Western Hills Park

This place is a gem. You can enter from the neighborhood and park, or you can enter from the nearby Church above.
Another reviewer said this place isn’t good for running but that’s absolutely not true. I love to run here — and can usually do so without having to share the trails. The first few times I visited this park I didn’t realize how expansive the trails actually are — there is the main one behind the playground which is pretty easy to find. However, if you come down from the church you’ll notice a web of trails through the trees and around the entire park. By weaving in and out of the trails you can get lot of quiet hill work in. As well, the end of the main trail has distance markers and it’s a great place to do some sprints… There are some big logs that are great for box jumps, etc. This is a really fun place to work out if you don’t mind not running in a straight line.
The park is bigger than it looks, and beautiful. We’ve seen some giant owls on the trail in the evenings, and keep discovering little nooks of the park even after living nearby for a year+ now.
Lots of people bring their dogs here off leash — technically not allowed per signage, but the dogs are always well behaved and we’ve never had a problem. It’s a clean park, seems to be a lot of kids/​families here on weekends too.
Bonus: There’s a small free library at the entrance by the church. Really cute and nice touch. Have taken a few books and dropped several over. Love it.

Very small park good for taking your dog or very small children up to maybe 4 or 5. Older kids would get bored fast. Not good for walking or running.

Great little neighborhood park. There is a children’s play area, basketball courts, and plenty of grass. A highlight is some light-​duty walking trails. Great place to take the dog.

This is a great little neighborhood park. There parking lot is small, but there’s always lots of room on the street as well. If you live locally you can walk in from the back path that starts by the church on Jellett.
There’s a basketball court and open field where you can play frisbee or soccer. Lots of people come with dogs that run around off-​leash, but everyone is very good at picking up after them and I’ve never stepped in anything unpleasant. The playground is small, but nice and never crowded, so it’s a great place to bring shy kids.

My son and I and our dog BBQ’d there for Mother’s Day — it was the perfect spot. He’s there right now with the dog. We call it Garfield Park, but I’m pretty sure it’s the same spot. Taking back one star since there are no restrooms, but we managed — it’s surrounded by woods.

This little park is hidden deep within my Bay Park neighborhood. It has a true neighborhood feel as its tucked away at the end of residential street and backs up to a wooded area that borders other residential streets. Its actually surprisingly large with tons of grassy areas which we bring our small mini-​schanuzer to and he can run off leash (which isn’t actually allowed here but may local dog owners do the same thing). There is a playground, picnic area and basketball courts. The locals are totally ok with the park being dog friendly, even though its not a dog park (which means its cleaner!), that there are various water bowls set out for pets. There are no restrooms here and very few trash cans — which is the only negative thing.

Nice park with a decent playground, plenty of field space, a nice basketball court, and lots of walking/​hiking trails in the surrounding hills.
This definitely has the feel of a good old fashioned suburban neighborhood park. On the day we visited, there was a pick-​up soccer game, a rotating cast of neighborhood kids playing basketball, and a picnic/​party in progress.

What a beautiful gem that I discovered oh so accidentally while attending a wedding & reception at the Pioneer Ocean View United Church of Christ above the park. Looking forward to going back and spending more time there. I’ve lived in San Diego my entire life and never knew the park was there – what a great surprise!

Your next review awaits…
The little rectangle looming in the corner of my Unilocal welcome page.
Wha…Where.did.my.original.review.go? Poof. Not even filtered. This was one of my earlier reviews as a Unilocal toddler. I uploaded a buttload of pics on ⁸⁄₂₃. Bah, whatevs.
This neighborhood oasis is a hidden beauty with a lil bit of everything for all ages: Wide open park lawn for running around, short hilly walking trails, sweeping eucalyptus trees, playground, picnic tables, benches, and charcoal grills. There’s even a full basketball court for you and1 hoop dream hopefuls, although the concrete slab should be resealed and painted.
What’s missing at this park is the bathroom. I suppose that’s why the trees grow so tall here.

What an amazing little gem of a place! I discovered this place one night when I was in desperate need of a evening walk and the sun was getting low on the horizon. I had first seen it on a street map and figured I could cover all its trails in half an hour. How wrong I was. Although surrounded by residential neighborhhods the topography and vegetation produce a «Japanese Tea Garden effect» whereby the park is far greater on the inside than it would appear from any of its entrances. The centerpiece is a basketball court which is then surrounded by a grassy filed behind which is a Eucalyptus Grove, Canyons and hills. Were I the man I was twenty five years ago I think I would have flocked here to play kick the can, capture the flag, hide and seek and all the other «games without frontiers, wars without tears» envisioned by the great Peter Gabriel.
Now I seek solace in the park’s lofty heights, and the crunch of leaves and bark beneath my feet. Indeed the upper end of this park may afford one of the most spellbinding views in the whole area, overlooking Downtown, Coronado, Point Loma, Mission Bay, Lower Tecolote, and Mount Soledad. And unlike Mt Soledad this place has no crowds to speak of. It is simply an urban oasis known only by the locals for now, and so thus a kept secret worth exploring more.