Ascarate Park, El Paso

I grew up in el Paso. I've not seen the park or lake since the early fifties. As kids, we used half a belly tank as a boat. Paddle t ut as far as our rope would allow. tie the other end to my Hot T and pull, "fast". Repeat. over and over. i fell out once, although I don't swim, I did that time and got to shore. We tried to put a motor on the tank. a flop. I went to many a race at that track. I sold my 37 Ford after i thrashed it well. The buyers stripped the fenders off and raced it. i saw it win a main event. i thonk they eventually blew the engine and it became junk. Silver with # 88 as i recall!! The water as brown, even then. Earl Evans ran the track and competed in the Pan American road race in a stock 53 Chevrolet.

I've visited Azcarate Park in the recent two years and it seems to be surviving the test of time. I remember it was the hang out for many young people and families until we as users made the place less desireable. It seems that the county has begun to put some of our money to fix some of the facilities and Azcarate is in the early stages of recovery. Of course it will never be the same without Western Playland but it seems to have potential of someday reviving to it's glorious days of family gatherings, fishing and boating. It would be nice if the facilities and overall aspect of the facilities could be kept up by US, the users. So next time you visit, pick up after yourself and be proud of your park......after all... You Are Paying For It! The less money that has to go toward cleaning up after people the more money can be used for groundskeeping, grass, trees, tables and grills etc... LASTLY..... OUR CHILDREN WILL FOLLOW IN OUR FOOTSTEPS.....LETS TEACH THEM TO BE RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS AND TO CONTRIBUTE INTO THEIR COMMUNITY.... OTHERWISE THEY BECOME PART OF THE PROBLEM........MAKE THEM PART OF THE SOLUTION.

I love this place I recently learned that the city will fix this place up .Overall I love it and it makes El Paso a better city

I left El Paso in 1970 and have been back numerous times. Mostly to see my parents who are gone now. But I first started playing golf at Ascarate Golf Course. That is where I got my dad interested in golf in 1968 and after I left I would go back and play golf with him at Ascarate until he passed on. I have many fond memories of the golf course and the park. I once went to see a car race in the early fifties that was held at Ascarate around the lake shore. Old timers can confirm that. I spent many hours at the lake with my then girlfriend (wife now)checking out everybody while drinking sodas and eating hot dogs. So, all in all, I like the place. We used to call Westen Playland our own "Disneyland"

The park can be helped by us the users. We often complaint about our parks,YES i said our parks, but seldom do we users do our part in keeping them clean, simply by picking up after ourselves. I for one am proud to call my self an El Pasoan, and every time that i get a chance to launch my cannoe at our lake i pick up trash off of the water though it was not my trash. Just imagine what we as a proud community can do for our quality of life, if only all of us did our part, the water at the lake would be cleaner,our county / city taxes might even slow down a little since the park maitenance would be less. Lets talk about Carlsbad caverns, the last time i visited, the very first thing i saw was graffity at the entance or mouth of the cavern. Yes the parks can do need our help. "Lets all help" how about it.

This is a poor excuse for a park with dirty water and a lccal fish population that had to be relocated while the city cleaned dirty diapers and duck doo from the slimy green water. It's much better now! Sure, it is. You could come here for a light picnic, but would you? It offers a meager collection of picnic tables under a few sparse trees. Western playland that used to draw thousands closed its doors and relocated too because the city blackmailed the owner and he had no choice but to leave for Sunland Park. The ghostly remains are rusting in the dry desert air. I guess if you're really desperate you could fish and play a few games with your kids while batting off the mosquitoes which tend to explode after the seasonal rains. I wouldn't bother. I've lived here most of my life and we've never bothered! Nuff said. Go to Carlsbad Caverns instead!

It is a nice place to relax and spend a good quality time with all your family. We specially like to take our bicycles and ride around the park. It also has a beautiful view. We also can appreciate nature by taking a good look at the ducks, birds, geese inside and around the lake.

The park has been updated with a track that people use jog or bike ride around the lake. It is very clean, even the bathrooms are disinfected! The park has several fishing events yearly that hundreds attend. You can see families everywhere on the weekends and my sons and I enjoy fishing and sharing the relaxing atmosphere and safety of the park. To my surprise there are so many senior citizens that walk and ride bicycles around the lake. We go about twice a month and feel grateful for having this park in El Paso.

Ascarate Park is a great family park. The park itself and the park restrooms are clean. The fishing is good. This park was once a park where all the young adults use to hang out and drink but since drinking has been outlawed, the park has become a great place to take the kids. I greatly enjoying my time fishing at Ascarate Park!

If youve never been to Ascarate you have to go,I personally consider it one of El Paso's landmarks and I invite everyone to go down and visit it. It has a great atmosphere for kids of all ages, and of course it brings back memories of your younger days.