Raymond Bernal Jr Memorial Park

It’s a safe basic park near Japantown.
The field is decent size but not big enough to have a soccer game. They actually have a sign that states no field sports allowed.
The grass field is VERY uneven so I wouldn’t even bother playing soccer on it.
There is a baseball field but once again with uneven field.
When I play fetch with my dog, the ball always gets lost in the bumpy grass field.
There are always homeless people here sleeping around. They don’t bug you.
Ice cream truck comes around every 15 mins.
I heard afternoon is doggy happy hour.

It’s an average park. Very spacious but nothing special to it. I went to this park to meet a dog trainer and it was very easy to find. There are some trees for shade and it’s a good place to take your dogs and train them since it’s such an open space.
If you’re a dog owner, you could find other dog owners with their dogs to socialize with and they’re friendly. It’s located next to Japantown so if you’re hungry, you could head over there afterwards.

This is our neighborhood park that I have views of from our two balconies. It has all of the amenities that a family would desire: playground for the kids, trees for the mom who is concerned about her sun exposure, baseball field for dad and son, BBQ pits for dad’s ambitious cookouts and the invaluable picnic tables. There’s even a dirt walk/​run track that encircles the park. One could spend all day here with restrooms available, although I’ve never stepped into one. The park becomes alive on the weekends with parties, ranging from small cookouts to full blown celebrations. Although used extensively, especially on the weekends, the visitors are mostly considerate and keep the park exceptionally clean. The city routinely maintains the park including trash and landscaping. Several reviews mention that this park is inhabited by homeless, which I totally disagree with. Want to see homeless in a park, go to Saint James park, it’s literally a home for the homeless. Raymond Jr. Bernal Park has its homeless visitors, but they usually rest and move on, as the neighborhood does not condone their overnight sleepovers. The park is also visited by pets and their owners that are mostly respectable and pick up their pet’s steaming prize. I love how they did not fence in the playground, as the park is safe.
Tips:
— Need tables and BBQ pit for your party, arrive no later than late morning on the weekends
— Parking can be difficult, so don’t be a rebel and park in the townhouse community across the street; you will be towed
— Public transit is available with a bus stop at the park or light rail stop half a mile away on First Street
Enjoy and keep it clean!

Nice community park. They have no assigned parking but you can park all around it so it is not so difficult to get a spot. They have a nice playground area with swings and slides. They also have a few bbq grills and tables to have parties and events at, which i think it’s nice. I do not expect to visit this park often since it is not in my area but it did come in handy while in the area.

Though this is the neighborhood park on my side of town, I can definitely say it is one of my favorite parks in SJ. Throughout the week you do notice a couple transients here and there, but they don’t bother anyone which is cool. It is also great that there’s a baseball field, playground, multiple picnic areas with BBQ pits, and bathrooms. You can see multiple parties and gatherings all throughout the weekend and people are really good at cleaning up after themselves. However, there are no reservations for these areas so it is first come, first serve and you better get there at the crack of dawn if you want to save a spot. Though there’s signs saying no alcohol, I’m sure you can get away with it if you hide it well in a red cup. Also, if you are a dog lover then join everyone else in the area and let your dog play in the massive grass areas. Overall, if you are looking for a great park to spend a lovely day at then definitely make it here.

Google Maps doesn’t take you to the park! It takes you to Fair Oaks & drops you off at a trailer park.

Wow, it’s ashame what this park has become. This use to be a really nice park. Now it’s just a dump. The restroom is just gross, people don’t flush the toilet and it really smells. I wouldn’t recommend kids playing here, not really a environment for families if you know what I mean. The picture you see on Unilocal is when the park first open. Street parking only.

Decent neighborhood park that’s located in a not-​so swell side of town. The park is in close proximity to the Hobo Highway (aka Union Pacific Railroad Tracks) and can be overrun with Local Outdoor Enthusiasts (LOE) who can’t be bothered to wait for the restrooms to free up or even open (see my pic if you dare). I honestly would never come here, but for the fact I’m on the road a lot and it has a restroom. However, to be fair, I will do my normal park breakdown of its features:
1) The aforementioned restrooms.
2) Tot Lot & Playground.
3) Unlighted Softball Field
4) Picnic Tables and BBQ Pits.
5) Decent-​sized grassy area to run around on (the park as a whole is approximately 6-​acres).
If it wasn’t for the LOE I would say this was a pretty swell neighborhood park. There’s some interesting architecture and I like the Cherry Blossoms that come up in the springtime. Even if I lived in the area I would seriously doubt I’d ever visit this place; unless, of course, I didn’t have a car, but if you have a car (this is California, right?) then there’s probably 500 other parks that I could recommend over this one. I think this park actually has some pretty decent potential if was located anywhere else, but where it is. Like a wise man once said, «Location, location, location…»

Every year for new years day all car clubs get toogether here an have a cruda festival youll c nice cars lined up around the park having menudo

GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD PARK!
The DEETS:
— In close proximity to Japan Town.
— Clean.
— Lots of grass.
— Quiet downtown neighborhood.
— Beautifully landscaped.
— Cherry blossoms! Must come back when they bloom.
— Picnic tables for small family picnics.
— Baseball field
Great small park surrounded by apartment homes. This is a great place to walk a few laps or take your furry friend for a walk. This is definitely my go-​to park in this area.
#408

Nice, spacious park with a few places to bbq with your friends. Fairly clean for a local park and there were a lot of friendly people in the area just walking their dogs and playing football. People seem to clean up after themselves pretty well there which is rare at other places. They have a large green field to get a good game of catch going!

I like how this park looks so clean and green all the time. Like the grass are well taken care of. I haven’t noticed any homeless person loitering around in this park but others have. Are they avoiding me? Hehe There are tables for families who wants to party at the park. The only thing is, it’s located by a busy street (Hedding St) and parking can be tough at times.
Do you want to see my Unilocal booboo in person? Then come and hang in this park. You might get lucky because she likes to walk around here like the grand Duchess that she is just don’t ask for her autograph, she totes value her space :)
Cheers for Bs!!! Bernal Park that is!

Average San Jose park. Homeless on the benches, which just happen to be by the children’s area where I bring my daughter. There were two boards missing on the structure which she could have fallen through. Maintenance had been nice enough to put yellow tape around it. Like a 3 year old will notice that this is warning tape. An email to the city council man got it fixed pronto. There are signs saying «No Organized Sports» but what do you see? Soccer teams taking over the lawn so it gets ruined. On the plus side: Has a nice dirt track to walk around. Baseball field is nice and there are usually little dogs running around. Keep an eye out for youthful taggers on the benches. Not too much trash around either.

Cool little park located downtown. Not too big, but it its pretty clean and roomy with grass and stuff to set up some games. This was my first time here, took my son here before picking up the wifey at court. I do like this park a bit, but I doubt I’ll come back. Just the fact that there are many parks every where, and this isn’t a fond location for me. Good, but not great, would I recommend others to come here, sure why not. Probably won’t enjoy yourself too much though unless you have kids to roam around in the park. Kinda small jungle gym, but kids love anything to climb and run around on.

Bums hang out here. I always feel uncomfortable when here with my children. I gave 3 stars because of the location/​conveinence and size.

Great local park for everyone! We bought our condo in this area because of the accessibility to a nice park and we have not been disappointed. People of all types come here to enjoy from dog walkers to soccer players to HUGE BBQ fests on the weekends. The park is well maintained and clean. The playgrounds are geared to children of all areas and there is a large grass area to run around or fly a kite.

Nice park, as the tree’s grow it will be better as there is not much shade. The playground is great, lot’s of various area’s for different aged kids to play. The field is big, lot’s of room to run around. Get’s busy on the weekends, and it’s fun to walk around and see all of the people. The park is pretty safe, people run around the park in the evenings.

This is a newer park. It’s next to a group of newer town homes built in early 06.
It’s a fairly good sized park. Local homeowners walk around this park for exercise after work. Pretty quite and a playground for kids.
Gets pretty busy during the weekends. It becomes a mini-​Mexico. Very festive and pretty cool. Downside to this– parking then becomes an issue for the homeowners around.
Plus side– the weekender party people clean up after themselves.
Soccer and base ball games are also quite active in this park. A public bathroom is available.