The parks and recreational facilities within the City of South Pasadena are valued and highly regarded by South Pasadena’s citizens. Community parks provide open space and a place to go for active recreation or passive enjoyment of the outdoors. Neighborhood parks and playgrounds within the City of South Pasadena are designed to serve for family recreation within a convenient distance from home. Currently there are 92.2 acres of parks within the City of South Pasadena. The majority of this acreage (73.9 acres) is located in Arroyo Seco Park in the northwest portion of the City. Five other parks exist within the City boundaries: Garfield Park, Eddie Park, Library Park, Orange Grove Park, and War Memorial Park.

Parks Brochure

Arroyo Seco Park is 19.9 acres of improved parkland, including lighted athletic fields, playground equipment, and picnic areas. There are also included undeveloped lands, and a flood channel.

The park is divided into three sections: The upper section includes three lighted sports fields with backstops, parking and a small concession/storage building, and it is utilized regularly by the local Little League, American Youth Soccer Organization and softball leagues.

A residential building is located on the north side of the park.

The center portion of the park includes: group picnic shelter, tables, barbecue, a playground with play structures, storage building and a small amphitheater.

The southern portion of the park includes two lighted softball fields.

Both the upper and lower parts of the park are utilized for soccer during the fall season.

An equestrian/hiking trail is on the south and west perimeter of the park connecting to the Arroyo Park.

Commercial recreation includes a golf course/driving range/miniature golf course (27.8 acres), racquet center (3.2 acres) and stables (15.7 acres).

City operations include recycling center/cable t.v.: 2.0 acres; vacant land: 4.0 acres; and a diversion reservoir area: 1.3 acres.

Total area: 73.9 acres.

Arroyo Park: The 19.9 acre Arroyo Park is located on the north sided of the Pasadena 110 Freeway. Aroyo Park provides major lighted athletic fields for South Pasadena.

Eddie Park is located on the southeast corner of Chelten Way and Edgewood Drive. The small .75 acre park includes the historic Eddie House, group barbecue area, and an open lawn area and small play area. The park is framed by a three-foot high brick wall.

The two story Eddie House and grounds were donated to the City by the Eddie family. The 2,200 square foot building is an example of Transitional Craftsman architecture. Only the first floor is utilized as a meeting place for various groups and programs that include: a toddler/parent education program from Pasadena City College, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, and an Alcoholics Anonymous Group.

The two-acre War Memorial Park located on Fair Oaks Avenue provides a site for the two-story 12,000 square feet War Memorial building.

The War Memorial building was built in 1921 and is identified as a city cultural heritage landmark. The building was built on the former Oak Lawn Park with funding from city bonds and donations from the American Legion. The upper floor of the building includes a kitchen and a large multi-purpose room for dancing, meetings, banquets and other activities for groups up to 200 people. The lower consists of smaller rooms, storage and restroom facilties.

The grounds north of the building are dedicated for a landscaped memorial garden.

The 2.5 acre rectangular shaped Orange Grove Park is located at Mission Street and Orange Grove Avenue. As one of the City’s older parks, the site was formerly a beer garden and gaming house in 1886.

Today, Orange Grove Park is an active recreation park providing facilities for a lighted softball and soccer field, 2 lighted tennis courts, and a small playground.

Orange Grove Park has a two-story 9,500 square feet recreation building. The first floor of the building is used for recreation and day care programs. It is also equipped with a restroom accessible from the both inside and outside of the building. The second floor serves as a meeting room for the Chamber of Commerce and other groups. It also provides space as book storage for the Friends of the South Pasadena Library. Other park amenities include: drinking fountains, picnic tables, bleachers, and a bicycle rack.

Library Park consists of 2 acres of landscaped grounds surrounding the South Pasaden Public Library at El Centro Street, Diamond Avenue, Fairview Avenue, and Oxley Street.

The park landscape consists of mature trees, mounded grass areas and meandering walkways. Library Park is a passive neighborhood park which reflects the low key activities and functions of the Library and the Senior Center. The Senior Center consists of 800 square feet of space with a separate entrance on the north side of the library building.

On the south side of the Library, there are four benches, two bicycle racks and trash receptacles. The grassy mounds are favorite places to read and relax. Programs and activities at Library Park are primarily related to the Library and Senior Center functions.

Natural features help define South Pasadena’s borders. Raymond Hill, to the north, overlooks the city of Pasadena. The Monterey Hills, in the southwest, straddle South Pasadena’s border with Los Angeles. The dry watercourse of the Arroyo Seco, arising in the San Gabriel Mountins and extending to the Los Angeles River, traces the western boundary of the city.

The City seeks to strike a balance between accommodating growth, providing recreational relief and developed open space amenities for residents, and conserving the natural environment as an exercise of responsible stewardship.

The Arroyo Seco: The Lower Arroyo Seco provides not only opportunities for recreation, but also the potential for a wildlife ecosystem within city limits.

The city strives to develop recreational opportunities while protectingn and restoring the ecosystem, and recognizing the important flood control functions of the area.

Along the northeast and east sides of town, the former creek, now flood channel defines the city boundary and, though traversing residential fabric, it is in certain portions an already established riparian and wildlife corridor.

Hillside areas: The hillsides and ridgelines of South Pasadena provide a scenic backdrop for the entire community. Because of the view, potential ridgelines are often the first choice of developers to locate homes. Protection of the City’s hillside areas is a matter of ensuring that development minimizes severe alteration of landform, flood problems, soil erosion, and slide damage. It is also a matter of protecting the “view-shed”, both from and to these hillsides, and retaining as much natural vegetation as possible.