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Top 50 Parks in California to BBQ this weekend



Photo by: Cindy C.

Ahh… the sun is out, the trees are blooming and the smell of fresh cut grass fills the air. You know what that means, it’s June in California baby! This not only means barbecues, more daylight hours and some cold brewskis, but also celebrating the greatest guy you know – Dad!

What screams Father’s day more than a weekend outing at one of many California Parks, sparking up the grill and sharing a cold one with your dad? If this speaks to you, then I hope you’re as excited as us for this list of the top 50 BBQ friendly parks in California. So go on, celebrate your old man!

1. Lake Merritt (Oakland, CA)

Photo by: Keyonna S.

2. Lake Chabot Regional Park (Castro Valley, CA)

3. Irvine Regional Park (Orange, CA)

4. Alum Rock Park (San Jose, CA)

5. Lake Elizabeth (Fremont, CA)

6. Mission Bay Park (San Diego, CA)

Photo by: Chrissie O.

7. Coyote Hills Regional Park (Fremont, CA)

Photo by: Emma W.

8. Blue Rock Springs Park (Vallejo, CA)

9. Marina Park (San Leandro, CA)

10. Burton W Chace Park (Marina del Rey, CA)

11. Cull Canyon (Castro Valley, CA)

12. Martial Cottle Park (San Jose, CA)

13. Lovers Point Park (Pacific Grove, CA)

Photo by: Elena K.

14. Hellyer Park & Coyote Creek Trail (San Jose, CA)

15. Laguna Niguel Regional Park (Laguna Niguel, CA)

16. Carbon Canyon Regional Park (Brea, CA)

17. Polliwog Park (Manhattan Beach, CA)

18. Lookout Park (Summerland, CA)

19. Bishop City Park (Bishop, CA)

20. Rancho San Antonio Open Space (Los Altos, CA)

21. Huddart County Park (Woodside, CA)

22. Brand Park (Glendale, CA)

23. Lake Poway Park (Poway, CA)

24. Redwood Regional Park (Oakland, CA)

25. Heritage Park (Cerritos, CA)

26. Ward Canyon Neighborhood Park (San Diego, CA)

27. Sunny Fields Park (Solvang, CA)

28. Jean Sweeney Open Space Park (Alameda, CA)

29. Sycamore Canyon Park (Diamond Bar, CA)

30. Whittier Narrows Recreation Area (South El Monte, CA)

31. Stanton Central Park (Stanton, CA)

32. Balboa Park (San Diego, CA)

Photo by: Keith A.

33.Moonlight State Beach (Encinitas, CA)

34. Switzer Falls – USDA Forest Service (La Canada Flintridge, CA)

35. Vacation Isle Park (San Diego, CA)

36. Orange Memorial Park (San Francisco, CA)

37. Woodland Park (San Marcos, CA)

38. Almaden Lake Park (San Jose, CA)

39. El Dorado East Regional Park (Long Beach, CA)

Photo by: Kody K.

40. Ponderosa Park (Sunnyvale, CA)

41. Siempre Verde Park (San Leandro, CA)

42. Central Park (Santa Clara, CA)

43. Los Gatos Creek Trail (Campbell, CA)

44. Oak Park Splash Pad (Oak Park, CA)

45. Don Castro Regional Recreation Area (Hayward, CA)

46. Yorba Regional Park (Anaheim, CA)

47. Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area (Los Angeles, CA)

Photo by: Geoff M.

48. Frank G Bonelli Regional Park (San Dimas, CA)

49. Ryder Court Park (San Mateo, CA)

50. La Mirada Regional Park (La Mirada, CA)

Methodology: This is a June 2018 – 2019 list of the best BBQ friendly parks in California according to Yelp. We identified businesses in the Parks category with a large concentration of reviews mentioning “Barbeque, Barbecue or BBQ” then ranked those spots using a number of factors including the total volume and ratings of reviews mentioning “Barbeque, Barbecue or BBQ”.

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