The Orange County Great Park’s Kids Rock Playground is the toddler area outside the visitor center. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of checking out the view from the balloon, then you’ve seen the plans for this small playground with a local nature theme.
Location: Finding the Orange County Great Park entrance is not an intuitive process. It’s right off Interstate 5 at the Sand Canyon exit in Irvine. You almost feel like you are turning onto the freeway when you turn onto Marine Way, a side road which leads into the park. You should probably rely on directions directly from The Great Park Corporation. However, I’ve also marked the Marine Way entrance on my MAP to the Orange County Great Park Entrance in Irvine.
Highlights:
- The cloud-like misters are definitely a highlight on a hot day. They surround the play space and keep it cool for parents and kids alike.
- Have the kids search the rocks for all the “wildlife” or wildlife facts displayed on plaques. How many animals can they find? Look in all the nooks and crannies to find them all.
- It’s a nice nature-theme from the “clouds” to the benches over the play surface “stream.”
- NO swings.
- I’d definitely recommend bringing a picnic and enjoying your meal on the lawn! It’s fun to watch the balloon go up and down — and just enjoy the open space and blue sky. There are some nice picnic tables with yellow umbrellas for shade.
Be Aware:
- Still a work in progress – and it’s small. It will probably be more enjoyable once the orange fencing comes down and the kids have access to the WIDE lawn just on the other side.
- Yes – misty water leads to puddles from the larger drips at the edges. Just dress accordingly and let them get wet!
- Busy, busy. I wasn’t able to get a lot of photos on the busy Friday when we visited. That could be attributed to the fact that people are just finding out about it.
- Definitely more appropriate for the 2-5 year old age group, although the older kids seemed to enjoy climbing the rocks and jumping off. I personally love rocks to climb.
Checklist:
- Parking is FREE.
- Recycled rubber and artificial turf play surface. No sand. There is an oak tree with concrete stepping stones (recycled from the old aircraft runways) in the middle of the playground.
- If you want info on the big orange balloon and the Great Park, consult my post: “Orange County Great Park and Giant Orange Balloon.”
- The park is only open Thursday through Sunday (closed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday). Consult the Great Park website for details on hours and maps.
- I’m always leery of portable restrooms, but these are pretty nice. Set up in trailers which are kind of like RV’s. (Foot pedal flush).
- Balloon ride is FREE. Sometimes there is a fee for special events at the park (i.e., the snow day was $8). The last two times we visited, the “maximum daily capacity” had been reached and they were not offering any more rides for the day – so get there early for the balloon.
- You MUST sign a waiver and get a boarding pass to ride the balloon. Available in the Visitor Center.
- Also consult the Great Park Conservancy website for more information.
