New City Park Offers Variety of Play Areas

Calabasas residents climbed on the playground equipment, rode their bicycles and held an impromptu roller hockey game at the Juan Bautista de Anza park--the city’s newest venue for fun.

Under construction for nearly a year, the facility opened to the public last week. It is the first major park built by the young city and visitors said it was a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Jody Norris, who brought her sons, Benjamin, 7, and Justin, 5 months, to the park one recent day. “I’ve lived here a year now, and I hadn’t discovered anywhere to take Ben.”

The park spans eight acres on the corner of Las Virgenes and Lost Hills roads. It boasts three separate play areas with age-specific apparatus, including colorful exercise equipment for teens and adults.

“The teen area makes the park for all ages,” said Jeff Rubin, a recreation specialist for the city of Calabasas. “If kids just want to play, they don’t need anyone else, like with roller hockey. Usually when you build a park, you forget about the older kids.”

The park also includes an area where visitors can cool off during the summer. At the park’s entrance are three fountains adorned with stone bullfrogs placed in a circle. On the other side of a hill, where the city plans to offer open-air concerts, a trail takes hikers through the Santa Monica Mountains.

“You can get to the [ocean] from here,” Rubin said.

The recreation center is still under construction but will be completed in October. It will house classes sponsored by the city’s Parks and Recreation and Community Service departments, Rubin said.

The $1.8-million park includes a multiuse game court with six full-court basketball hoops that can be adjusted from 6 to 10 feet high.

The game court can also be converted into three volleyball courts and a full roller hockey field where games in a new city league will be played.