Penitencia Creek Park and Trail

I really like the fact that there is this terrific green space on the north side of San Jose, bordering Berryessa. The park is attached to the Berryessa community center so there is plenty of parking there. You can also access it through a parking lot on Penitencia Creek Rd. The creek was running full blast yesterday, the first time I’ve seen that in quite some time.
The park has a paved pathway that meanders along the outer edges of the park and also cuts in by the small lake in the middle of the park. The lake has been dry for a while due to the drought BUT there was «actually water «in it yesterday, not a lot but hey at least it is water!
Someone complained of bird poop in another review. Here are some suggestions… don’t step or sit on it. Don’t lay your blanked on it. If your little one picks it up don’t let him eat it… so that should solve the bird poop problem! The birds tend to stay at the north end of the lake near the community center. Probably because there are more people there and they feed the birds even though it is posted NOT to feed them.
The park is dog friendly, stroller friendly and just a nice place for a walk. If you like a bit more exercise cut back and forth through the open parts of the park. The geese and other birds tend to stay at the north and west side of the park.
This is a great family park, someplace close by to take a walk and enjoy the outdoors. It’s a good place to let your little ones run loose and have some fun.

This is a small trail, but a lot of people use it. It’s basically an outdoor track. It’s flat. I did a few laps. Parking was super easy. There’s a bathroom. A lot of people take a human friend or dog friend :)

One of my favorite places to stroll and is super dog friendly. It’s perfect for walking your dog, running, and biking! People are walking during different parts of the day, so it feels pretty safe!
There is also a playground for the kids!
The lake used to be one of the prettiest sights, however, due to the California drought, it has gone dry. :(it saddens me because it reminded me of one of the scenes from the notebook! There used to be a lot of birds and different ducks all over the world. Who knows, they might come back again when it starts raining!
But, that’s okay! I would still recommend coming here :)

Nice easy walk for a 12 year old dog to look at ducks and squirrels. All the little lake water is almost gone (need rain!) and Buster enjoyed his easy loop around to look at critters.

Been coming here as a kid and still do. Its a great park hut does need a new playground and bathrooms. Only giving it 4 stars because it is nowhere as nice as it used to be. They used to power wash the bird poop off not no more. They used to water the whole park as well and they do not do that anymore but that could be because of the drought. The pond however still has a lot of birds and turtles and is fun to take your kids and feed them.

Mixed feelings about this spot.
1. Ducks & pond are fun
2. Duck poop everywhere
3. Big kids playground is old wood that gave my 2 yr old a massive splinter
4. Nice little kids play area

Clean and safe park to walk my dogs. I enjoy the pond and ducks. Go early in the morning and you’ll practically have the trail to yourself.

I came here with a friend during her lunch hour. She wanted to go for a stroll and walk her dog, and she invited me along. This park is fairly small. The outer trail is .6-.8 miles long. There are a lot of ducks, and a pond in the middle. There is also a lake that runs along side. This is a very green park, literally. There is a lot of grass, and a bunch of trees. On the other side of the creek, there is a large plain with taller grass. Seems a tad unkept.
**TIP**
The best way to get here is NOT to use the Unilocal address. Use the approximate address of:
825 N Jackson Avenue, San Jose, CA.
You will be able to find street parking along this side.