell road. The entrance from Cowell road will take you along the main walking path that spans about 2.5 miles. The path will actually lead you to the Newhall Community Park where you can connect to a ton of other local hiking trails. I am so impressed at the variety of different plants that this little park actually holds! There's an international garden that contains a Mediterranean, Asian, and South African minor. It's incredible to think that plants from other countries can survive just fine in our very own climate. There's an abundance of bright and colorful flowers as well as the most eye catching succulents. As many of the locals may already know, Concord can get HAAAWT! However, this cute little park has several shaded areas with picnic tables where you can relax and take in the view. If you're not super plant savvy like myself, you can follow the informational placards posted within the park that will offer some great information about all of the varying foliage. I even found a couple of fruit trees along the path. I was most intrigued by the President's Grove! The park itself has so many different species of trees and even features a "tree walk" where you can walk, explore, and identify the multitude of different trees. But, the President's Grove is just absolutely stunning! I'm a lover of Redwoods and although the trees within this grove aren't, they still emit the same enticing beauty. The trees are tall and the air smells clean. I can't believe that something so remarkable is located right in lil' ol' Concord of all places! If you're a local, you should definitely put a visit to this nature park on your to-do list! You'll be surprised at how something so amazing can be located right smack dab in the middle of the city. read more

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So beautiful and peaceful to spend quite time while learning different species of plants, trees, flowers from around the globe. read more

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A local gem with a small garden, a creek and a nature trail. Lots of beautiful flowers this spring time. read more

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I just found out about Markham Nature Park & Arboretum. It's only 18 minutes away from my home. Peaceful, nice and safe park. Will be back for sure. read more

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An absolutely beautiful and peaceful way to spend an afternoon. The main international park with flowers, trees, and shrubs from different world climates is lovely, although it can get crowded on weekends with parties. But the main part of the park is huge, and it's easy to find someplace away from people to read or meditate by the babbling brook. read more

Beautiful plants that are labeled and walking area! There's also a community garden and a small creek as well.

Wonderful gem! As my son is recovering from an illness he found this 1 and only peaceful, beautiful, and mostly relaxing park. This park became part of our daily lunchtime routine. It would be most appreciative to have rest rooms though. read more

A hidden gem with walkable path, streams, pretty trees and more! We took our baby here for a photoshoot and enjoyed the park and surroundings. Great for a stroll and be out in nature. We live 15 mins away and didn't know this place existed so close to us until our photographer told us. We would totally come back and hang out with her here again on a nice weather day! read more

This is a fabulous park and perfect for a Family Portrait. In the fall the leaves are beautiful and colorful. Great lighting and lots of places to shoot photographs. read more

"BUNNIES!!!," squeals my until-then cranky daughter while we were walking along the small creek. "I will call them Oreo (black-and-white bunny) and Caramel (caramel-colored bunny)." She then proceeded to speculate on the relationship of the two bunnies and told me that we should try to see if we could find where their burrows were. So look for burrows we did while walking through the footpath amidst the shrubs, trees, and various flora. "SQUIRRELS!!!," squeals she again. "I will name that one Nutcracker, and that one Sugar Plum, and that one Candy Apple, and that one...." We then proceeded to watch these squirrels (all seven of them, all named by the little girl) look for nuts and speculated on how it would be amazing if they were friends and how bad it would be if they were in a war. It took a considerable time before she deemed it proper to explore the trail some more. "FALCON!!!," squeals the little girl, "I will name him Soren. This is the best afternoon ever!" Admittedly, this place is tiny. However, it is quiet. So quiet that the entire duration of our visit made us feel as if we were the only people there and that we weren't smack dab in the middle of Concord. But I truly love this park for sparking such enthusiasm and excitement in my little girl. Also, it is wonderful to watch her imagination working (with the animals' secret lives), which is something that is lacking in today's children diversions (i.e. video games). Other good points: 1. Plenty of parking 2. Shaded areas 3. Community garden So yes, even if Markham Arboretum is not as big as other parks, it still gets a five-star rating from me -- for sparking my daughter's imagination and for giving us a little getaway from the hectic pace of Concord. read more

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I love this place. It's tucked away in a quiet residential neighborhood. It's beautiful and serene. I love the different trees-native and exotic. Even trees from other countries are here. If you learn to appreciate trees, you'll be amazed by how much trees and plants they have here and the amount of work the volunteers and the Markham Regional Arboretum Society do in the upkeep of this place. There's a map towards the back of the parking lot that will guide you in doing the tree walk. In the tree walk you will learn about brief characteristics of each tree in the park. They have a corresponding number on the map and on the ground. A few of the trees were not there anymore. They also have a nursery where they sell plants but they're not open every day. I usually bring a blanket while my son play by the big tree. We had occasional play dates here too and we'd bring a ball and the kids can play. Not a lot of people here usually. Just people walking their dogs occasionally. The sad part is that there's occasional questionable people here that probably deter some visitors from coming here. Today there were some guys hanging out in the gazebo. I got there first with my son and his friend from his school. Then my friend and her kids came second. We passed by the area but far away from them since my son was walking on the paved area. When my friend came she said that the guys were smoking marijuana. I said it smelled like some kind of herbs and she said no, it smelled marijuana. And she confirmed it again when we passed by again on our way back to our cars. This is a nice place with some shady characters at times. And when I was doing my tree walk there were a couple hiding in the bushes smoking. We stayed away from them and they didn't bother us. There's a lot of nice people in the area walking their dogs and I talked to some of them. They said that police officers patrol this area frequently and that made this area better. And they have a neighborhood watch as well. I'm not about to call the police on these people when I don't really know what I'm smelling or I had positive evidence that they were doing something illegal. But it saddens me to know that a beautiful park like this would have this type of activities especially when there's families and kids around. There was also a human waste by the tree walk. And there's a port-a-potty nearby. Why? I don't know why. I wish I have answers to the ills of society. read more

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Hidden from the busy Concord streets, Markham Nature Park is in a world of its own. When you pull into the parking lot, you're immediately given the option to walk near a creek or through the grassy area. It's a mini place to explore and quite beautiful/well-maintained. Apart from the tree walk, open space, and trails - they also have a nursery and plant sales. They have some of the most unique flowers and plants for sale as well as many tomatoes! If you're looking to have a relaxing day out in nature, I suggest giving this park a shot. You'll love it! read more

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Really pretty park, but rather small. It's a nice change of scenery if you want a place to relax and stroll among pretty plants or sit on the lawn. There are lots of shrubs, trees, and pretty flowers. We did see a lot of litter by the creek, and some kids who looked like we'd caught them in the middle of something wrong when we glanced their direction. But we've had no problems here. read more

The boy and I came here last weekend because we were suffering from food coma and I wanted to take a walk somewhere. It was a gorgeous day in Concord so why not go see some flowers and trees? Markham Nature Park was pretty small and only had one main trail to walk along (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cOMmDsDYjfmlaS1M0MDVzQ?select=YBAtCpq8YRMP6qKm_T3MKw). We saw some people walking their dogs and teenagers chilling there too. We also passed by this lawn area with a gazebo that I thought looked like a nice area for a wedding (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cOMmDsDYjfmlaS1M0MDVzQ?select=V8p9Yb6xvzdeRlphaFe8dA). There was also a little creek (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cOMmDsDYjfmlaS1M0MDVzQ?select=ntVItL1GvUIdkoWBcCToIg) running through the park and colorful flowers (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cOMmDsDYjfmlaS1M0MDVzQ?select=IMokMIqjkE1Jc_xe1U9Q5g) to gaze at. I was somewhat disappointed because I was expecting a larger area with more variety of flora to observe but it did its job in providing us the trail and shade we needed. Maybe I can explore it more next time I'm in town. One last pic (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/cOMmDsDYjfmlaS1M0MDVzQ?select=SU4mLUYiep1g9TR6R4vArg)! read more

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What a hidden gem! Sunday afternoon walk in this park: - lots of picnic area/grass area, but bring a waterproof blanket if coming in the Spring as there's wet grass - allow 2 hrs if you have time to read the plant signs at a leisurely pace - 1.5 hrs is what we spent as we had a very active 2 yr old; great place for a toddler to run - hope there's budget to help replace some of the missing signs near plants - really beautiful place and seems like the volunteers truly enjoy taking good care of this place! read more

So beautiful. A little piece of heaven tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Love the gardens and all the native trees. It gives us many ideas why trees will work at our house. read more

This was not exactly what I had imagined, but it was a really amazing place. Trees are numbered, there are little maps at the start of the trail. It is next to a creek. There are at least 30 numbered trees, the pamphlet tells a bit about each tree. It is not a hiking trail by any means, if you are looking to hike or walk for miles, go somewhere else. This place is meant to enjoy the serenity and learn about the gorgeous trees. We are all about hands on and getting out, took the kiddies here-- the walk wore them out and they were having a blast telling me the number of the tree and then listening to the description. Definitely coming again in spring and summer! Little hidden gem. read more

Wonderful park! I just discovered it my neighborhood and absolutely loved it. It's a true hidden gem - beautiful blooming flowers, trees, share, little trails. There is a trail on the back that connects this park with Newhall too! read more

I love coming here to just enjoy the air & get out. Its always kept clean & the plants are beautiful. The walk is also very lovely. A nice hidden gem here in Concord. read more

So pretty out here and hidden in the back of a little road. Bring your dogs and explore the beautiful plants.

A very beautiful stroll- nice to just get out and relax outdoors with my son and boyfriend :)

My fiance and I took our pup to the park Sunday. The weather was nice and so was the park. It was a bit smaller then Id thought-when we parked there was some teenagers in the parking lot throwing a football around. However, I did wish they had a water faucet but all in all in it was a nice park :) read more

I dunno, I just don't care for this place. I guess it isn't big enough for me. I've come twice and felt underwhelmed. I'm off to another hiking grounds. read more

It is pretty, and a nice place to take a relaxing stroll. The downside is, you may be walking over broken beer bottles or watching drugs get sold as you take the nice little nature walk. It seems the ideal place for the local High School stoners to buy and smoke their weed. Not too threatening, as they seem to want to avoid everyone. read more

This is a great little park hidden between Cowell & Clayton Rd. Parts of it have a rustic, naturistic feel to it, which is a nice surprise to find something like that so close to home. You can walk along the creek, or check out their community garden, or hang out in the grassy area. The only downside to it is apparently the area with the redwood grove has become a popular hang out for a lot of teen partiers (who I've seen out there a lot) who dump their cigarette butts, booze bottles and other trash there on the ground. Not good. Still a great park, but a bit frustrating with the litterbug teens spoiling part of it. read more

This is a great little park hidden away in the middle of Concord. The city and I'm guessing volunteers seem to take great care if the wide variety of plants and flowers here, and there's a nice big grassy area that my daughter to run around in. It's close to our house so we try to walk over there several times a week, I've noticed a lot less stoners in the parking lot which is great! read more

wonderful place however do not climb in the trees like the idiot in one of amy p's pictures !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

Cute place but on the small side. It's definitely hidden; we drove past twice because the entrance was so small we missed the landmarks both times! I thought the arboretum was beautiful and a lovely idea considering the area seems to be tucked in the backyards of the surrounding neighborhood. read more