Reseda Recreation Center, 18411 Victory Blvd., Reseda

Size: 38 acres.

Facilities: Lake with catfish and bass fishing, new picnic area with electrical outlets and barbecue pits, two lighted outdoor basketball courts, three baseball diamonds, four tennis courts, horseshoe pit and a variety of courses for all ages.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday; 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday.

Information: (818) 881-3882.

In the late 1920s severe flooding caused water to break through the Los Angeles River’s dirt embankment, forming a lake that became part of the land acquired by the city for one of the San Fernando Valley’s first parks.

Today, the Reseda Recreation Center still has the Valley’s only lake, complete with recreational fishing and a host of wild ducks and geese. When the water began receding in the seven-acre lake, the city paved its bottom and began stocking it with bass and catfish.

“People can stop their busy lives and take an afternoon to go fishing right in the middle of the city,� said Joe Medaglia, senior recreation director for nine years at Reseda Park. “Throughout the state people know about our lake.�

An island in the middle of the lake is a favorite spot for seasonal Canada geese and wild mallard ducks. A newly renovated picnic area adjacent to the lake offers electrical outlets and floodlights for nighttime recreation.