Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park

Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park, commonly Harbor Park, is a 231-acre (0.93 km2) Los Angeles municipal park featuring a golf course and 45-acre (0.18 km2) Machado Lake[1] and freshwater wetland.[2][3][4] Harbor Park is the third-largest park in Los Angeles city parks system after Griffith Park and Elysian Park.[5]

Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park
Location25820 Vermont Ave., Harbor City, CA 90710
Coordinates33°47′06″N 118°17′33″W
Established1971

Harbor Park is located west of Harbor Freeway and south of Pacific Coast Highway, adjacent to Los Angeles Harbor College.

In addition to the lake and golf course, amenities include barbecue pits and picnic tables, children's playgrounds, a bike path and walking trail, and an outdoor fitness zone.[6]

The park is visited by migratory birds and is a "dedicated city wildlife sanctuary."[3] More than 160 species of birds have been observed in the park since it reopened in 2017 after a rehab,[1] and it's "one of the best places in the South Bay" to see the "secretive" marsh wren.[7] The historic pre-development bird list for the park land is significantly longer.[8] However, the park's wetland habitat is periodically disrupted by litter and debris flows from city storm drains.[3] The park is a "natural low point, collecting water from a 9,000-acre (36 km2) watershed."[1]

The refurbishment completed in 2017 included "pathways, four observation piers, two observation zones, two pedestrian bridges, interpretive signs, new park fixtures, 622 new park trees, and over 50,000 new plants."[1]

Prior to the improvements "alien species and pollution [were] serious problems at the park." Circa 2011, problematic invasive species with breeding populations within the park included "bullfrogs, apple snails as big as baseballs and Florida banded water snakes."[9]

The infamous alligator Reggie lived at the park for two years from 2005 to 2007 until he was finally captured and relocated to the Los Angeles Zoo. (The two-year hunt for Reggie "astoundingly…netted another, smaller alligator.")[10]

As of 2014, Lake Machado was described as “a state-designated 'impaired water body' because of its witch's brew of trash, algae, coliform bacteria, foul odors and hazardous substances. Adjacent habitat is strewn with broken glass. Interlopers wage paintball wars and drive vehicles through the nesting and foraging grounds of more than 300 species of birds. The park has only one working restroom and no security. Brush fires are annual events."[11]

Prior to 2002, "Boating and fishing were originally allowed in the Lake, and until recently fish were stocked in the Lake. As water quality deteriorated and toxic sediment accumulated, boating was stopped and signs have been posted with warnings about the risk of eating fish from the Lake."[4]

"Mosquitoes have been a chronic problem that has been exacerbated by flourishing tule growth in the accumulated sediments along the east shore," noted a report in the Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation.[4] Encephalitis-bearing mosquitoes were found in the park at one point and a caged flock of hens was placed in the park to use for mosquito testing. (Mosquitoes apparently prefer to feast on poultry before primate when given a choice.)[12]

Harbor Regional Park bicycle loop

The bicycle loop is 5.5 mi (8.9 km) long if you include Harbor College, and 4.5 mi (7.2 km) if you bypass it. "Note that there is a separate bike/walk access to the park. Just east of Gaffey Street at the intersection is a path which travels under Anaheim Street and enters at an undeveloped area near the southwest end of the park."[13]

Golf course

Harbor Park has a nine-hole par-36 golf course with views of Machado Lake that's been called a "neighborhood highlight."[14][15]

The golf course was the first part of the new park to be built after the draining of Bixby Slough. The course was opened with a celebratory golf tournament on Oct. 12, 1958.[16] A driving range and a clubhouse "in the contemporary Spanish California style" was opened in 1973.[17] Circa 1991, the Harbor Lake course was the second-busiest golf course in the Los Angeles City golf course system after Rancho Park Golf Course, which has 18 holes.[18]

See also

References
  1. "Welcome Back, Machado Lake | Department of Public Works". dpw.lacity.org. Archived from the original on 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  2. Waters, T. (1985, Mar 28). Mosquito fighters target popular lake: Los Angeles Times.
  3. Woodward, S. (1995, Feb 02). Storm debris threatens harbor wetland pollution: Foam cups, plastics and other trash carried to wilmington park area by recent rains overwhelm a favored stopover of migratory birds. Los Angeles Times
  4. Kochaon, S. Anne; Morton, Jess (Jan 2002). "KEN MALLOY HARBOR REGIONAL PARK IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM A RESCUE PLAN FOR THE MOST PRECIOUS TREASURE OF THE SOUTH BAY". Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation (22): 707–735. ISSN 1938-6478.
  5. Krikorian, Greg, "Greening of Harbor Park Cheers Retiree Who Made It Happen," Los Angeles Times, 18 Nov 1990: SBB3.
  6. Gasperov, Sara (2018-12-02). "Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park & Machado Lake | Best of the South Bay". Archived from the original on 2022-02-28. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  7. "KEN MALLOY HARBOR REGIONAL PARK". Redondo Beach - Wild Birds Unlimited - Nature Shop. Archived from the original on 2022-08-01. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  8. Cunningham, Kym (2017-04-17). "Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park Fights Entropy". Random Lengths News. Archived from the original on 2022-08-01. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  9. Sahagun, Louis, "It's a coastal clean sweep; Thousands volunteer to collect trash and recyclables at 65 sites," Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep 2011: p. A.35.
  10. Morrison, Patt, Runaway animals are as L.A. as car chases. Here's why they make headlines, Los Angeles Times (Online), Jul 20, 2021.
  11. Sahagun, L. (2014, Mar 16). Finally, a lifeline; 'abused paradise' will get a long-overdue restoration. Los Angeles Times
  12. LOUIMA, G. (2002, Aug 09). Los angeles; chickens serve as virus sentinels; disease: Officials hope testing special flocks across the state will reveal when west nile virus has arrived, so warnings can be issued.: [HOME EDITION]. Los Angeles Times
  13. Brundige, Don; Brundige, Sharron (2007). Cycling Los Angeles (2nd ed.). San Diego, Calif.: Sunbelt Publications. pp. 52–54. ISBN 978-0-932653-81-9.
  14. "Harbor Park Golf Course | Los Angeles City Golf". golf.lacity.org. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  15. Garner, S. (2018). Neighborhood spotlight: Oil and the sea built wilmington's future. Los Angeles Times
  16. "Palos Verdes Peninsula News 9 October 1958 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Archived from the original on 2022-08-01. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
  17. Clubhouse at Harbor Park to Open Soon, Los Angeles Times (1923-1995); Los Angeles, Calif. 26 Aug 1973: cs3.
  18. "Harbor Park Golf Course Among Busiest," Los Angeles Times (1923-1995); Los Angeles, Calif. 18 Jan 1991: SBC12.
Harbor Lake (1977)
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