Grape Day Park

3 stars because it’s a pretty park. And we finally got to see inside the train and the depot today. Our male your guide was super nice and knowledge. The signs outside says buildings are open on Tuesdays at 1:00. However, there was only one lady working and she only had one building open at a time. When we entered the Victoria home she was quite curt and explained she was giving a private tour. But she allowed us to join. She seemed in a hurry and like she didn’t like her job. We didn’t even bother to ask to see the other buildings.

We had a good time here. yes, homeless abound. but we never felt unsafe during the day, and there was security and park personnel around… The homeless need love too. We made sure to greet them, and smile to «SEE» them and acknowledge their humanness.
There are a few neat attractions here, and old tyme buildings, railroad, barn, tractor and such. a very interesting jungle gym that looks like a grape vineyard… near by is a civic center and beautiful fountain.
We are not from Escondido. and I am sure there are many more parks around that would not have the homeless, alcoholic element. But it was nice to see, and to get a bit of gratitude. if everyone just started coming back to this gem. maybe there would be no need to be afraid…

This review is strictly for the play area. I didn’t explore the rest of the park.
There’s one play structure (the grape slide thing that has been mentioned in other Unilocal reviews) and a weird branch-​like climbing structure.
I wouldn’t return since the transient to non-​transient ratio was too high and I didn’t feel particularly comfortable there… and I was there at 12:30 in the afternoon.

Do not go here. This park appears lovingly thought out but due to overpopulation of homeless this park is a let down.

Awesome park, so much fun play equipment and the amazing history, lots to experience! My kids especially enjoyed the working model train and telegraph codes. All the docents were so accommodating and kind, we really enjoyed ourselves!!!

Not gonna beat s dead horse and mention the homeless situation. I’m not in Escondido native but found myself in Escondido looking for playground while visiting family.
I went to the park at night with my wife and kids against good sense and warnings not too. We didn’t get to see the surrounding buildings/​train museum and went strictly there to enjoy the play structures. These structures hands down are some of the more unique I have been too and well worth the risk of running into some hobos.
The playground consist of an awesome tunnel slide made to look like a bunch of grapes. It’s nicely done and the kids really had a good time climbing it more than using the actual slide. There’s also a large «structure», for lack of better terms, that look like large grape vines. The kids really had a blast and enjoyed the challenge of climbing them.
You really have to see it to appreciate.
The bathroom situation was two port-​o-​pottys, which from the smell of things I’m sure were filled to the brim.
If I were basing this review on strictly the playground, it would have gotten five stars. However, it’s hard to ignore the seedy characters and the heinous bathrooms.

There’s a lot of interesting things to see here: historical buildings, the old train, and the little jungle gym which is an ode to grapes. However, I wouldn’t recommend this place for any family looking to spend an afternoon in the park. There are a lot of homeless people, and other shady characters. Good for a quick 45 minute walk though to see previously mentioned items.

Big open areas for adults to play sports, But you never want to bring kids here because of the Extraordinary number of homeless sleeping all over the park. And when the sun starts to set run don’t walk to your car Or you may not make it out

This place has shown a lot of improvement over the years! I’ve lived in Escondido for 20 years.
Pros/​Improvements:
— It is now dog friendly! There are poop bags available on the signs that tell you to keep your dog on a leash at all times.
— Fruit/​branch jungle gym. This has impressively stood up to the test of time. I still see kids crawling all over these things.
— Lots of grass and shade. Upkeep of the grounds has been consistent and the grass is always green and well-​groomed. Sometimes u find muddy spots in the shade though.
— School: maybe this has a lot to do with the increased traffic in the park. They’ve opened up a sort of high school behind the train building.
— Events: annual fireworks on the 4^th of July, and various festivals are held here throughout the year.
Cons:
— Still kinda shady at night, but the bums/​druggies seem to be diminishing in number compared to a few years back.

It’s a really cool park however the regulars are pretty sketchy. Don’t hang out here when the sun is down.

It’s a pretty park. My daughter loved the big fountain and the train. The grape slide is a cool feature.
The overwhelming presence of transients however is not. I counted over 20 people sleeping in various places around the park. When we pulled up there were to police vehicles parked in front.
Basically it’s pretty but not really all that safe.

Same old park but new renovations make the park a bit more appealing. I remember coming by this park when I lived in Escondido as a kid and it was alright. Maybe I didn’t have the sense enough to be scared of it at 10. At 14, I knew that I shouldn’t go there alone or at night! Coming back to visit nearly 15 years late and the park looks so much the same, except the city hall next door has been built up and there is a new park play area added. It’s cute. Purple grapes as a slide and a grape vine jungle gym of sorts. Perfectly fitting the name. It’s a novelty, but probably not a fully functional park to use for kids on a regular basis. The small gardens and historical buildings were nice to see.
I did see a lot of homeless hanging out, but not as much as their once was. It looks like the city is trying to clean it up.

I went with my kids to watch an open sky movie this summer. I was shocked seeing so many homeless fealty looking people. I was busy to wash blankets that we used that night. We all got beaten by some sort of bug afterwords. Don’t feel like coming back, though they have beautiful eucalyptus trees and creative grape vine sculpture for kids climbing over there.

I recommend this park during special events like the Grape Day festival, Halloween and New Years Eve… However, for normal everyday lounging the homeless and um… more «un savory» characters can make it a bit intimidating. There is a railroad and children’s museum that are pretty fun as well!

I stopped off here while on a recent visit to Escondido. I had my dog with me and she needed to be walked. I found myself looking over my shoulder the whole time I was here. Seriously, Escondido, you need to clean this place up and send these creepers on their way.
It is a nice park and has some cool sculptures and a nice fountain but the unsavory element really needs to be evicted.

Slide is fixed… only took two years it seems

It took me about 0.03 seconds to realize that I could score a pharmacy of narcotics here, legal or illegal.
Still, the paths are nice, the grass is lush and green and the there are a ton of trees and neat architecture (including a giant bunch of grapes). It is pleasant for a dog walk.

My husband and I took our 3 year old twins to the historic Grape Day Park to play and it was awful. The playground is miserable. It consists of a single slide that looks like grapes and some vines. Not only that, but there were so many homeless people sleeping on or around the one piece of equipment and scattered throughout the entire park that I would not be able to bring my children by myself and feel that it was a safe environment. Definately more vagrants than families at this park!

We went on a Sunday afternoon with my mother and my husband… the park was devoid of children and families and taken over by shady figures loitering around. The guys up near the train station area were pretty aggressive and made a lewd comment to me. It was really sketchy and we took off fast. How is it possible that the city of Escondido is allowing vagrants to take over a park? There were guys sitting in parked cars and I would not be surprised if crack was sold and used. Definitely not recommended.

I thought this was just the craziest, cleanest, biggest park I’ve ever been to. Not only does the kiddie park «rides» go by the name — meaning there’s this «monkey» bar that looks like a freaken grape vine. It’s so cool.
I love the fact that this park is located in such a beautiful area. One part of this enormous park, there’s the city hall that looks like a concert hall. I mean it’s so beautiful and «BIG». Then there’s another section that has the Santa Fe train station. Where it’s a monument of the old train that which I had just found out that one of my friends father was a part of the construction. This is the kind of place where someone could just go to, to just get away from everything. Yeah it’s surrounded by major streets, but Escondido, is relatively quite. Especially this area.