Looking for Ponds: Rancho Bernardo Webb Lake

This is my 100th pond page!

Webb Lake in Rancho Bernardo was a complete surprise to both of us.

My tax man Fred has an office just a hundred yards away;

I've been going there for 25 years and never

saw this small park and pond.

Of course it might be due to its location in the shadow of the freeway,

surrounded by office buildings and a Marriott Courtyard.

However, it was easy to park at the Courtyard and walk in.

We were shocked, stunned, startled and delighted!

at our first sighting of the pond:

We walked all around it.

This quaint little community park and pond

are apparently loved by the neighbors.

Of course we have seen many ducks and other pond-loving birds,

in almost every fresh water site we've visited.

However, unusually, some fish were seen here

(this is only the second place in over 200 bodies of water!)

AND Oh My Gosh, TURTLES!

Like I have never seen before!

Edited Version of a Union Tribune article from 2015:

Webb Lake in Rancho Bernardo was created in 1975. Overflowing with turtles, ducks and fish, it's a place where thousands of folks have gathered for prom and wedding photos.

Although beloved by the community, it was barely saved from the drought of 2015. The 3/4 acre pond and 4 acre park are privately owned and controlled by the Bernardo Town Center Property Owners Association, a group of 39 building owners. They decided that water used to keep filling the pond was too expensive and too valuable during a drought. They planned to drain the pond and fill it with dirt and grass!

Longtime RB resident Scott Lawn helped change those plans. He found out there was no well, thus the lake was always replenished with city drinking water. In a few months —with help from a Neighborhood Reinvestment grant obtained by Supervisor Dave Roberts — he with friends raised about $90,000. The money was used to drill a well and improve landscaping around it.

One stipulation was that the lake and park must stay open to the public as long as the well is in use and the well water can only be used for the lake and landscaping, not by surrounding businesses.

Nancy Canfield, president of the Rancho Bernardo Historical Society said, “It’s always been a place where people go with their little kids and dump their turtle when they’re done with it. Now there are over 300 turtles in the pond,” she said. “Everybody has stories about getting proposed to at the park, getting married at the park... People walk their dogs there, or walk their girlfriends.”

Annual events at the park include Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Fourth of July ceremonies. A war memorial is located beside the lake.