Nimbus Flat

So beautiful! Hidden gem! This place is so perfect to take your family out to BBQ & swim. I love that they have life jackets available to use & life guards on duty! The park is so clean & so worth paying $ 10 to get in.

Now this is a place to wet your kayaking skills for any ages. Well maintained & plenty of things to do & explore. Bring your families, friends & pets!

This a great place to take a date or your family. Rent a kayak or hydro bikes from the Sac State Aquatic Center or pick a spot for a picnic while the kids play in the water. The water can be pretty cold but when it’s 90° you won’t care but for that 1^st splash.
On holiday wknds, you want to get there by 10. Also if you do intend to rent from the Aquatic Center on a holiday wknd, be prepared to stand in line for 30 – 45 min.
The park entrance fee is $ 10 unless you have the $ 150 state park annual pass.
Finally, please teach your kids not to feed the geese. Those things just will not go away easily & when they do finally leave you find yourself stepping into some fresh goose poop. Awesome.

Love Nimbus Flat. My wife and I go here all the time since we live so close. We kayak this spot all the time. Lots of fun places to explore. Great place to bring the kids. There are also BBQ pits if you want to stay on land and have a get together. We also fish here sometimes. If you are lucky you might catch one of the huge rainbow trout that live there!

Beautiful lake– I gave 4 stars because the lake bottom was rocky– definitely better with water shoes, or sneakers– and it was pretty cold… but great for a picnic with plenty of tables and trees, bathrooms, water spigots, trash and views. Most people were on the lake– lots of boats and watercraft, many rented next door– but no motors allowed which kept the lake clean, quiet a relaxing :-) The close parking was taken, but there was plenty in the next lot over.
I did swim because thats what I was there for… just didn’t stay in too long!

Beautiful place to bring the family and have a picnic than go take a dip in the water afterwards. they have the sac state aquatic center walking distance where you can rent bikes, kayaks, etc.

I might have over looked this place, because if you don’t pay close attention you’ll miss it while driving, but I’m so glad that I discovered it!
Nimbus Flat is conveniently located right next to the Sacramento State Aquatic Center. It’s right next to the water, has picnic tables, a clean bathroom, and even a biking trail to fulfill your outdoor needs. I first discovered this place about three years ago when I was looking for a place to throw my husband a birthday BBQ. I originally planned to do it at the actual aquatic center, because I thought it’d be fun to kayak and have a picnic on the beach area, but at the aquatic center it’s pretty expensive and you’re only allowed to be there for about a 3 hour time slot. This was the next, and actually BEST thing to come along, because you only have to pay 10.00 for parking, and the park is YOURS. The area is huge, with lots of picnic tables, running room, and you are not restricted to time!
The summers can get pretty busy, and obviously this place is first come first serve, so if you want a good spot, you most likely have to get out there no later than 9:00 on the weekends. You’ll see some geese roaming around, and people who are swimming, kayaking, canoing, and sometimes even sailing. You can bring your BBQs out and have a fun filled day, and what we usually do is walk over to the aquatic center, rent a few kayaks, and kayak it over to our picnic spot. There are picnic tables, and people usually bring their canopies to block the sun, lots of lawn chairs, and picnic blankets. I noticed that in June, there’s a lot of geese droppings all over the grass, but come July, it’s really clean. Bathrooms are close and very clean, and there’s a big dumpster near the picnic area so everyone can throw away their trash and keep the park clean.
I highly recommend this place for parties, reunions, or even if you just want a relaxing day for a picnic. This place is as good as it gets!

Like Sarah G. way back in ’08, I am astonished that there are not more reviews for Nimbus Flat. Perhaps that’s one reason the park was so blissfully uncrowded when we went. It’s beautiful here, especially if you’re looking for easy access to the calm lake.
The turnoff for the park is easily missed. We actually went past it and turned into the CSUS Aquatics Center that’s right next door. Not knowing we were in the wrong parking lot, we initially thought maybe the overflow lot for the Center was actually the lot for the park. Thankfully, I asked a fellow dog lover who looked like a local and she pointed me back out to Hazel and over about 30 yards. You’ll know you’re in the right place if you’re paying to park ($ 8 – 10).
Walking into the picnic area that’s just a few yards away from the parking lot, we were pleasantly surprised by the number of clean, well-​kept picnic spots. Some are right next to the beach. Others are further back for larger or more private groups. Most have their own built-​in BBQ and trash can. There was plenty of room between tables to play a little fetch with the dogs. I’m sure the park is leash only, but I saw quite a few folks (including us) bending the rules a bit to get the canines in the water.
The park and the Aquatics Center share a portion of the lake that is smooth and quiet. Lots of paddleboats, kayaks and canoes were out on the water. The beach area is generous and even in March, there were already sunbathers.
This was an ideal stop for many hours of fun in the sun. It was one of the few times that I actually debated whether or not to do a review. I’m hoping it will still be a little-​known spot next time we go back. Still, as a good little Unilocaler, when you find something this good, ya just gotta share.
* Quick Tip* Even if you’re not a tremendous fan of Spaghetti Factory, they do a pretty mean takeout and it’s practically right next door. We pulled up the menu on-​line and called in the order about 15 mins. before reaching the exit. Fresh sourdough & pasta in the park!

Some say this park is one of the best kept secrets in Sacramento, and I actually thought more people knew about it, but when I came on Unilocal just now and discovered that no one actually has written about Nimbus Flat before I found out that I guess those rumors were true!
This park is next door to the Sac State Aquatic center which means that you can rent boats or kayaks or things here. We came to nimbus flat for a mini family reunion. Some of us got there about 8:30am to claim a spot right on the water, and were lucky enough to grab space right under the largest tree there which provided us amazing shade in the Sacramento heat. Our space also had two picnic tables, but beware that even though this place advertises as having bbqs to use, they are not centrally located or near the majority of the picnic tables so you should bring your own. Also they don’t allow glass or alcohol (even though some of my family members snuck some in anyway pouring beer from inside of their ice chests into plastic cups ha ha) and dogs have to be on leashes, but again my family were rebels and we played fetch with one of our dogs in the lake not on her leash… ooooooo…we are definitely rebels indeed!
But this spot really is so incredibly relaxing. Bring some chairs, blankets, $ 7 for parking for the day and a bqq and snacks and you are set for an amazing day at the lake. You can watch sail boats go by, and since you are on the lake bring a kayak or two which we did and take a little stroll across the water. And swimming is always an option. Since this place isn’t crowded at all, you really can relax out in nature and not worry about being bothered by other families. And they even have bathrooms which are kept relatively clean, but watch out for the HUGE flock of canadian geese that leave little presents behind everywhere on the grass here… other than that, sit back and enjoy!!!