WOW! I'm a history buff, so this property is just PURE MAGIC to me! Such an amazing representation,…read morepreservation and staging of the home of a true Renaissance Woman, a multi-talented artisan, celebrated the world over, whom you've probably never heard of. Madame Modjeska aside, my favorite discovery pertaining to the history of this property: Theodore Payne arrived to Arden from England after his scientific studies drove the interests that would lead him to become an amazing botanist, landscape designer, seed harvest and processing expert, horticulturist and preservationist of native California flowers, trees and shrubs. The Theodore Payne Foundation is still active in teaching, stewardship, propagation and garden design throughout Los Angeles. It's main nursery is in Sun Valley! What a fantastic find that the foundation nursery where I buy my native plants started with Payne taking a job as Head Gardener at Arden in 1893! But that was just the outside! The inside of this beautiful home is so meticulously preserved and staged to really bring the observer into Helena Modjeska's life. If you pay attention, you may even realize some scandalous questions to ask the docent on site. My questions were answered, but I felt my enthusiasm for the property outpaced the docents by a very large margin. I wish there was a bit more excitement for his subject, and more of a guided storied aspect, rather than simple answers to our many questions. While this is not a living history adventure and docents are volunteers, it's great that there was someone there allowing us to tour the property, but a more engaging docent would be appreciated. I am looking forward to returning this Fall. There are tables for picnicking, restrooms and free parking. Reservations are encouraged, for a space in the small dirt parking area and the limited time the house and grounds are open. Cheers! "CC" NOTE/TIP: The directions initially took us to a property at the intersection of Santiago and Modjeska Cyn roads, which apparently the OC Parks Dept uses as parking for events at Arden House. The actual property is much further along Modjeska Cyn Road, through residential properties and before the canyon road ends at Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary. If you have the same challenge, navigate to Tucker and you'll see Arden House, on the right, just before TWS.

First heard about this historic land mark from Pageant of the Masters. Decided we needed to come…read morefor a visit and see what it's all about. Call OC Parks to get a docent led tour on either Wednesday or Saturday 10am. Each tour is only 10 people to keep it small and the interior is small so we need as much space as possible. House is air conditioned on inside which was perfect for hot days. We were lucky to get a reservation for Saturday in September 2025. Our docent was Bob, he was super chill and even allowed us to see parts of the house that we missed since we arrived late to the tour. The tour lasts 90min to 2 hours, there's just lots of information to share. You get to view the interior of the home and outside guest houses, pool and storage shed. Plenty to parking spots. Bryan from OC parks mentioned this place is closed starting in October 2025 because they are doing construction on the roof of the house. Be sure to get your tours in before that occurs, since the tours will temporarily end soon. Have fun!

Really cool place to take a stroll at. They offer free tours so you can go inside four of the…read morebuildings. We did the 11 am tour on a Saturday and our guide Victor was terrific. The tour lasted a little over an hour. Even my teen said it was a lot more fun than she had anticipated. Definitely worth a stop.

My family moved to Orange County in the late 70s, I used to…read moresee this Historical Landmark Church down by the railroad tracks off El Toro Rd. Does anybody else remember this ? So happy I get to see it transferred here. Happy to see that they put a diorama here too, great educational tool. (See pic) This is the place to go to enjoy ac Candlelight, walk-through during the Christmas Holidays. In October, they have the non-scary family harvest activities. In Springtime they do the Easter Bunny egg hunt etc. Used to know a couple that were married here as well. Wondering if they still do that? My favorite thing to do here, is visit one of the nearby restaurants, take the food to go, and enjoy a picnic Table with benches. A beautiful thing to do here at Heritage Hill Park.

I've walked and driven by this place a million times and didn't realize the history. You can take a…read moreselfie guided tour and see buildings like the old barn, houses that the foreman lived in, the mess hall with living quarters upstairs. There's a library in a restored building. There are picnic tables. I'm not sure if the public can use them, but there are a couple BBQ pits, and a horseshoe pit. OC Parks has their office here. There are a few run down buildings that hopefully will be renovated. It would be really nice if OC Parks would give tours of the buildings so everyone can see how the farm workers lived. This place is a must see if you're ever near the Marketplace.

Irvines Historic Park?…read more It gets two stars only because it has clean restrooms that were easy to use, behind the library. This park was officially established in 1996, it looks like they have not done any updates since than except to put more offices inside the buildings. It is easy to see where Irvine puts its money --into the Market Place across the street. Very sad indeed. The grounds around the 'library' are well kept the rest of the ranch is very disappointing. There were mice and rats running into and out of the buildings. I must say to read the few other reviews posted from 2013-2020 Not much has changed over the years still cannot go inside any of the buildings and some are gated off so you cannot even get to the outside of them. What a shame for an historical site.

Historical landmark, the Ridge Route Tunnel is a surprisingly fun thing to see and ho through,…read moreespecially as the train is passing above on the tracks.

Stone marker by the train tracks on a prettily landscaped corner of Echo Hill Lane and Esperanza…read moreRoad. Find historical background here, please note as this was written in 1969 there are no hyperlinks haha: http://www.yorbalindahistory.org/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=d-000-00---0tescol--00-0-0--0prompt-10---4------0-1l--1-en-50---20-home---00031-001-1-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&c=tescol&cl=CL1&d=HASHea2acc28ae4c9a6c968d90#start Additional visitor's information can be found here: http://thebillbeaverproject.com/2012/10/21/don-bernardo-yorba-ranch-house-site/

I recently purchased a book from CVS about the history of Yorba Linda. I never knew that this…read morehistorical marker was here, in front of Fairmont Hill. This is the site of Bernardo Yorba Ranch/house. I highly recommend this book if you are a history buff because it has tons of landmarks noted. You can easily spend a day driving around town looking at all of these historical spots.

Such a cute area!…read more Old town Tustin is not flashy or anything. It seems like this area is older and it has a more rustic feel. Old Town Tustin isn't very big. I was surprised at how small it is actually. You can drive from one end to the other end rarely easily lol I did not have time to check out the museum here. I would like to do that next time I visit. Museums are fun and learning about the history of the city of Tustin might be fun. There's lots of walkable restaurants and shops. The only thing I didn't like about Old Town Tustin was the parking situation. It's hard to find parking anywhere. I drove around and around. When a spot opened, like everyone was fighting over it lol I did find some parking, further out and had to walk a bit.

There are many shops and beautiful spots to relax and take photos. The food is diverse, delicious,…read moreand reasonably priced. I really liked this place and recommend it. Parking is also very cheap.

AN ABSOLUTELY MUST DO! A 10 STAR FREE EVENT! HERE'S SOME GREAT NEWS! - AMERICA GETS AN EARLY…read moreBIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR ALL IT'S PEOPLE & IT'S BEAUTIFUL! In a last ditch Hail Mary Pass the Good Guys miraculously ended up on top of this controversial Mural. In May 1976 more than 30 Corona High School students 20 girls & 10 boys spent several weekends volunteering & painting a Mural that depicted the 200th Anniversary of America. It was located on the spillway crest of The Prada Dam along the Santa Ana River, about 36 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. It was done in America's traditional colors of Red, White & Blue. It is 106 feet tall & stretches 2,280 feet across. The mural read "200 Years of Freedom," with a picture of The Liberty Bell, followed by the words "1776-1976" painted in red, white and blue. It was completed on June 17, 1976 to celebrate our nation's Bicentennial on the 4th of July. The mural spans some 76,800 square feet & is roughly 6 times the size of Mount Rushmore. Although this was done by high school students this Art Project struck a real core of positivity & pride with all Americans that even prestigious artists don't even get. It was such a simple design but evoked a smile & such patriotism when people passed by while driving on the 71 & 91 freeways. It has become a beloved part of The California Landscape along the spillway crest of The Prada Dam & Santa Ana River. Unfortunately over the decades The Bicentennial Mural has become weather beaten & shows it's age & there's been some graffiti on it as well. Now there was a movement by the citizens to save the Mural & restore it to its glory days. Seems like a simple thing. Right? Wrong? Unfortunately we live in completely different times than Back then. We are immersed in ultra complicated issues today about everything. The US Army Corps of Engineers now owns & controls the Prada Dam & would not budge. They wanted the mural removed after being loved by people for decades. There were court trials, a lawsuit, & a huge public outcry to save this bit of history. An attempt to have it listed on the the National Register of Historic Places also failed because it was less than 50 years old. Even a nod from a former President of the United States that it should be preserved did not help the case. The Army Corps also said the Mural has lost its physical integrity & is no longer able to convey its historic character so it's ineligible for a listing in the National Register of Historic Places. It looked like it was Doomsday & the Mural was coming down & that was it. People were very furious - how could something like this happen? Unfortunately this is the new normal we live in now; Everything is turned into a political nightmare. And there were so many different government & private agencies involved in this. In a last minute Save the Day Ditch Effort - Hail Mary Pass, a compromise plan was created. They would take down the weather beaten mural & put up a new mural without all the safety issues & would replicate the original. Although not as good as the original being restored people were happy this could be saved in some way for the present & future generations. Many of the original painters attended a September ceremony marking the greenlighting of a plan to remove the old mural and replace it with a new replica. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, secured $2.5 million for the removal and replacement project in a federal appropriations bill earlier this year. The Bicentennial Freedom Mural Conservancy raised $150,000 in donations & One Way Painting painted the duplicate safer non toxic recreation mural. The Bicentennial Mural is now on display for all to enjoy & it came out Beautiful! Now there's some more Great News! The Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District will light up the sign for one night only on the 4th of July. If you are in the area you've got to check it out! Now the next thing the Friends of the Prado Dam Mural people need to do is to get to work on building a Bicentennial Museum with artifacts from all over the country - all 50 state's & territories that showed what happened in 1976. That would really top this whole thing off. You've got to Ride by & check out The Prada Dam Bicentennial Mural! IT''S BEAUTIFUL & IT'S FREE! It used to be, you had to have Mega Bucks & be really Rich to have the Good Life, not anymore. The Game has changed. You've been Upgraded. Now You Can Live Like a King on a Limited Budget!

I am so happy to see this great patriotic mural repainted the original way it was meant to be like…read morethose students painted back in 1976. I and others some years back went to federal court in Riverside to protect it from being white washed or turned into some giant advertisement like all the politicians From nearby cities including corona and ACE-Army Corp of Engineers wanted done.All of the hard work from so many paid off. We in South CAlIFORNIA are lucky to have it. GOD BLESS AMERICA.......................

I visited OC Parks Headquarters in Irvine to get Junior Ranger booklets for my kids. The staff were…read moresuper friendly and helpful. One of them told me each child can get four booklets: East, West, South, and North region. Each region covers five parks. They had just released the new version at the end of May, so it's a fun way to start summer park visits. It's a great stop for families who enjoy exploring and collecting badges.

This review is for Arden: Helena Modjeska Historic House and Gardens which I visited March 8th. I…read morewanted to preview the site prior to making reservations for a group visit. On the grounds, I had the good fortune of meeting Joseph Joe. This employee went beyond any county employee that I have ever met. He shared with great enthusiasm many lesser known stories of Madame Helena, he was engaging, and his warm personality was the highlight of our visit. Please commend your employee, Joseph Joe. Thank you, OC Parks, for your employee's contagious passion. We can't wait for our return visit!

ordered an item June 11 no notice of shipping, no tracking #, has not responded to email. This is a…read moreproblem.

Len is very knowledgeable and such a nice person to deal with. Really appreciated the help and…read moreattention he gives.