Bud Bender Park is a 10-acre in Rialto, California with a couple of exciting playgrounds, 3 baseball fields, restrooms, a community garden, and lots of parking. Follow along as we talk about all of these things and more!
The video above from Mack shows one of the baseball fields!
There are two parking lots off North Lilac Avenue. One has 15 spaces, one of which is a handicapped spot. The other one has about 100 spots and 4 handicapped spaces. They have a few close spots that are reserved for clean air, vanpool, and electric vehicles only! The smaller parking lot is better if you want to go to the northern baseball field or the garden, and the larger parking lot is the best choice for the southern baseball field.
Now onto the two ballfields. Unlike Veterans Park, both Bud Bender Park fields have an electronic scoreboard. One field has an outfield fence 310 feet away from home plate (this is the Little League Field). The other field has a fence 195 feet away from home base (it is called the Pony League Field). Because the fields are rather large, older age groups will often play here. One of these fields is known as the Ricky Nolasco Baseball Field, named after a Major League Baseball player.
The northern (and larger) field has benches and shade covers for the dugouts; the smaller ballfield does not have the shade cover. The larger field also has bleachers with shade covers, but the smaller field does not have the shade covers. There should be plenty of places to sit, but you may need sunscreen. Luckily, both fields have stadium lights for nighttime games. They may not be on if there is no game happening.
The third baseball field is more of a place to hit baseballs rather than play games (because it’s all grass). This field is the T-ball field.
There are 0.64 miles of sidewalks in and around Bud Bender Park - perfect for a walk with your dog! There is a loop that is close to the perimeter of the park that is 0.55 miles long. It will only take 15 minutes to complete. Yes, there are plenty of tables to sit at. If you want to have your dog run through obstacles at a dog park, Andreson Park is nearby!
Along the walk is a gazebo (next to the big parking lot). It has a dozen tables! The bad news is that it could be very crowded on the weekends. You can rent this park shelter for $66.40 a day, plus a refundable $100 refundable cleaning deposit.
The community garden has 16 different areas of plants with dozens of unique species. If you go during the right time of year, you will be able to see some very tall sunflowers.
Next to this is a historical adobe house. I wasn’t able to go to this spot, so I cannot confirm if you can walk inside of the gate. This adobe house is the oldest known building in Rialto at almost 200 years old - a century before Rialto became incorporated! Bud Bender Park was formerly known as Lilac Park.
The bathroom is in between the two fields. It is usually kept in good shape, so help keep it that way! Also, it has a water fountain for those hot summer days.
If you or your children are into trains, there are some railroad tracks along the southern edge of the park.
The busiest time every day is around 7 PM, and the least busy time is in the morning. Surprisingly, the most crowded days are the weekdays, and the least crowded are the weekends.
Scott Hege says, “We loved the little park! They had some really nice play structures, small ones and larger ones with great surfaces underneath them. The park is well taken care of and in great condition. An excellent place to spend some time outside.”
Bud Bender Park Playground
Both of the playgrounds have rubber surfaces with benches nearby to watch your kids play. Joe Sampson Park has the two best playgrounds in Rialto because of their massive size. Check them out!
The larger Bud Bender Park Playground has a rock climbing wall, a tall tube slide, another tall slide, smaller slides, a ladder, stairs, and games like tic-tac-toe. There are also 3 classic swings and a bucket swing for smaller kids.
The smaller playground has slides, ladders, games, stairs, a small tunnel, a little rock climbing wall, and more.
Miller Park and Seville Park and Amphitheater are not too far away and are great places for the kids.
That about sums everything up. Thanks for reading!
Address: 235 N Lilac Ave, Rialto, CA 92376
Hours: 6 AM - 10 PM daily
Coordinates: 34.101569, -117.378345
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