Hillcrest Park

Unfortunately, this park is really cute and would be great for kids if there weren’t so many shady people there. We took my son here in the evening for about 20 – 30 minutes, and in that time we saw a homeless man yelling obscenities, and 2 – 3 different groups of people smoking pot.
At least one of those people smoking pot had kids of their own playing at the park. And one of the other groups of people smoking were sitting on the swing set while children ran around them. These were not kids either, these were adults.

this park is amazing it has really large fields, a park, a mister for hot summer days and more. there’s always an ice cream man around if you want icecream. it’s like 2 parks together

Ah Hillcrest Park. The only decent park around but gets very shady at times.
My review is based on the field and trail more than the playground. But I have spent tons of time there at the playground. I have since stopped working out here at the park. It is infested with homeless people. I mean concord really needs to step up the game. I mean last time I was running this trail the police found a dead body! Not to add that I have seen people doing drugs at the bathrooms. I wouldn’t bring my kids here.
Maybe a couple of years ago when the playground was sprouting with visitors, in the news, and getting media attention and concord’s top priority I would bring family, friends, and kids here. But now it’s a shade fest. I mean half of the playground is vandalized, graffitied, and broken which makes me sad.
Take my word, I have lived across the street my entire life. Go to the park by John Muir Hospital for a safer experience. Not to mention the fields are all messed up now, they are growing with tons of weeds, holes, and gets really long before it’s cut. Which again it’s really sad that the park is falling apart but the community and concord could give two shits about the park.

I visited Matteo’s Dream Playground yesterday with my three boys. We drove about 45 minutes from San Jose. Lots of space for parking. My toddlers really enjoyed this playground. It has a padded floor, it’s shaped like a Castle, separate toddler area, lots of space for running and climbing, swings and it’s all enclosed. We spent about 2 hours playing and my boys were so thrilled. Bathrooms are nearby and if in need of a coffee, a drive thru Starbucks is down the street along with other fast food places. Will return when it’s warmer out, it gets chilly during this time. Worth the drive for sure!

One of the better parks in Concord. It has a pretty big play structure and a misting area for hot summer days.
I would like them to fix the slide that has been broken for a little while now, but this is California and we are having problems with the budget.
Over all it is a good place to take my kids so they can run around. Their favorite thing there is the tire swing.

This is a real nice park and my son loves playing on the play structure but the City of Concord does not keep up with the maintenance. My real issue is the wasp situation. The play structures are perfect places for wasps to build nests. My husband has called the City of Concord over and over again. Nothing gets done. God forbid a child with a bee allergy gets stung. Plus the bathrooms need a major over hall. They are disgusting.

Love this park. Families are always having birthday parties, baby showers & BBQ’s. I don’t have kids however I use the playground for my workouts when no one is there. It’s a very large playground.
All it needs is a place for dogs to play.

I’m really shocked this park has 4 stars.
The love the story of this park, a place build for a boy named Matteo who is in a wheelchair and blind. It’s a park for all kids and I think that’s amazing.
The park is huge and has tons of stuff, you can tell a lot of thought and careful planning when into this park.
The reason I gave it 1 star is because it’s always dirty, homeless people all over, and I was shocked to see a drug deal happen by the swing set! The bathrooms are so bad, the homeless have clearly taken these over. It’s so sad to see this.
I hope the city of Concord tries to clean it up because it would be an amazing park if they did.

Review is for Mateo’s Dream only.
Really nice, large playground setup. Plenty for all ages and the whole structure is gated and padded so it’s safe for kids. Great equipment but it’s very dirty and there’s trash everywhere. I’ve seen two bums and a few children relieving themselves in a corner of the playground structure. it’s too bad because there was definitely care that went into building this.

We have driven by this park many times but have never stopped here to check it out. I was surprised to see how nice it was when we were here for an event last weekend.
I had read about the all-​abilities playground: «Matteo’s Dream» being constructed and opening, but didn’t know where it was. It is here, in Concord! The project was to create a play area so that kids who can’t walk, see, or hear, can safely play alongside children who can. This playground at Hillcrest Park is beautiful and really awesome. Padded grounds and ramps and lots of places to play. It’s a really cool playground and may be a great opportunity to talk to your child about being kind to others, and playing with children who may be a little different.
The rest of the park is okay too. There are a couple of restrooms but they are pretty basic: single-​person, no mirrors (probably due to vandalism, given the area), but they were clean when we were there. There are also grassy fields for baseball or soccer and picnic tables.
We’ve seen large parties and groups gather here, and around Mother’s Day there is always someone set up selling roses and stuffed animals.

A really nice park with a padded, large space for little kids to play in. I love the added crawl space under the playground for toddlers learning how to walk. Definetly one of the better parks in the area!

The kids area is very cool with a huge enclosed play area. There’s a little kids area and a bigger kids area both have water misters during the summer time. There are lots of cool features and it’s usually bustling with lots of kids. There are covered picnic areas, baseball fields and soccer fields. There is also almost always an ice cream truck, lol. Overall it’s a very fun park.

Welcome to our back yard. I’m actually not kidding. We live close by, and our back yard is tiny, so we end up here quite a bit.
Here’s what you have besides grass and picnic tables: One of the best playgrounds in the Bay Area, designed with wheelchairs in mind. A gazebo that’s used nearly every weekend of the year. Korean War Veterans Memorial. Baseball diamonds and soccer fields. Model airplane area. Duck pond. Redwood grove. Next door to a horse arena. Not far from the drive-​in theater that doubles as a flea market. Easy access from two freeways.
The park gets a lot of use, but it rarely feels crowded. Many soccer leagues hold their games here. As mentioned earlier, the gazebo is popular, and I’ve seen bouncy houses, catered lunches, even live bands here (and my daughter crashes the parties, of course). If you just want to walk, strolling around the sports fields gives you a good long workout, and you can continue west toward Solano Way to make it even longer.
Watch out for the shady characters, though. There’s more of them here than at Todos Santos Plaza. They’re mostly harmless, but they’re there, minding their own business (take that, grammar police).
Anyway, if you see a little girl feeding the ducks, looking for mermaids, or shooing the geese back into the drink, and her daddy’s close by, say hi to us.

Perfect place to have a kids party. I reserved the gazebo area that have plenty of tables to seat a party of 75. The only downfall are that the grill is super small and the tables are circular. The tables could hold a lot of food to our liking.
There is plenty of shade and grass area between the gazebo and Matteo’s Dream to relax and hang out. Most of our guest brand a blanket and laid out.
Matteo’s dream is an awesome play area for toddlers and kids. There are plenty of swings, rock climbing and tunnels to play around. They even have a little mister. One good thing about this playground is that it is wheelchair accessible.
Overall I would come back to Hillcrest Park to host another party. The downfall I would say are that it’s really close to a busy street, the bathrooms are a little disgusting and the tables are small.

Perhaps it is because I am not particularly outdoorsy and we are child-​free, but I had never actually chosen this park as a destination. That is, until a few weeks back when I started training for a 5K and using my workouts as an opportunity to go exploring.
I enjoy the trail that goes over the bridge and by the little lake — a big patch of it is tree-​lined and shady. I do wish that the track around the soccer/​baseball fields went ALL the way around and was consistent pavement or dirt and not a combination of the two.
The park always seems well maintained and every time I have run through, at varying times of day, there have been park staff present.

I took my 2 year old son here today he had soo playing with the water and the music stations. There were some people having a baby shower here and the people at the park were nice. I didn’t see any homeless people there. This park is way better than todos santos park! The water at the toddler section didn’t turn off though. This is the first time I have been to this park since they remodeled it and they did a very excellent job.

One of the best parks in Concord equipment based. My kids enjoy playing here. We have seen the occasional bums here and there but they keep to themselves. Bathrooms aren’t kept up at all, but what park bathrooms are. Overall a nice park.

Tried to have my nieces birthday here, my brother came at 6 on the morning to reserve a spot & was already setting up when a park employee approached him & asked if he had a permit. My brother told him he didn’t & asked where he could purchase one & then the employee said that the offices were only open M-​F. The employee said that the permits were required because its more of an attraction. I’m sorry but WTF do we look like we’re trying to attract? That’s just plain stupid, this park be doing waaaay too much. They must not know they’re not like one of the best parks in the area or like there aren’t a million other parks in concord that DON’T require permits.

I bring my niece here during our «date» nights. We visit the library, and then come here to play while I give her parents a break for a few hours. This park is especially nice now that it’s warm out. It’s divided into areas for different age groups, and the park was remodeled a few years back to be accessible to children of all abilities. They have misters, music makers, slides, a variety of swings, monkey bars, you name it.
Hillcrest Park is located on a semi-​busy street, however it is fenced in so once you’re inside, your kid can’t just run into the street.
Behind the park are soccer fields, a little trail, a few bridges. Great for walking around and exploring.
Minus one star for the conditions of their bathrooms.

There are several things I really like about this park:
the play structure is wheelchair accessible. How neat is that?
there are water play areas in the play structure. Perfect for hot days
there are music stations. neat-​o
there are recliner-​like swings meant for disabled kids. amazing
there is a low wall around the play structure
Things I don’t like:
the park is next to a busy-​ish street. If your kiddo climbs over the low wall and runs across the field, he’s in the street
not the nicest area
scary bathrooms
Overall, its a pretty good park