What’s Hot in Southern California :: The Irvine Regional Park

Celebrating her win at Irvine Regional Park during the Easter holiday.

 

One of the first things I wanted to do when my daughter was first born was take her to the Irvine Regional Park pumpkin patch.  We did go when she was only four months  old and I was in heaven!  See, I had dreamed about doing this with my yet unborn child. While we were dreaming of having a child my mind would go to “I can’t wait to take her to the pumpkin patch!”  So it was super exciting for me to take her to the gorgeous Irvine Park years ago.  It is now a family tradition and we try to visit every major holiday plus during vacations as there is so much to see and do there.  I love all that they offer families at a very affordable park fee.  Families can spend the whole day at this  gorgeous park for less than what it costs to buy a cup of Starbucks coffee.  My daughter and I love their Halloween festivities and scare ourselves every year running as fast as we can through their haunted house – me usually giggling like a little kid!

 

You will find a train (the kids go crazy for this train!) that leaves the station about every 20 minutes and provides you with   a short tour of the park, the whole while the conductor giving us facts about the park and some of the wildlife living there. Tables and barbecues are located throughout the 475 acre park with convenient parking and restroom facilities nearby. A paved bicycle/walking trail meanders through the central park providing easy access to six playgrounds, four softball fields, two horseshoe pits and lake.

 

 

You can rent bikes and ride around the park, visit the OC Zoo that is located inside beautiful Irvine Regional Park. The Zoo is nestled among the majestic 477 acre wilderness park. We love visiting the park at all the major holidays because they really make it special for families.  At Halloween you will find bouncy houses, a pumpkin patch, activities and games for the kids and loads more.  Around Christmas the whole park is decked out in holiday cheer and you must come visit at nighttime with all the pretty night lights!  And during the summer months they offer guided hike tours.

 

 

We had a chance to speak to Jim Simkins, the Supervising Park Ranger about what makes Irvine Regional Park so special and unique and about their Nature Center that offers so many wonderful artifacts and information about California history, about the park and the wildlife that live there.  This would be a wonderful excursion for a classroom, Brownie or Boy Scout troop!

 

Tell us how long you have been the Supervising Park Ranger at the Irvine Regional Park and what drew you to this profession.

I have been with OC Parks for 24 years. After I graduated from college, I was a volunteer ranger before being hired as a booth attendant. Earlier in my career, I worked at Irvine Regional Park as a weekend ranger for nine years. I have served as the Supervising Park Ranger at Irvine Regional Park for the past five years.

 

What is one of your favorite things about the Irvine Regional Park and what do you feel sets the park apart.

One of my favorite things about Irvine Park is that it serves a dual role of providing people with a safe and beautiful place to enjoy an outdoor environment during the daytime, and then in the evening and overnight the park is an important habitat for many nocturnal animals that include coyotes, opossums, skunks, raccoons, bobcats, foxes, deer and owls. There are several things that set Irvine Regional Park apart from other parks. First, it is the oldest regional park in California and opened in 1897. Irvine Regional Park, originally called Orange County Park until a name change in 1929 in honor of its donor James Irvine II, has a great mix of turf areas and natural areas that offer visitors a variety of experiences in one visit. In the turf areas, park visitors can have family picnics, birthday parties and barbecues, and then visit the Orange County Zoo and Nature Center as part of taking a walk or bike ride around the lake. The grassy areas have playgrounds and popular concessions that include the Irvine Park Railroad train ride, bike and paddleboat rentals, pony rides, and guided horseback rides.

 

The middle section of the park is known for its old coast live oak trees and there is a statue of James Irvine II with his hunting dogs that was installed in 1997 as part of the park’s 100-year anniversary celebration. There are peacocks that roam freely around the park and woodpeckers that can be seen drilling holes in trees to store acorns. The natural areas that surround the park offer multi-use trails for hiking, mountain biking and equestrians. In the spring, the natural areas have colorful wildflowers. A popular feature in the natural area at the far end of the park is a large sandstone structure known as Rooster Rock that always seems to have kids exploring on it.

 

Tell us how the Nature Center came about.  Can classes and troops set up times to come visit it during the week?

The octagon-shaped Nature Center was originally intended to be a local history museum, but it was ended up becoming the County Products Building by the time it opened in 1930. It was designed by English-born Frederick Eley who was Orange County’s most distinguished architect of his time. The building eventually became known as the Exhibits Building and featured local agricultural displays. The building closed when Irvine Park was used as an army camp from 1942 to 1945, and it remained closed until it was converted to park offices in 1965 and then closed again until it was renovated and re-opened in 1990 as the Interpretive Center, and eventually called the Nature Center. The Nature Center is staffed by volunteers and is usually open on weekends from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm. The Nature Center is sometimes open during the week, so it is more hit-and-miss depending on whether or not a volunteer is available. The Nature Center hours are generally between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm on weekdays when a volunteer is available.

 

Any news you want to share with our lovely dandelion moms and dads?

Be aware that Irvine Park gets extremely busy on summer weekends and major holidays. The annual attendance is over one million people, so a suggestion is to try a weekday visit when the park is much less crowded. Also, in the late spring and summer when the weather is hot, be aware that snakes are sometimes seen on the trails and near the turf areas. Contact the park ranger to have it captured and relocated. And be sure to check out the Zookeeper Appreciation Day at the OC Zoo on Saturday, July 25th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and a free summer concert on Thursday, August 13th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.

 Thank you for your time Jim and sharing with us all the wonderful sights to see at Irvine Park!

 

More about OC Parks: Website, Twitter, Facebook

OC Parks

https://ocparks.com/

 

Irvine Park Railroad

https://www.irvineparkrailroad.com/

 

 

Have you visited the Irvine Park yet?

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