History

In December, 1974, John Bower offered to donate to the County ten acres of his 50-acre subdivision in the middle of the Pacific Woods subdivision. In November, 1975, the Board of Supervisors approved the subdivision, with the understanding that the 10-acre parcel was to be developed as a park. Park development began in January, 1976.

Interestingly, the 50-acre subdivision was originally to have been developed privately as a golf course. To that end, wells were drilled, land was cleared for fairways, and a holding pond for irrigation was created. However, the golf course was never completed. The holding pond is now Bower Park's duck pond.

Bower Park is a popular semi-urban community park with a variety of recreation facilities. The park is situated on gently sloping ground on a ridge northeast of Gualala. The area is covered with pine and other evergreen conifer trees, including a small grove of redwoods. The duck pond is the park's central feature. The outdoor theater has been used for weddings, as well as for amateur theater productions. The baseball field is used and maintained by the south coast Little League. New children's and tot's playground equipment was installed through a grant from the State Parks Department in 2005.

Park Location

Bower Park is located at 38100 Old Stage Coach Road (also known as Old State Highway), Gualala, California, northeast of the coastal community of Gualala (just north of the Mendocino-Sonoma county line). The park is situated on gently sloping ground covered by pine and other evergreen trees, including a small grove of redwoods. The park's central feature is a duck pond, which was originally intended to be a holding pond for a golf course!

If you’re looking for a place to play, there are tennis courts, a baseball field (maintained by the South Coast Little League), a basketball court, and two separate playgrounds for the kids. More adventurous visitors may take a hike along the nature trail/fitness course.

Park Facilities/Attractions

Public restrooms; tennis courts; group picnic area; basketball court; ball field; play area; ; outdoor theater, paved parking lots.  Please note, that as of July 2022, certain areas of the park remain closed, including the outdoor theater, community room, and tennis courts.

Reservations

Reservations for the outdoor theater, or the group picnic area may be made by contacting the General Services Agency.

Please see our Group Picnic Area Reservation page for more information.