Parks & Recreation

About Us

Our Mission

To implement the policies established by the Board of Supervisors pertaining to parks, which includes acquiring, developing, and maintaining recreation areas serving every segment of society, including the disabled and economically disadvantaged. To provide the leadership necessary to develop and manage parks and recreation facilities in ways that will provide the best possible experience for people to enjoy the outdoors at the most reasonable costs.

Who We Are

Stanislaus County Department of Parks and Recreation acquires, develops, and maintains recreation areas serving every segment of society, including the disabled and the economically disadvantaged, in ways that will provide the best possible experience for people to enjoy the outdoors at the most reasonable cost.

What We Do

The Department of Parks and Recreation maintains grounds and operations of identified parks and facilities at the current level of service, evaluate priorities and adjust the workforce to the priorities identified to efficiently carry out our mission and provide basic levels of services at all general funded neighborhood parks, cemeteries, bridges, County facilities and office buildings, reservoirs, and regional parks throughout Stanislaus County.

Department Services and Programs

The Department maintains five regional parks, 12 neighborhood parks, ten community parks, two Off-Highway Vehicle parks, four cemeteries, two bridges, La Grange historical areas, five fishing access points along rivers and lakes, one swimming pool, one organized youth camp, and numerous acres of open space and river bottom. For more information, call (209) 525-6750 or visit www.stancounty.com/parks.

The Administration division implements the functions of budget, human resources, marketing, grant coordination, project management, partner development, and aligning maintenance, operational, and customer needs.

The Community Parks/County Centers division manages the maintenance and operations of the parks, flood control landscape, and streetscapes within County Service Areas 1, 10, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, and Del Rio Heights Landscape Assessment District; the Helen White Trail; Fox Grove, Riverdale and Las Palmas Fishing Accesses; Pauper's, Cemetery; the Regional Water Safety Training Center located in Empire; Atlas, Bonita, Burbank-Paradise, Empire Community, Empire Tot Lot, Fairview, Leroy F. Fitzsimmons, Mono, Oregon Drive, Parklawn, Riverdale, Salida, and the United Community Parks. Additionally, the Community Parks/County Centers Division is responsible for landscape/grounds maintenance services at the following facilities: County Clerk-Recorder/Elections Building, 801 11th Street Building, Health Services Agency (County Center 2), Learning Institute (County Center 3), Probation and Juvenile Hall (County Center 5), 11 Libraries, Behavioral Health and Recovery Services facilities including Stanislaus Recovery Center (Ceres), a portion of County Center 1, 12th Street Garage and offices, Old City Hall, 1010 Tenth Street, Mancini Hall, and the Coroner's Office.

The Regional Parks division is responsible for the maintenance and operations of Woodward Reservoir, Modesto Reservoir, Frank Raines Off-Highway Vehicle Park, LaGrange Off-Highway Vehicle Park, Laird Park and a small lot within the Knights Ferry area. The Department has operated recreational facilities at Woodward Reservoir in partnership with South San Joaquin Irrigation District (SSJID) for over 50 years. This facility encompasses 6,667 acres, including 2,900 acres covered by the reservoir.

The Department has operated recreational facilities at Modesto Reservoir in partnership with Modesto Irrigation District (MID) for more than 50 years. This facility covers 5,080 acres, including 2,800 acres covered by the reservoir.

The La Grange Regional Park includes the Off-Highway Vehicle area; Gold Dredge area; Livery Stables, Jail, School House, and Museum; Joe Domecq Wilderness area; Kiwanis Camp; Basso and Old La Grange Bridge; La Grange Cemetery; Robert's Ferry Cemetery; French Bar Cemetery, Basso Fishing Access; Turlock State Lake Fishing Access; and 225 acres of river bottom along the Tuolumne River.

Frank Raines Regional Park includes the Off-Highway Vehicle area; Campground; Day Use Park, and the Minniear Area, which encompasses over 1,000 acres of undeveloped land designed for non-motorized recreation use.

Laird Regional Park consists of 97 acres of land, 30 of which open to the public for recreational purposes. This park also serves the role of a neighborhood park.