Lake Murray, San Diego, California

Here's some tips for visiting the area. I don't mean to sound preachy, but because a diverse group of people visit the lake, it's courteous to keep the following things in mind

Kids Kids are welcome and even encouraged to be at the lake. There are lots of areas where they can run around and lots of animals to look at. Please do not let your kids throw rocks and chase the animals. Not everyone thinks your kids are cute when they run after the birds, squirrels, etc, and it really stresses the animals out. Also, be aware that though many animals are friendly, they are not tame and your child can be hurt by them. Another thing, it's not advised to leave your kids there un-supervised.

Dogs Please keep your dogs on a leash, preferably a standard (non-retractable) leash around 6-8 feet long. Not everyone's dogs are social and not everyone likes to have a dog approach them. Plus, there are friendly waterfowl who like to hang around by the road waiting for people to give them a hand-out. Also, dogs are not allowed to be less than 50FT from the water and definitely not in the water. Dogs are not allowed to harass or chase animals and doing so will get you an expensive ticket in the least or hefty fines. On top of that, many people love the animals here and you might get at least a verbal thrashing by lake regulars or worse.

Bikes Bikes are fun to bring to the lake, but recently there have been some serious accidents between cyclists and walkers. The speed limit for bikes is 10 MPH. On weekends, especially, it can be very crowded and cycling might be difficult. This is definitely not the place to train for your next bike race, but it is a nice place to take a leisurely casual ride.

Feeding ducks Feeding ducks and other animals is discouraged at this lake, though many people break this rule often. Currently, enough people feed them that they don't need another person to do so. So, it's best to skip the feeding or only feed small amounts, preferably of healthy food and vegetables. Please do not feed citrus, onions, uncooked beans, rice or oatmeal, or pastries to the animals. The latter attracts a large amount of pests like mice and rats, plus the ducks and geese will not eat it.

Wildlife abounds here. Some examples of animals and birds you might see here depending on what time of day (or night) you visit and what season. *Means animals that have been seen with offspring. This is not a comprehensive list, but the most likely to be seen.

Coyotes*
Skunks
Raccoons*
Great Blue Herons*
Snowy Egret
Killdeer*
Great-horned owls
Northern harriers
Cooper's hawks*
Red-shouldered hawks*
Osprey*
American coot*
Gadwall*
Wood ducks*
Mallard ducks*
Domestic ducks
Canada geese
Domestic geese
Doves*
Great-tailed grackles*
Ground squirrels*
Black-crowned night herons*
Green herons*
California gulls*
Western gulls*
Spotted sandpiper
Great egret
Brewer's blackbird*
Rock pigeon
California quail*
Song sparrow
Lesser goldfinch
California towhee
Ravens*
Red-tailed hawks*