Perigot Park

Prasch Hall, on the park grounds, is a roller rink. It's also a 5,900-square-foot gymnasium striped for basketball, pickleball and volleyball, with a game and activities room, a large kitchen and a floor used for dances — and you can rent one, two or all three areas. Blue Lake runs skate sessions there. Not many town parks come with a rink.

Everything else sits at 312 S. Railroad Avenue, directly across from City Hall. Two ballfields anchor the grounds: Iorg Field, where Blue Lake/Fieldbrook Little League plays its ages 5-to-12 games, and Clemence Field, the regulation softball and baseball diamond. Bocce courts sit next to a new playground and picnic area.

Dogs get their own ground. Blue Lake's Pooches Only Playground is on the west side of 312 South Railroad, tucked just behind the Clemence Field outfield fence, and waste stations stand at the front and back of the park.

Here's the catch. Picnic tables are free and first-come, first-served, but the serving booth, the barbecue area and the stage all require a rental, and every facility is open to the public except when rented to private parties. A park that looks open can be booked. Rental enquiries go to parksdirector@bluelake.ca.gov, or recreation@bluelake.ca.gov for Prasch Hall.

Restrooms follow a schedule worth checking: the public restroom at the front of the park is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm, with portable restrooms in place May 1 to October 30 and a different winter placement from October 31 to April 30.

In July the whole place becomes festival grounds for Annie & Mary Day, with a parade at 11am and food, craft vendors, a car show, pony rides, a petting zoo and live bands from noon to 5pm.