San Marcos is reeling in good news. The city officially opened the new South Lake Park — a 10-acre outdoor space that's ~4 miles from Lake San Marcos.

South Lake reservoir was built in 1959 to store ~73 million gallons of drinking water. In 1984, regulations changed, and its primary purpose became emergency water storage. But in 2005, San Marcos made a 50-year deal with Vallecitos Water District to rent the lake for $1 annually.

The area had been inaccessible to the public, and locals had been waiting for the outdoor space to open since San Marcos held a workshop in 2007. After years of planning, the new park offers:

Fishing access in the 50-ft deep lake
A 1-mile trail around the lake
A small parking lot
LG Sonic Buoys that control algae

Visit — 975 Sunstone Dr., sunrise to sunset