Vasona Lake County Park

Whats there not to like. You can bike or run up to 26 miles here. You can go from one downtown to another (Los Gatos — Campbell) on paved roads. There are birds, geeses, ducks to see. Lots of water — lake, reservoir, rivers, a little waterfall action here and there, a dog park, a cute little $ 2 per ride train and carousel. Lots of children’s playground here and there.
Downside is there is a lot of pedestrian and biker traffic so you’d have to navigate carefully especially around those crabby people who do not seem to enjoy sharing the path with anyone else except themselves, their posse of friends/​family/​dogs.

Amazing Park, Clean and fun activities for both adults and kids, playgrounds on both ends of the parks, clean creeks and lakes, wilderness park, trail for walking or bike riding, and fun light show every December!!!

Hundreds of things to do in this park, from orienteering to geocaching (although no luck yet finding those caches), to do some water exercise or enjoy a simple delightful picnic… Vasona has everything. My favorite park full of cute trails and party gathering areas for families with kids, so it is ideal park for everybody. If you want to avoid the parking price, you can easily park on the streets nearby, but watch out on Sunday is not that easy, as this seems to be a favorite spot for so many. The lake, the bridge, the views, the trees, very nice.

Love going here to the parks! Nice time paddle boating or kayaking! Plenty of parking and places to have a picnic or birthday party!

This is a huge park. If you want to walk for hours, this is the place to go. It has attaching trails that go on forever. I used to go down the one that would go past the Prune yard all the way to Willow Glenn. It’s quite a work out. There is a dog park along the way and a lot of nature and streams and stuff that are probably all dried up now. Hopefully the rains will replenish them this year. Vascona has held a lot of events that I have gone to and I’ve always had a great time. Too bad the lake is so dry. The dogs love it there. I had my birthday there a few years ago. We had a great time. If you don’t want to drive through 17 on a weekend all the way to Santa Cruz, stop at Vascona and enjoy yourself there instead.

Beautiful scenery and peaceful. I’ve been meaning to come this place and there’s the perfect blend of water and land. It’s a nice little getaway spot and the place is wide and open.
Be careful where you choose to sit though… there is duck shit everywhere!

Spent almost a day at this park. Enjoyed pedaling for an hour. Went on for almost 2 hours on trail paths. You can enjoy biking. Camping is available and good spot for picnic with friends and family. You will love this place for sure.

I love this place! Been going here for over 40 years. Lots of parking. The fee I think is now $ 5. It seams like each year they increase the park fee or every other year increase it. To rent a picnic area cost is $ 50 a day. The ONLY thing I don’t like is the Park Rangers — they ALL are so RUDE!

Great place to walk and hang out with friends and family. A little steam train for kids, geese to feed, and picnic tables. Went walking to downtown Los Gatos and then walked back, weather was perfect for a 5 mile walk. Lots of doggies, and there are some bikers that really should slow down for the little kids. Will come back again, $ 6 to park inside the park.

Been to this park twice now and I love the scenery here! Nice place for a picnic and a family stroll.
There is a $ 6 entrance fee so come prepared.
Another nice thing about this park, is the poop bags and trash cans that are readily available across the park.

This is my favorite park in the Bay Area. First, it’s beautiful. The entire park surrounds Vasona Lake (weird how that happened…). There are walking trails, lots of BBQ areas, open spaces and fields for sports, kids jungle gyms, and a boat launch where you can rent peddle boats, kayaks and stand up paddle boards.
Parking in the park is $ 6, but if you park on University you can walk in for free.
The only negative is it’s pricy to reserve a BBQ area, so if you want one you have to arrive really early to grab one.

Every-​bodies favorite park/​lake/​train ride and nature and green treed nature walk and Christmas decorative cruise and light display in Los Gatos or west San Jose. Great place to bring children if you are a stay at home dad with little people and a nice bike path under the freeway to Campbell or the other direction to downtown Los Gatos and just a great all around California outdoor experience for little to know money!~ It typifies what we love about this area… expensive as it is to live here. It’s the kind of place, like a Teddy bear you want close to you and would miss real badly if you moved away but take for granted when you live close by not using and enjoying it often enough. I love the Jungle run, The Bang Mile run and other road races that surround or go through the park as well! Been coming here for decades and even had a class reunion lake picnic here back once upon a time! :)

Was in the area and figured it’d be a great place to walk my dog. I’ve been to this park a few times but never on a weekday morning. It really is a beautiful park. If you park off of Blossom Hill above Oak Meadow, street parking is free.
We walked about 2.5 miles from Oak Meadow-​over the railroad bridge– and stayed left of the lake-​and back. There were a lot of mommy groups with strollers and all different types of dogs. The scenery was nice but the closer you get to the lake the more bird droppings and duck sightings. Which makes sense but my dog sure loves chasing the ducks and well the droppings. Which in turn isn’t an easy walk for me.
I know they do Christmas lights there every year. As of 1÷22÷15 a lot are still up.
Great place to bring kids, go fishing, ride a bike, or get a good workout in. Not so fun if your dog eats things off the floor or doesn’t play well with others.

This park is huge, and a great place to have family parties and picnics in (there’s a $ 5 parking fee). The place also has options to pedal boat, paddle board, kayak and sail for about $ 10 for 15 minutes. It’s cute for a first date. ;)
(And for you and the love of your life to completely give up paddling because of the heat and the lack of legs muscles we have, and have the wind take you back)

Great place !
Finally got to go by and do some boat paddling. There was a lot of people out in the water also, along with the ducks. Prices weren’t bad at all & parking is only $ 6. I Plan on going fishing next.

I love biking from San Jose to Vasona! It’s a 12-​mile stretch but in the end, it’s totally worth it. It consists of paddle boating, kayaking, and sailing! It is so relaxing for individuals, lovers, and families!
Kids will love riding the train that travels around the park, carousel, and food! The park has open spaces for the kiddos to run around, play with other kids, and a space for everyone to be safe.
BBQ? No problem! There’s plenty of spaces for you heat up the grill and get going. Got booze? No problem! No one is gonna say anything about it, just don’t be showing your «good stuff» to everyone haha.
Our 24-​mile round trip is all worth it to enjoy the day at Vasona Park.

Great spot for kiddie parties and large park fields. The only this is the $ 6 per car parking charge. You can probably find parking on the street.
The main middle playground is a little outdated, but we saw a more modern one for small kids near an exit.
The train ride and carousel cost $ 2 each — the train wait is relatively long — its one train, one track, and they have flip the main pulling train each time. The carousel is shorter and more time efficient.

i live within 10 min walking distance from this park but ive never really realized how different and gorgeous it was from others! I come here seldomly because i’m always so busy, but every time i come, i always have a good time enjoying the view and being in peace and quiet.
I love running or walking around the trail around Vasona. It’s such a large and pretty lake! The park is pretty well kept, so a couple years ago, we let our small fresh water turtles go to live there. I’m sure they’re having a great time roaming free.
I’ve had picnics on the grass here and they’re always pretty clean and not all dried up like some parks. They seem to be watered constantly. Sometimes in the spring or summer they hold plays or concerts here. It’s pretty cool. Along the trail, you’ll see benches along the side to rest on or little areas in which the water is clear and you can splash in them. There are also BBQ pits and gazebo like coverings so you can have a nice spring or summer party out there. There is also a huge meadow near the back with daisies and lilacs near these 3 trees and they’re so pretty and wonderful to take pictures at!
On the more busy part of the lake/​park, there is a train for children to ride on around the lake (?), ive never been on it bc it seems a little pricey but the choice is yours hahah. there is a playground i think? and idk if its still there, but there is a huge plane there also that children can climb upon. The paddleboats are, i think $ 15 per hour. It’s been awhile since ive been on their paddleboats. The bathrooms are fairly clean so you dont have to worry about finding a place to pop a squat! LOL JK
The only downside is this small area in where there are a lot of geese and other fowl where they kinda poop everywhere but its not really a big deal. THere is a sign that says not to feed them and throw away your trash as it will make the population of geese attracted to the area and it will make the surrounding area even more dirty with wet duck poop! I’ve never parked here because its close, but i know the parking is $ 6 to get in.
THey usually also have their own separate christmas lights, which is SO ANNOYING bc i live around there and the event traffic is horrible!!! SIGH but i drive by a lot and their lights are worth coming for. YOu can’t get out of your car though lol… kinda like a drive-​through.
I’m pretty glad i live so close!!! SUchh a gorgeous park

Talk about an amazing and beautiful lake and park!
I spent my Labor Day here, lakeside and I can’t think of the last lake I went to that was this beautiful. There’s many places to BBQ, there’s benches, open fields and of course the large lake where you can pedal boat, paddle boat, canoe and fish– whatever is to your liking.
The party I came with was acquainted with one of the members of the Pu Pu O Hawaii Outrigger Canoe club, so I got to watch my friends take some out and also witnessed the large 6 person canoe taken out as well. It was beautiful! It’s a pity, I wasn’t dressed properly for getting into a lake though…
The park has a good amount of parking and clean bathrooms that are easily accessible. Dogs are also welcome, as I saw a great amount of them on this day. The amount of shading provided by the trees are also a great plus.
It was particularly crowded as it was a holiday and everyone was so friendly. It’s really a great place to be, with friends, family and the outdoors.
Parking is $ 6 to enter, but they’re putting that $ 6 to good use!

This is a great place to do some casual water activities like pedal boating, kayaking, stand-​up paddle boarding, and sail boating! :)
My sister & I rented a pedal boat for an hour for $ 15 and it was a chill way to spend the day, take pictures, and people watch. If you don’t know how to swim, they give you life jackets so it’s all good!
The lake is pretty big and there were people paddle boarding and sailing when we went. Their prices are very reasonable & they also have cheaper rental rates for big groups.
Pedal boats:$ 15/​hr & $ 10 for half an hour (good for 2 – 4 people)
Kayaks: same rate (2 people or solo)
Stand up Paddle Board: same rate; $ 25 for ½ hour lesson and ½ hour rental (solo only)
Sailboat: $ 20 per hour (2 people); $ 25 per hour (4 people)
This is also a good spot for a picnic because they have a lot of benches and there’s a decent amount of shaded area if you’re a sun hater like me ;)