The 67-acre restoration area at Ensen Community Park opened to the public on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, which makes this winter its first rainy season open to visitors. The ground was shaped so basins hold ponds and slow-moving channels while the trails stay up on higher ground. The seasonal water is a big part of what the place was built for, and the wet months are when visitors will see that side of it.
The trails sit high on purpose
The restoration area is on the lower floodplain of Carr Lake, where most of the farming used to happen. The Monterey Herald described the larger Carr Lake area as a seasonally dry, 480-acre basin. In Big Sur Land Trust's project StoryMap, the trust says the Reclamation Ditch was dug between 1917 and 1920 to drain the wetlands for farming.
Big Sur Land Trust's goal was to bring back the wetland that existed here more than a century ago. On its restoration area page, the trust says crews moved and shaped more than 172,000 cubic yards of soil, which it compares to about 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The trust's opening press release and Monterey County NOW both put the figure at 180,000 cubic yards. Whichever number you use, the soil wasn't moved to make a flat lawn. It was moved to create two levels: raised ground for 1.7 miles of trails, and lower basins built to hold water.
According to Monterey County NOW, the old network of straight ditches has been replaced with "meandering channels, seasonal ponds and native plant communities." Three new bridges, 240 feet long in total, cross those channels. The bridges are there because the channels are meant to carry water.
The design has jobs beyond the walk. The land trust says the new waterways will slow storm flows, help recharge groundwater, and filter water on its way to Monterey Bay. Each of those depends on water moving through the site, which happens in storm season.
What winter water brings in
The site already has wildlife. By the opening, 68 bird species had been recorded on the site. The list includes egrets, herons, cormorants, several kinds of swallows, and a nesting family of American avocets. Frogs, toads and a family of gray foxes have been seen too. Nineteen bird boxes, nesting poles and roosting poles are already in place.
The land trust says the restored floodplain was built partly as a refuge for migrating birds and as breeding habitat for native frogs. Both of those uses depend on the seasonal ponds and wetlands, so this winter is the first season the public can walk the trails while those uses are underway.
The plants are young, and they'll keep changing. The trust says the site was seeded with more than 2,000 pounds of seed and planted with 6,000 native plants and 100 trees, chosen for seven different habitat types. The trust's opening release gives a different, larger count of more than 12,000 native plants and trees. Plants to look for include box elder, Western sycamore, California poppy, sun cups, spreading rush, tufted hairgrass, and purple needlegrass, California's state grass.
Rachel Saunders, vice president of conservation at Big Sur Land Trust, said in the trust's opening announcement that the wetlands offer "the chance to experience birds, native plants, water, and changing seasons right in the middle of the city." The same release says ecological restoration takes time, and that the trust will keep caring for the habitat under an agreement with the City of Salinas. Monterey County NOW reported that this commitment runs roughly the next decade. So a walk this December is your first look at a place that's expected to look noticeably different in a few years.
The signs explain what the water used to be
Seven interpretive panels line the trails. They explain why this ground was dry for so long, and who lived and worked on it. Monterey County NOW reported that the panels cover these stories:
- The Ohlone, Costanoan and Esselen peoples, whose ancestral lands include Carr Lake. Some signs use Indigenous language and describe traditional plant uses.
- The Chinese laborers who dug the early ditches that drained the lakebed.
- The Japanese American farming families who were long-term stewards of Carr Lake, and the history of forced incarceration that began at a detention center across the street.
- The farmworker communities who keep the region running.
The park's name is part of that history. "Ensen" means blackberry. Louise J. Miranda Ramirez, Tribal Chairwoman of the Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Nation, suggested it to honor blackberries as a traditional food source for the area's Indigenous peoples. In the final naming survey, most of the 966 people who responded said the name should honor that history.
According to Monterey County NOW, the land trust reached a purchase agreement in 2016 with the family that owned the 73 acres, and bought the land in 2017. The 73-acre park is now owned and managed by the city.
How the new trails connect to the park you already know
If you've used Ensen since August 2025, you know the first phase. It opened that month to a crowd of more than 1,500 people. The restoration area wraps around it and is designed so you can walk from the busier park into quieter habitat.
| Neighborhood park, opened August 2025 | Restoration area, opened Sept. 20, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 6 acres | 67 acres |
| What's there | Playground, basketball court, skate park, dog park, picnic areas, restrooms, parking | 1.7 miles of trails, three bridges, nearly 30 acres of wetland, more than 30 acres of grassland, outdoor classroom |
| Who shaped it | Residents, through a community engagement process | Residents, plus restoration design for seasonal water |
For a visit, start with the park's listed address, 99 La Posada Drive. The parking and restrooms are in the first-phase park. The September opening used 600 Sherwood Drive as its event address, with overflow parking at Mount Toro High School, but that was a setup for the celebration only. The city's general park rules set park hours from dawn to dusk. They also prohibit unleashed animals and taking plants. The habitat is young, so check the posted signs at the trail entrance before bringing a dog or bike past the playground.
Natividad Medical Center is just across the street to the north. Hillary Fish, Natividad's director of community relations, toured the new area before it opened. She told Monterey County NOW she was looking forward to people having a nearby place to walk.
Two November dates at Ensen
Two community events bring people to the park before Thanksgiving:
- Sunday, Nov. 1, 2 to 5 p.m. MILPA hosts a free Día de los Muertos gathering at Ensen Park, 99 La Posada Drive, with community altars, crafts and food.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Friends of Ensen holds its free monthly park clean-up. Volunteer check-in starts at 10:15 by the main parking lot.
Friends of Ensen is a new volunteer group that supports clean-ups, stewardship work and community events at the park. Big Sur Land Trust has a sign-up page for anyone who wants to join.
The rest of Carr Lake is a bigger story. Ensen covers 73 of the basin's roughly 480 acres. More than 7,000 residents helped plan it, by attending design meetings, planting a native demonstration garden, and choosing the name. Big Sur Land Trust is still raising money for a stewardship endowment to care for the restored habitat.
As a third-generation Salinas resident, I'm glad to see Carr Lake open for walking. If you're new to town or thinking about where you'd like to live, I'm glad to talk through how places like Ensen fit into everyday life in different parts of Salinas, in English or Spanish. Let's Connect with Mario Tejeda.
