Why you should visit the Orange County Great Park in Irvine. Fun place for families in Southern California with free exhibits, a carousel and a balloon ride!
Have you discovered and/or visited the Orange County Great Park in Irvine yet?? If you’ve lived in Southern California as long as I have you’ll remember this area as the old El Toro Marine Base that closed years ago. Well, in it’s place they built a park and are continuing to expand year after year. Here’s what you can find there now.
This orange “balloon” is a sort of landmark for this Great Park in Irvine and yes you can take a trip up yourself!
We planned on taking a trip up but winds prevented our ride that day. It is quite reasonably priced with 1 child riding for free per adult.
In one of the old hangars they had historical pictures from back in the day. An older fire engine is there, a variety of uniforms worn and lots of other stuff to look at and learn about.
Outside there is a nice area where kids can play and we had a picnic under the trees. The carousel is $1 per ride as well.
They are planning on further extending the Orange County Great Park with an ice rink and many other activities. You can find a Great Park map here.
If you’re looking for things to do in Southern California beyond this you should visit Tanaka Farms too, great place!
