Happy Fourth of July to you all. Summer is here, and what better time to think of family fun activities, picnics, sports, biking, hiking, and of course visiting our South Vista parks (Buena Vista Park and Duck Pond, South Buena Vista Park, Shadowridge Park, and Thibodo Park). For those interesting in hiking, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Buena Vista Parks and the Lupine Hills Loop mentioned in the Hidden San Diego and All Trails websites.
The Buena Vista Park and Pond attracted particular attention. It is a small neighborhood park with grassy areas, picnic tables and a de- lightful pond full of ducks, egrets, and even geese. It also has a respectable trail system (2.8-mile loop) traveling along both sides of the Agua Hedionda Creek. It has flat areas, steep hills, short and long loops that offer scenic outdoor recreation in an otherwise dense urban environment. The trail heading south picks up a wide dirt path that turns west to the high point known as Mount Hinton. The trail climbs to a ridge with gorgeous panoramic views.
The Lupine Hills Loop starts from Lupine Hills Drive and follows singletrack and dirt roads, heading southwest to make a loop among the oaks and sage scrub. It is a 1.6-mile scenic neighborhood loop trail among the open hills between homes. Generally considered an easy route, it takes an average of 47 min to complete. This is a popular trail for hiking and mountain biking, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime. Dogs are welcome but must be on a leash. Of note, there is little shade in the area, and it gets hot most of the year.
South Buena Vista Park offers dog-friendly off-leash hours, has a doggie drinking fountain and multiple waste bag stations. It has shaded areas for wandering around, open spaces for running, many benches, a basketball court, a fenced-in playground, and a nice 0.4-mile loop trail.
Shadowridge Park has two shaded play- ground structures, one for older kids and one for younger children. The playground and the swing (2 regular and 2 infant bucket swings) section have soft rubber padding under the structures. There is a nice-sized sand area next to the older kids structure. There are plenty of picnic tables spread throughout the park, some near trees for shade. A large basket- ball area (one backboard only) is used for playing variations of the game, group workouts, and by young scooter/bike users when the court is not being used. In addition, there are plenty of paved pathways for kids to practice riding their bikes or scooters.
Thibodo Park, located in the midst of the Shadowridge neighborhood, has a rustic appearance with giant boulders and mature large eucalyptus trees. It has a small, shaded playground, a few picnic tables and benches. It has a small sport center with basketball and pickleball courts. At the very top of the park is the Thibodo Community Center.
