Saratoga Creek Park — Attraction in San Jose

Saratoga Creek Park is a multi-purpose park with an enclosed dog park, playground, exercise circuit, and picnic areas with BBQ grills. The playground is well maintained and the bathrooms kept clean. There are open grass areas perfect for kicking or tossing a ball... or imaginative play under a tree. It is not uncommon to find dogs chasing a ball or Frisbee off leash but the practice seems to be limited to well-behaved, trained furkids. The enclosed dog park is used by small to large dogs, and their people mostly pay attention to the interactive play but not everyone is attentive to the potty-breaks their furkids take. There are also people that do not have a clear understanding of normal dog play. The spring rains have a few native wildflowers blooming and showing off their...

Full disclosure, I've only been once, and it was just for the dog park. I took my 4 month old portuguese water dog puppy right after a huge rain storm... Not the best park for that, unless you love having your dog sprint through huge puddles. She had fun though!

Highlights: big pen, friendly folks, dog and human water fountain.

Lowlights: muddy when wet out, right next to Lawrence Expressway, so not very peaceful, and the turf has eroded so badly there were little greenish flecks of plastic on my dogs coat. No poop bags (that I saw), just popper scooper and a garbage bin... Not cleanly in a pandemic.

Conclusion: OK dog park (not recommended when it's been raining), nice looking trails and everyone I met was friendly. Bring your own waste bags...

The playground is on the north end, with nice shaded parking at the end of Englewood/Hoyet Dr. Tons of big trees provide shade to the playground equipment, which is nice. There's a little-kid playground and an older-kid playground, neither are fenced. Playground has woodchips. There's a bathroom near there too.

The dog park is on the opposite end, all the way at the southern tip near Graves Ave.

There's a nice paved path from the north end to the south end, with little fitness/exercise stations and benches along the way.

There are just a couple picnic tables near the playgrounds, and then a few more closer to the Eileen...