Palms Recreation Center

Kathryn Reesman

Stay Off the Grass!! playground may be nice for kids, but unless you want itchy flea bites Stay Off the grass - especially at the South end of this park - feral cats are being fed and maybe some 'campers' there also. Very dangerous to reach the bridge walkway.

Mozhgan Vatankhah

I like this park I feel safe there with my kids. Has nice grass area for picnic.

Devon Harlon

This park is walking distance from my residence, just across the 10 freeway. I'm somewhat reticent to add my thoughts about it because I cherish this location and not simply because it's conveniently nearby. Just to properly explain: I worry some readers may be turned away from the park when I mention a couple less desirable details, while others who appreciate my candor could overrun the little recreation center with new visitors! I'm sure it's all me fretting needlessly over a trivial matter... Aside from being conveniently located in the same parking lot as the Rancho Park Public Library and sitting across from the Notre Dame Catholic School, it is within walking distance from a handful of other useful places (aside from my own home). A couple gas stations, 7-11, Trader Joe's, Winchell's, the 10 freeway on-ramps(WB leads immediately to the 405 interchange as well) and a handful of other small points of interest can all be reached through a less-than-tiring trek on foot for an average adult. The recreation center itself is a small hub of public buildings offering restrooms to visitors during operating hours along with a plethora of programs and services available to patrons. I believe daycare, adult education, excercise classes, outreach services for victims of homelessness and other social services may be enlisted there. I'm not certain exactly what or how many of these things are actually offered, especially during the pandemic protocols, but for others living nearby it is certainly worth a visit during business hours to find out. My personal endorsement of this locale originates from the enjoyment and relaxation I've been able to find in the relatively large park area. Yes, many other parks may be bigger or have more resources to partake in, but the Palms Recreation Center has a large grass area the size of a football field, a little league diamond I have never actually seen anyone use but is nonetheless far from disrepair, a decent size seating area with a dozen or so picnic tables/benches on a concrete slab for picnickers, partyers or barbeque lovers(a couple Qs are also located near the picnic benches built into the slab) two full-court basketball courts of adult regulation size with bleachers, a group of a half-dozen or so excercise machines built to scale resistance with an adult's weight and a decent sized playground area for younger children with swings, slides and a few more benches and tables for onlooking parents. There are often a decent amount of patrons during daylight hours, especially on weekends. Some of the park's regulars come from a "private residence-challenged" demographic, *ahem*, but I have never found any such folks to be rude, loud, overtly intoxicated or unruly in any way. In my experience, they maintain a healthy symbiosis with the Recreation Center's position as a place that families and children and pets even patronize. Other unfortunate details include the fact that it IS located near the freeway on a major thoroughfare (Overland Ave.), both pro and con in my opinion, the Metro train also borders the park area opposite the street, and at any given time a half-dozen or more stray cats make their home in the area around the park as well. Much like the other park goers lacking a committed traditional home or family, these cats have never been obtrusive, rabid, malicious or anything offensive other than sad and unfortunate. I can only dream of what the world would be if our great industrial civilization could actually solve the social detritus and broken beings it seems to callously create and cast-off in unconcerned, never-endlessly recurring cycles....but instead of getting stuck in your head with vague fears and unresolved worries, try visiting the Palms Recreation Center if you're nearby!

TamrieAnn Cagley (TamrieAnn)

Quaint neighborhood park. Nestled between a great public library and rec center buildings. Good for walking, has a basketball court and exercise equipment, along with a nice and clean playground and large picnic area that is available for reservations.