Westlake Park

Cute city park with a large artificial pond, shore birds, fountain, redwood trees, lawn, and loop trail. Multiple benches and three picnic tables. Open sunrise to sunset. Lots of street parking.

Came to Santa Cruz for beach but it was so windy so we decided to come visit this park. Really good park with cute little pond and lots of benches and picnic areas.

Nice playground and fishing for people 16 and under and 65 and over.
Lots of nice grass for a picnic too.

It’s more of a dog park but also great for picnic

Great little pond for looking at ducks. Also a nice little playground for kids to play!

Its so pretty! I want to go back with my actual camera and take pictures!

Love this park. It is clean and peaceful. Great place for a walk. Big green space for picnic or play. A real Santa Cruz treasure.

Very beautiful and a good place to take a walk…

Great grassy area to play, newplay structure and the best kids under 15 can go fishing.you can observe a good variety of wild life to.

Multiple ducks flooding everywhere. Great for a picnic! Very chill environment with a cute playground. Nice trail to walk around .There is also a big field to play sports of any kind. Definitely recommend coming here!

One of the ducks that lives here wears a hairpiece. DO NOT MAKE FUN OF THIS DUCK. He is very sensitive and gentle at heart

WHO... KNEW...?!
How did I never know this park was there in 9 years of living in Santa Cruz and almost a lifetime of coming here? Okay, so the list of other things and places that fall under that same category would be extensive.
As usual, I digress.
This beautiful several-acre park has a vast lawn area and is probably nearly 45% lake/pond. Ducks like the pond/lake. I like the pond/lake. Fish live in the pond/lake. And you can go fishing in the pond/lake.
That is, given that you're age 16 or under, or age 60 or over. And that's it. Not kidding. You can not fish in this lovely lake, set in this beautiful park, on the west side hill, overlooking the ocean and sunrises, and lined on its street perimeter by big and medium beautiful homes, if you're age 17-59, inclusive. I don't know if permits are required. I'm in the age of exclusion, so doesn't matter to me. And I don't fish. Grandparents and grandkids can enjoy sharing the fishing experience together, and I think that's actually cool.
I've spent far too many words focusing on the fishing aspect already. It's a very beautiful, serene park, too big maybe to be called a "neighborhood park", but that's essentially what it is.
Very nice place.
And maybe keep your fishing pole in your trunk just in case you meet some kid or senior who agrees to do your fishing for you.

A fun neighborhood park and lake in a somewhat unexpected place. There's a nice trail for walking around the lake as well as a lawn and shaded area doe sitting and a playground for kids. It's a popular place to bring your dog or your fishing rod on a sunny day to escape from suburban Santa Cruz. Popular for ducks, coots, and turtles too!

This park is AWESOME! A friendly neighborhood, and a wonderful bunch of ducks (and American Coots), and even a stocked pond. Although, I think fishing permits are technically limited to seniors.

Nice quite park. We came here with take out so that we could eat without a crowd. There were several picnic tables available. Park also has a grassy area for people to play, a playground with swings and a jungle gym, and a path around a body of water for walking.

Nice little park with a duck pond.

It's surrounded by local homes, often has local kids sport teams practicing, and is a perfect place to take the kids or pets put for some sun.

Also good for:
reading your favorite book by the water
Catching some sun
Feeding ducks

Lovely, quiet neighborhood park. Beautiful pond. Play structure, ducks.

Lovely lake with fish, turtles and ducks. Kids play structure, swings, sand, picnic tables and huge expanse of lawn. Street parking (always plenty). Clean and safe. My grandsons always enjoy it. Also, catch and release fishing.

This place has the coolest pond ever and super cute ducks who are really friendly. The neighborhood is nice and quiet and its got a cool big grassy area you can chill at. I really like this park.

Wonderful neighborhood park with kids playground, a pond full of duck, trees for shade and picnicking, and a good deal of green space for running around in. I bring my dogs here too and every once in a while we run into other dogs they can play with.