At 30 acres, Concord Community Park has plenty of room for ballgames and picnics
Editor’s Note: This is the eighth in The Pioneer series on local parks.
CONCORD, CA, (Sept. 19, 2021) — Unlike many of Concord’s small neighborhood parks that cater to nearby residents, Concord Community Park and Pool is a place where people from all over the city travel to for organized activities, classes, swimming and large group picnics.
At 30 acres, this is one of Concord’s largest parks and a great treasure of the city. Many residents learned to swim at the Olympic-sized swimming pool, heated to 80 degrees year-round.
“When our kids were little, we took them here for swim lessons,” notes Concord resident Hillie Rodriquez. “The swim lessons were awesome.”
The pool serves about 124,000 swimmers each year. It’s also the home of the Terrapins Swim Club and a place for recreational swimming and lap swimming. Check online for the current schedule at cityofconcord.org/634/Swimming.
Many Concord kids have played soccer games here or enjoyed the city’s summer camp programs and recreational classes. Currently available at the park are flag football, volleyball and soccer for many age groups, including the littlest tots aged 2 and up.
Great place for a picnic
Lots of mature shade trees keep the three large group picnic areas cool for groups of up to 240 people. To reserve one of the large picnic areas, visit: www.cityofconcord.org/440/Picnic-Sites.
The park, located at 3501 Cowell Road, is mostly situated away from the road so patrons do not hear the traffic. There are seven tennis courts, two playgrounds and a paved walking path along the perimeter. A website called TennisRound.com will connect you with other tennis players who want to play at this park. The courts are not lighted and are for use during daylight hours only.
Ample parking is available for the many activities going on at the park year-round. But on a recent September weekday afternoon, it served as a quiet escape for a few families enjoying the playground and a small group of children in an after-school sports program taking place on the large field. Coaches’ whistles echoed in the air as swimmers practiced laps.
Kara Navolio
Kara Navolio is a freelance writer, telling stories of real life heroes and interesting people for several local newspapers since 2015, including The Pioneer and Lamorinda Weekly. She is also the editor of a local magazine, Northgate Living, and her debut children’s picture book Everybody Can Dance! was released by Brandylane Publishers, Inc. in May 2019. She has lived in Walnut Creek with her husband for 30 years and is the mom of two now grown children.