Bonsall Community Park

February 18 Groundbreaking Event

A groundbreaking event for Bonsall Community Park took place Tuesday, Feb. 18. Leaders hosted a ceremonial shovel drop with the community where guests were inivted to learn more about the park, talk to project experts, and pick up information about free activities in other County parks.

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BACKGROUND

In 2015, the County of San Diego Department of Parks and Recreation (County Parks) acquired a 63-acre former golf course off Camino Del Rey. The site was formerly known as SLR Downs, and it is one of two active recreation parks identified in the San Luis Rey River Park (SLRRP) Master Plan. 

The Master Plan for SLRRP is made up of more than 1,700 acres (or 9 linear miles) of parks, multi-use trails, staging areas, and open space along the San Luis Rey River between Interstate 15 and the Old Bonsall Bridge.

Bonsall Community Park was selected for active recreation because of its location. The acreage is in a more populated area – next to Bonsall Elementary School, Bonsall Community Center, several housing developments and Highway 76. It is also land that is already disturbed which reduces the impact that construction and increased use will have on the environment.

Building this park makes progress toward the County’s goal of providing 3 acres of local, public parkland for every 1,000 residents. Currently, the Bonsall community does not have any designed public parks.

County Parks staff hosted three public meetings in addition to stakeholder meetings, focus groups and online surveys. Feedback from this outreach helped the design team identify the features residents valued the most and was used to develop a  Final Design Concept. This concept was approved by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 15, 2021.

In December of 2024, the County finalized a construction contract to build the first phase (central area) of Bonsall Community Park.

Phase 1 amenities that will be built under this contract include:

Sidewalk and intersection improvements to Camino Del Rey
Two new vehicle access points into the park
Soccer fields
Large, shaded playground
Shaded picnic shelters with picnic tables
Open lawn areas
A restroom/park office building
Dedicated area for two volunteer hosts to live
Walking paths and benches
Drought tolerant, low maintenance landscaping and efficient irrigation system
Bike parking
Park monument signs and informational kiosk
Biofiltration basins to provide stormwater management

Construction on the first phase of the project will begin in Winter 2025 and is anticipated to continue thru Summer of 2026, with an opening ceremony marking completion of the first part of the project. County staff will continue to engage the community on future phases of Bonsall Community Park and SLRR Park implementation. During construction, efforts will be made to keep surrounding trails open unless the safety of trail users or construction workers is compromised.

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