Live Oak Park

Live Oak Park is the perfect setting for picnics any time of the year, but during the summer the grove of sprawling oaks provides a canopy of shade that makes picnics particularly enjoyable. Once known as Reche’s Grove, the area has been a favorite picnic spot for over one hundred years. Live Oak Park was officially christened in 1920 but has seen picnickers spreading blankets under the lofty oaks since the late 1800s. A photo of an 1880 Independence Day celebration graces a timeline board near the parking lot. Another photo of girls in high-necked dresses and boys in suits is evidence of a high school picnic held on May 7, 1904.

Today I see a lone woman walking her dog and a large family gathering with barbeques flaring and yellow balloons floating from the lower branches of nearby trees. Live Oak is a place to find solitude if you want it, or a place to comfortably celebrate with fifty people.

If you listen carefully you may be able to hear the birdsongs or the acorns dropping from the oaks. I did. This grove of time-twisted trees is one of Fallbrook’s greatest legacies. It’s a place for solitary dreams or a place to revel in the company of your friends and family. Although it is close to home the ancient oaks transport you far away.

The drive down Alvarado Street from town is a relaxing, albeit circuitous, path to travel. Orange groves and lines of red bougainvillea mark the path to the oak-canopied Live Oak Park Road, which you then follow to a left on Reche Road.

A portion of the land, which forms the existing park, was donated by D. O. Lamb. The park is now a San Diego County Park and is also supported by the local Live Oak Park Coalition. A number of picnic tables with adjacent barbeques are available and the park also boasts a gazebo (which can be booked for weddings), a children’s playground, a baseball diamond, soccer field, sand volleyball court and botanical garden. It’s a perfect place for large gatherings, as there are many group picnic areas scattered throughout the extensive grounds.

Live Oak Park, located at 2746 Reche Road, is open every day except Christmas. The admission charge is $2 per car.