Last week I shared with you my new Parks Rating System which I created in order to review the many small parks throughout Southern California where we can stretch our legs or enjoy a nice afternoon.
This week, I visited a couple of parks I've never been to before and I'm happy to report that I found a couple of gems:
***Brace Canyon Park***
Rating: 4 Paws
Location:2801 Haven Way
Burbank, CA 91504
Brace Canyon Park is located in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood at the base of the Verdugo Mountains. Its a well-maintained and nicely equipped place for the entire pack to spend some quality recreation time.
There's a decent sized parking lot at the entrance and plenty of street parking close by.
The center of the park is a large open grassy area big enough for a soccer game and there's a playground, clean restrooms, and an excellent water fountain that includes a doggy dish. Why doesn't every park have one of these?
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| Perfect for those of us under 2' tall. |
South of the parking lot, a short dirt path (about 1/3 mile) goes around 2 very nice baseball fields and offers a panoramic view of the far eastern end of the San Fernando Valley; including Bob Hope Airport. You can watch the planes takeoff and land without actually hearing them. There's a poop bag dispenser at the start of the path; which is always nice.
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| Lots of trees but I didn't see a single squirrel... |
To the North of the parking lot, a paved walking path takes you through a bunch of shade trees with picnic tables and containers to dispose of your hot coals if you're grilling. There are also four basketball courts and, just across the street, you'll find tennis courts and another small grassy area where you can relax away from the main section of the park.
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| Perfect spot for a picnic; or a roll in the grass. |
A 5-minute drive from Brace Canyon finds you in Sun Valley at the entrance to Villa Cabrini Park.
Its basically a big open field that slopes upward to the base of the Verdugo Mountains. There aren't many amenities; 1 picnic bench, a couple of water fountains and some garbage cans; but it has lots and lots of trees and the grass is plush.
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| A sign at the entrance says to watch for mountain lions! You don't have to tell me twice... |
Its a little off the beaten path so I don't imagine it gets many visitors (we were the only ones there). If you're looking for solitude, walk to the far end of the park - its almost like being in the woods and you're likely to be all by yourself.
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| From here its easy to forget you're in the middle of a residential neighborhood. |
Rating: 2 Paws
***Carl Thornton Park***
Rating: 4 Paws
Location:
1801 W. Segerstrom Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92704
My Pack had to take a work-related ride down to Orange County this week and I got to come along. When we (OK, they) finished working, we opened up our beat-up old Thomas Guide and looked for the closest green space on the map.
You never know what you're going to find looking for parks that way, but it was our lucky day because we discovered a very cool place; Carl Thornton Park in Santa Ana.
This place has everything your pack could want for a great day at the park; lots of nicely maintained grass, immaculate baseball/softball fields and plenty of open space to play football or soccer...its even got a duck pond and a small creek! There were a few people fishing too, although I didn't see them catch anything.
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| No swimming! Bummer... |
A paved walkway goes for about half a mile around the East end of the park with a couple of small bridges to help you cross the creek. I personally went around the bridges because what good is a creek if you don't get your paws wet?
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| Not many city parks have a creek in them...nice touch Santa Ana. |
Near the parking lot are some restrooms and there are plenty of water fountains spread throughout the park. The only thing this place lacks for us canines is a poop bag dispenser, so make sure you bring your own.
Pack Leader noted that the parking lot is rather small and there didn't seem to be much street parking available, so make sure you get here early on nice weekends.
Oh, I almost forgot; there are hundreds of birds in this place so watch out where you step!
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| We saw about a dozen different kinds of birds around the pond. |
That's it for this week's blog. Make sure you tell your pack you want to visit these great parks and check out my other blogs for some more great places to visit.
See you on the trail!
Chloe Canine-Angeleno
All photographs were taken by my pack leader, Jim Gross
Everything else was discovered, as usual, by getting my paws dirty and the extensive use of my nose.
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