Lake Herman Recreation Area

I went fishing for largemouth bass (catch & release). A fellow angler landed a trout. No personal water contact allowed. No boating allowed... not even a kayak or canoe. The banks are generally free from litter.

Nice hiking trail, paved all the way from here to the Benicia Community Park. Not a loop. Looks like a popular spot for fishing. It's a water source, so you can't get in the water. The portapotties are not very nice.

It's a nice and beautiful park, good for hiking or just walking around. There are some nice fishing spots, but be aware of ticks; there are sooo many of them. Don't let your dogs run into the bushes and bring ticks into your house. We also saw a snake crawling in the bushes.

Lots of space so you can be around people or not. Good place to play sports. No basketball, but frisbee golf, skate park, baseball soccer volleyball and inline hockey. Adequate bathrooms. Great play area for kids. Large BBQ area. Dogs on leash, but Benicia is very dog friendly and I've seen old, calm dogs off leash when the park isn't crowded. There are two dog parks, for big dogs or small dogs. The big-dog park is popular. Spacious, shady, room for frisbee or ball playing and tunnels. Nobody uses the small-dog park. Even though a small concrete area was put in to level the table, there are sharp thorns growing near the entrance and it is mostly hilly with little shade. Dinged off a star for the bad small-dog park. The paved trail only goes halfway around Lake Herman and is nearly flat. There are dirt trails up the hills to the East that have a good slope. You can follow them around walled off upper scale neighborhoods on the ridge to a fire trail and get a good 4-5 mile loop in wilder habitat with few people but LOTS of ticks in warm seasons.

This place is dog friendly! The one downside is the small parking lot, but if you park in benicia community park, it’s a short walk over to lake herman where they connect. There are gorgeous displays of wildflowers (blue bonnets, poppies, purple owl clover, and some other unfortunately invasive albeit pretty ones). Lots of areas to explore, especially if you visit the park which has playgrounds and picnic tables. I’ve seen otters and turtles in the lake, so cute.