Carl Thornton Park is a neighborhood park located in Santa Ana that spans 32 acres. Two of those acres is the lake in the middle and you'll often see ducks roaming around. Although you can fish in the lake, you need a license and it's catch and release only. There are baseball fields, soccer fields, a kids playground, outdoor fitness area, large grassy areas, and shade from a lot of trees. There are also restrooms and a parking lot. Part of the space is the George Upton All Access Park, an accessibility-focused park that caters to kids of all physical abilities. This park is very kid-friendly and is the location of many kids and adult sports leagues. read more

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This is a decent sized park with a pond where there's usually lots of duck and geese. There are also several playgrounds throughout and large grassy areas. It's a nice little walk around if you aren't looking to do too much walking. read more

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Such a nice, clean park that's great for young kids. My kids loved seeing all the ducks, geese, turtles and birds. The playground area was nice and spacious too, and we were surprised it wasn't too busy on a Saturday. The bathrooms were decent as well for a public park. read more

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Nice, pleasant park a couple miles up the road from South Coast Plaza. Plenty of parking as I don't think this park gets particularly crowded. There is a small lake that I saw some people using to fish. There are also three baseball fields. There is a paved trail that goes around the entire park. The trail must be maybe a half-a-mile loop. Along the trail there are two playground areas for kids (one small and one large), a single full court basketball court, and a pretty substantial work out area with pull up bars and foam floors. I know this is Santa Ana but overall I felt safe here and only saw one homeless guy at the far end who wasn't bothering anyone. Can't give it five-stars because it is an older park with some wear and no pristine amenities but because of that it is very pleasant and quiet. Dog friendly. read more

Carl Thornton Park - Large grass area - Parks Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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I love going to the gated kids playground towards the back of the park on the weekends with my son but what's been making that difficult is when there's about a dozen grown men playing on the basketball court yelling and swearing and getting aggressive with each other and on top of that they start smoking weed when there's kids literally feet away. I normally don't care when peoples business doesn't interfere with mine but it's become a regular thing now and it really sucks because we loved this park. read more

Definitely a great little park very friendly and open to the community. Restrooms are present and at times you may see a vendor selling ice cream, which is nice and refreshing. A very clean atmosphere. read more

Nice park, love the duck pond and the playground for kids. Nice & big area to walk around. But definitely needs more benches. read more

Carl Thornton Park - Playground - Parks Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Great place to jog/walk with numerous dirt trails, awesome updated playground w wood chips and a foam hill to climb over. There's often people playing baseball. I think there's 2 parking lots in opposite ends. Some big trees in some areas but probably still a bit hot on a sunny warm day. read more

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Great park, son loves it there but can someone at least clean the pond or check up on the sea animals in that pond? read more

Carl Thornton Park - Dead fish laying in the pod at Carl Thornton park :( - Parks Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Great hidden gem of a park. Wide open trails with large trees and fields. Best part is the fishing. It took a while of searching for them fishies, but once I found a hot spot, I snagged 2 in a row before calling it quits. read more

Carl Thornton Park - Parks Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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Love the park only thing I don't like is u can't do any type of small event bc u have to pay for a large party smh they try to charge for everything no a days read more

There can be magic made anywhere, I suppose. Carl Thorton Park is dog friendly, so we ended up there one day for a short walk. The photos had me thinking that this place was a bit more of a natural space than it really is. This park is a combination of picnic place, playgrounds, sports complex, and man-made duck pond with a creek. It is the latter that saved the day for us. Our dogs had a great time here. Playing in the creek on a hot day was fun for them. If you have a kid in a stroller and a dog, you can get them both out in the sunshine here. If you want a bit more nature, then you may have to go further afield. read more

Carl Thornton Park - Playing in the stream - Parks Near Me - Santa Ana, California

I love this park. Its so relaxing and gorgeous. I have had many picnics in this park, and just hung out and watched the ducks, listened to the water, watched the water.... They have trash cans set up conveniently around the grass areas as well, which is awesome. The only complaint I have is parking, during softball season. In the past I have seen (and done it myself) cars parked on the dirt / grass area next to the softball fields, however yesterday a team was practicing in that area, which was kind of annoying, there were NO spots available anywhere close. Definitely pack some bread to feed the ducks - they will come up to you pretty close to get it. read more

Fun park with two fairly large play structures, giant fields for baseball and soccer, and a lake with waterfowl. There are a few trees around the playground for shade, but they're not as full right now in the winter. The parking lot was a little hard to find. We turned off of Segerstrom closer to the fields the first time; then we went through the residential area nearby to see if we could get closer to the playground, but that was a bust. The entrance to the parking lot is close to the lake, more in the epicenter of the park. It's about a 1-2min walk over to the playground from here. read more

Fun interactive playground , lots of grass , baseball field and jogging track. There's also a pretty pond with lots of cute ducks geese etc . Would have gave it 5 stars but I hate duck poop and there was a man talking to himself about inappropriate stuff and the bathrooms were gross . read more

Very open park, slightly limited parking on both sides of the park. There is a walking/running trail that guides through a majority of the park, every time I go here people are using the dirt trails to exercise. As for the greenery there are open areas for sports activities in the grass and the foliage of the trees provide plenty of shade and places to set up a small picnic. Carl Thorton Park has many attractions, recreational, physical and even trivial. There is a playground next to the lake/pond and there appears to be a man-made river that is connected to the lake. It's a little easily to tell how fake the structure of the river is but it's very gorgeous and a nice addition. Attached to the park itself is another smaller park that houses a larger playground, several benches as well as two fire pits. Appears to be extremely family friendly. read more

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Cute park with impressive jungle gym set up and large lake with lots of ducks (and duck poop). Not too crowded. Just right! Great for walking dogs and letting kids play. read more

I love this park, the lake, the openness. so many people occupy this park and take in all its beauty. the only downfall I cant STAND is when negligent parents let their kids feed the ducks, ( you are NOT supposed to feed ducks, birds, turtles bread, it kills them!) or play in the water, or sit near the edge and put your feet in! I saw a parent not paying attention to her small child and he was dipping his hand in the water laying next to the lake. it's insanely filthy with bird feces and the water is NOT drinkable. he could of easily fell in, And to make it worse, his little sister walks up and dumps an entire bag of bread into the "lake" then drops the bag in. I got so mad I asked the parents to please not feed the ducks, and her child littered. they didn't speak any English. she just took them and walked away. I fished the bag out because I was so pissed off. Fish and turtles live in there, that's their home! I love this park, but I wish the city would take more control over protecting the wildlife there. birds come to migrate, breed, and just live. they deserve a beautiful place to do so, in peace. It is a beautiful park, lots of families go to play in the kid area, lots of sports, its a great place to jog, run with your dog, or just relax. I walk here almost everyday. its beautiful. read more

This park is actually really well made . Especially for being in Santa Ana. There's also a park inside the park that's fenced off. This part has a pirate ship and a castle. I think it's really cool too but it could use some restoring, not replacement. read more

This huge park has many fields to play soccer, perfect for walking and running and has a lake with a running stream. Last time I went I saw flocks of 9 different bird species covering basically the whole park, which was pretty cool. This park also has a playground for kids and I even see fishing going on here. Stay away from the parking lot at night, this park gets sketchy when its dark. read more

Cool spot to run. Nice playground. Restrooms be hella stinky and shit but its all good. Oh and there's a stream and lake. read more

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Just went here for the first time today. There were some shady characters in the parking lot but still decided to give it a shot. The playground is actually very nice and my son was having a good time. We notice in a tree overhanging the playground was a huge beehive with bees swarming, we move to another section of the playground to get away from that and I find a crack pipe. NOPE! We packed it up and left and never going back. read more

Carl Thornton Park is located in a beautiful surrounding area in Santa Ana, California. There are ample trees and shades all throughout the park. Vast open fields. This park features a man-made stream, creek and pond, which is quite charming comprising of aquatic animals and wildlife. Sheltered picnic areas are not well maintained or cleaned. Water elements and features such as the stream, creek and pond. I would not let my family member be near or play in the pond as it is not very well maintained and polluted. I had a very difficult and challenging time finding a restroom. read more

fun, great playgrounds with creative slides. will come back every single day for a year with my seven children because they love it so much! thank you carl thorton read more

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please be aware of sex trafficking!!!!!!! i am a young woman who has been approached by this man that thought i was 16/17 (i am 23) he asked me to go out to eat - he promised to "take care" of me. he was completely turned off when i told him my age. he said i thought you were young. - this was a month ago - please be aware. i have seen him again - strolling around with his "boss" - a nicely dressed man with slick black hair black sunglasses - the creep that approached me was wearing the same shirt he was wearing a month back - a bright blue soccer shirt - - black hair and looks old- he pretends to be a wealthy mechanic that lives around the corner and even asked if i would be his "lover" or to come back to his home. this was all before i told him my age. scary. please do not leave your kids unattended - these men were seen taking laps around the playground for more than an hour. please please please be aware. read more

Carl Thornton Park - SEX TRAFFICKING!!!!! BEWARE!!!!! - Parks Near Me - Santa Ana, California

I spend a lot of time at this park, yeah there's usually lots of bird poo but thats because there are beautiful migratory birds that come and go as seasons pass, the lake is actually a little bit of a hiden jewel for bass, ive never caught a thing but i did see a dude snag a big one once, there's also red ear sliders (turtles). Its also an awesome place to run as it has a well established and wide path going around the entire park which makes it fun to run through been doing that for years read more

Carl Thornton Park - Parks Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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I really like walking there. It's quiet and nice park. There are a lot of ducks and other birds. And you feel relaxing there. read more

Carl Thornton Park - Parks Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Plenty of shade around the play area. Good to visit here in the afternoon. Easy to spot the park from the street. Parking lot is ample but gets busy during weekend. There is a small stream apart from the big pond. The place was clean and different stages of play area are available for the kids. The only thing I didn't like was the rough mulch everywhere in the play area. Would have been safe with sand if kids lose balance. Also no nearby restroom. read more

I personally thought it was great. Shelter area was a little dirty and weather was a bit chilly but other than that it was a perfect spot for my kids, family and I to have fun and have so many activities to do with the kids. read more

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My daughter is a big fan of this park. Lots of water features, ducks, and a large playground.

A tad dirty from time to time but hey, you have to realize you're in the outdoors. A great place for chill afternoon walks, duck feeding, and just hanging out with friends for talks and whatnot. read more

There are two benches by the lake. One is exposed and in the sun. The other is on the "tree side" of the park. Weirdest design for a park I've ever seen-only one half of the park has trees. Not meant for sitting, only two benches as mentioned. There aren't even any benches by the playground so parents can watch their kids. Good for running and walking as already mentioned and other mobile activity. Bring a blanket-lots of ducks and geese and fecal matter. Bummer. read more

I really like coming to this park to do morning runs, as it is a pleasure to do when the sun is the right angle and the air is cool. The only downside is that a lot of the paths are muddy during this time, so you might have to re-route yourself around them into the grass to avoid making a mess. It clears up once the weather warms up around noon. It is a great place to go with family - it is always pleasant with other runners, walkers and the usual duck crossing in your path. read more

Carl Thornton Park has some very nice soccer and baseball fields. It also has two serviceable playgrounds for younger kids. The lake is pretty and has a running creek feeding into it. It attracts a large variety of waterfowl which are cool to see. It is fairly big an has nice running paths. I have seen some people trying to fish but the water looks pretty barren, never really seen any large fish cruising the shore line and hardly any minnows either. I have been looking for somewhere to teach my son to fish but I think I will go elsewhere. The bathrooms were pretty disgusting, I would recommend avoiding them, certainly not the place to change a diaper. read more

Supre nice park. Not as big as Square Mile park or as green. But this is a nice place to just relax and take a break. A lot of people come here for their lunch break and just sit in the car eating. But there are a lot of birds, a stream that flows into the lake, two playgrounds and bridges. They also have some picnic tables only thing to be wary of is the bird poop.....its mostly by the lake. So dont run around bare foot and bring an old towel to sit on the grass. read more

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I love how the water flows like an S. The pond seems really clean every time I come here. Good place for exercising and spending time with nature. There's always a bunch of coots hanging in the pond furthest back. All in all, it's a pretty chill place to be at. There's never a crowd of people there just few. read more

I've been coming to this park since I was born in 1998, and if its one thing I learned is you have to follow the ducks, they'll show you the way. read more

I really like this park, does anyone know if you have to make reservations to used the picnic tables close by the softball field?