Heart of Soquel County Park

"Love to come here and have lunch, or do some paperwork sitting in my vehicle, or kick back while I'm doing laundry at the laundromat, or just for the well-lit parking at night while I'm having a drink at JJ's. The park was expanded in 2021 to include very nice new pathways that can either be used as walking shortcuts between Porter St., parallel Main St., and perpendicular Soquel Ave., or for those less in a hurry, as meditative, conversational, or flora and fauna observing paths on which to take meandering daytime strolls. The main area of the relatively small park includes a number of clean, solid concrete picnic tables with attached benches, and each table has a large, red, adjustable cloth-over-wood patio umbrella. Since the main area lacks shade cover from trees or otherwise, the umbrellas serve well both decoratively and functionally. In addition to some art installations and informational plaques placed around the park, features include a horse shoe throwing court and a large area covered in round pavers or concrete, and used for everything from children's martial arts lessons to group meetups to community movie nights. The thing so obviously missing, however, is a public restroom, toilet, or even port-o-pottie. For me, that almost merits a two star deduction from five. But I went with just a one star loss. Besides no restroom, one of the oddest aspects of this park is its location, tucked back behind all the street facing businesses of that block. So as its name suggests, it's situated literally deep in the heart of the town's center. If it weren't pointed out, one may never know it's even there. It seems quite oddly situated at first, but once aware of it, you may find that it's pleasant to be set back away from the noise of the busy intersection of Soquel & Porter, with a barrier of buildings acting as insulation. Be ready, though, because the fire station is directly across the street through a entrance to the parking area, so when the doors roll open and the lights and sirens come on, there will be a cacophony in your tranquility. But if you have kids, it'll be followed by excitement."

"This Park was super clean and fun with nice trails that snakes around town. You will love this nice sanctuary, but use the bathroom before you go, because there is no public bathroom."

"Whether you're going to the park at the backside of El Chipotle, or the park behind the elementary school, or the creek in the same place, the Heart of Soquel is a wonderful place to sit and eat lunch, have a picnic, play with friends, or just relax for a while. Every part of it is absolutely gorgeous, especially the creek. I personally love going to the creek because it is mainly quiet, but people occasionally bring adorable dogs down there, which is the best. Definitely an amazing place to be."

"Nice little rest area. Take a break. Take a phone call. Stretch. A few places to eat nearby."

"Sweet small park. Dogs are welcome. Kids from Tara Redwood School frequently come here to play after school."