Quiet Waters

It’s a lazy, blue-sky Sunday afternoon at Hansen Dam Recreation Area--the kind of day just made for grilling hot dogs or tossing a Frisbee.

But this Sunday the barbecues are cold, and the parking lot is half empty. Most of the paddle boats are docked, and a father and son have the new fishing lake to themselves.

The swimming lake sparkles in the warm fall sunshine, but just a dozen or so children splash and play in the 1.5-acre gem.

The two new lakes are the centerpiece of efforts to revive the recreation area, and drew big crowds at the end of summer. But now, Hansen Dam’s rippling waters, lush lawns, sycamores and equestrian trails have settled into a quiet autumn.

Its stillness stands in sharp contrast to Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area, the largest park in the San Fernando Valley, where cars jam parking lots and spandex-clad, roller-blading yuppies hog bike paths and walkways.

And while crowds at both parks have tapered with the end of summer, this particular Sunday parking is scarce at Sepulveda Dam and abundant at Hansen Dam.

It’s a far cry from the scene on Aug. 28, when throngs converged on Hansen Dam to celebrate the grand opening of the two lakes, few would have expected the quietness.

Visitors enjoyed a big party with free food and music. The media covered the hoopla. Even State Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar) brought his baby grandson for a dip in the swimming lake.

More than 30,000 people swam in the pool between opening day and Sept. 6, according to the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

That’s more than the average city pool hosts during the summer season.

“That’s a wow,” says Gilda Franklin, a media specialist for the department.

But now, swimmers can splash without fear of spraying neighbors. Sunbathers can sprawl on bright beach towels without smelling a stranger’s sunscreen.

Park-goers cite a couple reasons for the lack of crowds. One is that people outside the northeast Valley may not be aware of the park. The other is Hansen Dam has a lingering reputation as a breeding ground for gangs, drug dealers and transients.

“Years ago, it wasn’t this lovely,” says Lisa Wheeler, a 48-year-old North Hollywood resident who recently visited Hansen Dam for the first time in 15 years, to watch her teenage son compete in the Sun Valley Baseball League’s championship game.

“I know it’s unfair to say, but I sort of thought it would be trashier,” Wheeler says as she cheers in the bleachers, underneath pink and blue umbrellas that barely shield the sun on a sweltering fall Sunday.

‘I’m surprised,” she says. “It is lovely.”

With the improvements, including a refurbished park, city officials say Hansen Dam is safer. During operating hours for the fishing and swimming lakes, for instance, a staff of about 20 lifeguards, three managers and 13 maintenance workers roam the premises.

The recreation area itself deters crime, says Angel Espindola, 18, who lives in Lake View Terrace. “People will come here to be entertained,” he says. “They won’t be thinking about doing the bad stuff.”

Espindola visits Hansen Dam about once a week, sometimes more. He jogs to keep in shape, he coaches his younger sisters in softball, and one day soon he hopes to fish with his grandfather, like they once did when he was small.

Other days, he goes to Hansen Dam just to think.

“I don’t have to hear cars and stuff,” he says, spending a lazy afternoon watching a baseball game in the park. “I like looking at the water.”

Espindola, a native of the northeast Valley, said Hansen Dam has “never been a big deal, but now I think it’s bringing the community closer together.”

Espindola was born after the 1950s, when Hansen Dam--with its beach and the 120-acre Holiday Lake--was one of the Valley’s most popular recreation areas.

Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar) remembers. “When I was a kid we would go fishing, swimming and watch boats,” he recalls. “We had good times.”

In the early 1980s, Holiday Lake closed when silt from the nearby Tujunga Wash filled its basin. Alarcon and other politicians have since fought for funding to refurbish the lake as the area slowly lost its luster.

Now that it’s beautiful again, Hansen Dam fills residents with pride. Many covet it as “their” park.

They pick up litter and reprimand litterers. “The community wants to protect it,” Alarcon says.

And no one seems to mind the lack of crowds.

“I like it here,” says 14-year-old Christopher Rogel. “It’s good.”

With the swimming lake’s palm trees and sandy shores, he says, “it looks like a beach, but it doesn’t have the bacteria like the beach or the jellyfish. There’s sand, but not enough to get in my mouth or nose, and it’s not so dirty and crowded.”

On a hot Friday afternoon recently, Bardo Alvarado almost had the fishing lake to himself.

Dusty winds swirled around his body, which was slumped lazily against rocks. His eyes closed, Alvarado reveled in the solitude until disturbed by a stranger.

“If word gets out, this place will get too crowded,” says Alvarado, a 25-year-old Pacoima resident. “I like the sound of the water, and there’s not a lot of noises. It’s relaxing.”

He smiles. “Keep it a secret.”