Oak Park, San Diego, CA

A century-old reservoir is the centerpiece of Oak Park, a southeastern San Diego neighborhood that stretches from Euclid Avenue east to College Avenue, with State Route 94 curving along its southern side. Chollas Lake was built in 1901 to help supply the young city's water, and the land around it has been a city park since the 1960s. The lake sets the rhythm here. A dirt path of about 0.8 miles circles the water, and picnic shelters with grills line the shore. Fishing is free but limited to anglers 15 and under, and no other lake in San Diego County reserves its fishing for young anglers alone. Nature trails climb the slopes above the shore, there is a big playground at Gloria's Mesa, and a ball field sits in the North Chollas canyon. Homes in Oak Park are mostly single-family houses, with condominiums, apartment complexes and Navy housing in the mix. Canyon land around the lake breaks up the residential streets on the east side. Everyday stops gather in two places. Near 54th Street and Redwood Street, Mimi's Tuk Tuk cooks homemade Thai with hand-ground spices, from pumpkin curry to pork belly som tam, and the Oak Park branch library is on 54th Street. To the northeast, the Marketplace at the Grove, which began as College Grove, central San Diego's earliest mall of the postwar years, now holds big-box stores including a Sam's Club and a cluster of quick-service restaurants. Getting around mostly means driving. SR 94 runs west to downtown in a few minutes, College Avenue heads north toward San Diego State, and Route 5 and several other MTS buses stop at the lake. Oak Park Elementary, a music conservatory magnet, and Carver Elementary are the neighborhood's public elementary schools. The shopping options lean heavily on chains, and there is no walkable main street to speak of. The lake makes up a lot of ground, though. A reservoir built to water the 1901 city now gives the neighborhood a lap to walk before work.