Guam.  During the weekends the park and pavilions are usually filled, but during the weekdays the park is fairly empty with small groups of people scattered throughout the park.

There are two entrances and parking areas to Joseph Flores Beach Park, one to the north and another on the south side of the park close to the Hilton Hotel.  The north parking lot is the larger of the two, and if your planning on going to the beach park during the weekend we suggest you find parking in the north parking lot where there is usually free parking during the crowded weekends.

The waters of Ypao Beach offer some great spots where snorkelers can see a large number of sea life gathered around live coral.  Most of the water within the protective reef is shallow enough so you can touch the ground without being completely submerged, but there are certain areas deep enough where you will need to be able to swim.  If you swim about 150 feet directly out from the only lifeguard tower on Ypao Beach you will come across an excellent snorkeling spot with a multitude of sea life gathered around live coral on the sea floor.  The spot is currently marked by a red flag that is floating on the water.  In addition, if you swim around the bay anywhere about 150 feet and out from the shoreline you'll have an excellent snorkeling experience, just make sure too be careful of rip currents and pay attention to warning signs on the beach.  If your not familiar with the water and area you should check with the lifeguards before going out because during certain times of the year the current in the bay can be extremely strong even though it doesn't look like it.

History of Ypao Beach Park
Ypao has been inhabited by Chamorros for approximately 3,000 years.  During the Chamorro-Spanish wars in the 1680s, the Spaniards burned the village and moved the Chamorros to Hagatna as part of a population centralization.  The next known mention in historical records of a village here is in 1819 when the French explorer Louis de Freycinet and his wife Rose Pinon wrote of the villagers' love of music.

In 1902, the Americans established a leper colony and built a hospital and cottages for almost two hundred Chamorros afflicted with leprosy and gangosa and for the insane.  When most of the inhabitants were transferred to the Philippines, the area was farmed to provide food for the hospital.  Later a penal farm was located here.

In 1942, during World War II, the Japanese built the nearby pillboxes and gun emplacements using Chamorros, Koreans, and Okinawans as forced labor.  After the 1944 American liberation of Guam, the military used Ypao as an aviation gas storage tank farm.  By the 1960s, Ypao was developed into a public park and named in honor of the first Chamorro to be appointed Governor of Guam, Joseph Flores.  The park is on the Guam and National Registers of Historic Places.