Castaic Lake State Recreation Area, one of the largest state recreational lakes in California for boat rentals, fishing, swimming and more.

This state park is located north of Santa Clarita in Castaic. This lake is a water source for the northern portion of Los Angeles. It is broken up into two recreation areas, Upper & Lower Castaic Lake. The Upper lake has two lauch ramps for boating and the Lower Lake has areas for swimming, picnicking, with a launch area for kayaks, floats, and other non gasoline powered baoting. The lake is a great spot for summer swimming and bass fishing year-round. We have visited in the past to the swim beach and our toddler had a wonderful time splashing in the fresh water and building sand castles. 

During our most recent trip, we visited during the off season to explore other areas of the park. When we arrived, we started our day playing on the many different play grounds, which are located throughout the park. They had a nature theme obstacle course, a toddler playground, a treehouse themed playground and even an intense jungle gym playground (which we did not get a chance to play on but we peaked at it!). THey have many shaded picnic areas to enjoy lunch, as well as BBQ pits. During the summer, these will fill quickly. We recommend arriving early to snag one. 

After some playground play we ventured down to the swim beach. During the off season swimming is not permitted but we were able to walk along the shoreline and enjoy some ducks and geese wading nearby - which our boys LOVED. We then headed over to the back portion of the park towards the hiking trails and campground. We spent some time exploring the trails and widflower hunting. We have added this park to our overnight camping list!!! We look forward to an amazing summer season at this state park. 

Cost Savings: CA Libraries now offer state park passes available for check out. Visit your local library for more details!