It's a beautiful set up BUT the tire tread ground cover is not only toxic to children they have…read moreleft loose pieces all over that children easily slip on. It was quite a shock. Don't run on it.

Green Park spans 4 acres and is named after Peter Green, the city council mayor of Huntington Beach…read morein the 1990s. There is a private parking lot and ample street parking. Tucked in a nice residential neighborhood, it has a sand volleyball court, basketball court, kids playground, tennis court, and grassy areas. It's not a big park but it has what you need.

Quaint park within a neighborhood right next door to an elementary school. It's summertime, so…read moreschool was not in session. We got to enjoy the lunch hour in peace and quiet. Not sure if it is loud during school. Lots of open space to lay out a picnic blanket, a couple tables, tree shade, 2 playground areas, small slides, no swings! There is a little parking lot. During school hours, for street parking, be mindful of the street signs with limited parking hours. Really nice Huntington Beach breeze where this park sits. I loved it! Lay out, bring a good book!

This is a CUTE park! One of my and my husband's fave things to do is to get milk tea and sit in a…read morepark in our chairs with it. Unfortunately, we got here kinda late so it was EMPTY even though the sun was still out. It's in a nice and safe looking residential area. It's a little on the smaller side but very well maintained and cozy. You feel like you're in your own little world. I hope the residents love living here! Hope to come back when it's not so close to sundown! Highly recommended chill park. Playground looks fun if you have kids.

Pros: Tons of open space on the greenbelt. Playground was recently remodeled. Lots of street…read moreparking. (However, Google Maps steered me wrong and I had to do some wayfinding of my own.) Pro or Con, depending on how you look at it: Fairly quiet park with not too much activity. Cons: Almost no shade and minimal seating at the playground. No bathrooms. Decent walk from the playground to the car (difficult to do without a stroller with a young toddler and infant).

Park in a residential neighborhood. Visited on a Saturday mid afternoon, ample street parking…read more Great place to picnic, lots of space, came across other dog walkers, 3 picnic table/benches, some trees for shade. Came at a quiet time. Can lay on a blanket here for hours

This park has been cleaned up and made more modern within the past 2 years, most likely as new…read moremansion sized homes were built right beside it. It is a quaint and quiet neighborhood. If you seek, not too crowded, this is where you go. Oftentimes, there are tea ball practices and games held here. There are plentiful parking spaces when no games. It also has a tennis and playground, or a hike up the bridge pass that reminds me of pretend play that reminds me of 80's movies with kids hiking and playing on trailer tracks. It's a perfect spot to sit and chatt with your friend over coffee (Reborn Coffee is 2 blocks away) and have your kids, dogs or take the elderly for some sun and air.

Friendly gem of a neighborhood park with easy parking and access to the river trail and bridge to…read moreFairview Park in Costa Mesa. Please no loud noises or radio--it's a residential area, and pick up after your dog and leave no trace of trash--this is also our kid's playground.

I'm a morning walker and commute far for work so I like leaving home early to get to the area and…read morefind places to walk before I actually go to the office. Well, I saw the greenbelt and decided to walk it but didn't know where to park. So I found this park with plenty of residential parking. This is the start of the greenbelt, or end if you're coming the opposite way. Cute park with a jungle gym, benches and trash cans nearby. The only downside is the electrical tower but those are necessary to power a city! And another great benefit is the extra walking on the greenbelt if you feel like taking a long walk. I love parking near here in the early AM and doing a quick walk up and down the greenbelt. I've gone past Ellis before but usually turn around before crossing Ellis Ave. One note, one pre-sunrise, I did get here and saw a raccoon and coyote, same morning! So I ended up driving away. The coyote was rummaging the trees and when it saw my car, stopped and stared. The coyote was also rummaging but had something dangling from its mouth. So just be aware of your surroundings, as always. I'm sure they won't harm us but it is their land. Get up and take a walk.

We actually walked the trail that does straight north of the park from several block! Lots of…read morepeople walking their dogs, biking, and playing on the green belt.

Not so much a park. More of a walking trail around a flood…read morecontrol basin The Good: a convenient hiking/walking trail for the residents of Huntington Beach. It's maintained twice a year, once before and once after bird nesting season. Lots of wildlife in this small natural space in the urban jungle. The Bad: This is a basin, which means it holds water, which means it's a breeding site for mosquitoes. Dress accordingly. Also, they only maintain the vegetation twice a year. It becomes quite overgrown, and it invites undesirable natural and urban predators, like coyotes or meth creatures, homethheads addictedus Also, the dog owners that don't leash their dog. It's very annoying but typical HB resident behaviors. Be alert of both dog and owner when suggesting they follow the rules. The Ugly: the filthy meth creatures (homethheads addictedus) that not only disturb the residents and park goers, but the wildlife. You gotta have some "situational awareness" at this park. Especially if you're alone or have kids. Keep them close.

When I moved here 13 years ago, I wanted to be part of the community, so I responded to an ad in…read morethe paper for a cleanup day at Bartlett Park. My kids now just call it the dirt park. When we arrived for cleanup day, we began to learn about this little bit of open space in the "walled city" of HB. Lots of homeless people live in the park. They were given time to clear out their personal belongings and the suckers brought in had the lovely chore of clearing out their garbage. The next day, the homeless were allowed back in. Just great. Hey, I realize the homeless need to be able to sleep somewhere, but I don't want to be the one to clean up their crap and welcome them back home with open arms. I started studying about the history of this park. Most know about the historic Newland House and Newland Barn in the rear of the Newland Center mall. But the lower portion, the undeveloped area is quite a mess. The area behind the main mall, the upper portion, is owned by the city and the lower portion, down near Adams Ave. is owned by the county. The city portion is a protected Indian burial ground, tree sanctuary and home to some kinds of protected insects, as well as home to a bunch of coyotes. The lower area is similar but is also a flood control channel, formerly operated by the county. Recent development has rendered the flood control useless but it still fills up with water and produces some lovely moss covered mosquito breeding grounds. Kids use the open space for various unsanctioned activities. There have been bmx bike jumps and ramps dug into the ground with shovels, paintball and pellet ball areas and there is a big nightlife in here for teenagers to do what teenagers do. The sound of helicopters in the area remind us about this activity and folks know cat burglars forage for goods in cars and open garages and stash them in the unpatroled park. Its actually a great area for folks to walk their dogs during daylight and people are generally cool about picking up after them. They have a few trash bins and a dog waste bag dispenser. There was a study conducted years ago about potential development. The most popular thing neighbors wanted was a golf course, to replace a closed down course on PCH 20 years ago. The least wanted thing neighbors wanted was also a golf course. Pretty funny. Ball field or soccer fields are sorely needed but the city has decided to create some walking trails, a tot-lot park, some picnic areas and leave it relatively undeveloped. Since this was voted on, 3 years ago, next to nothing has happened yet. We will see what the future holds.

- Didja know there's a discrete spot in this park that you can reserve? We didn't. Polees kicked us…read moreoff this lil amphitheater circle (33°40'15.0"N 117°53'48.6"W) after we were already all set up. Had to relocate our tables, canopy, etc elsewhere. The park should post signs at all reservable spots, save unknowing guests the hassle. - Restroom sink has low water pressure. And no paper towels. . Restrooms located next to Angels Playground: M4C3+CWV Costa Mesa, CA. . Decent amount of parking near Angels Playground, but crowded on weekends: M4C4+75C Costa Mesa, CA. . Alternate parking: M492+MW7 Costa Mesa, CA. + Otherwise amicable ambience. - No pickleball courts. + Nicely located near OC Fair and OCC, and right by the 405-55-73 freeway triangle.

Tewinkle Park is where coed softball memories are made. The park is well maintained and hosts our…read moresoftball League on Tuesdays. I played in my first softball league team here. We were a bunch of misfits, all gathered for a chance to play this wonderful team sport. When I joined, our fearless leader stated he didn't expect us to be good but he expected that we have fun. How do you say no to that! I learned how to play this game and the nuances of the rules compared to baseball. Above all else, I got to meet so many new people through our games and pick up games. Wonderful memories, wonderful adventures. Please come and create your own.

Locals just call it the Wetlands. We only call its full name when we're mad. "Bolsa Chica State…read moreEcological Reserve, you betta git your butt down here!!' Designated by the Dept of Fish and Wildlife, it's managed by Cal Trans and California State Parks. It's like a kid with two dads who lives with his grandma. The term Bolsa Chica means "little bag" because it's full of weed.[1] Archaeologists believe the Tongva and Acjachemen tribes lived here 9,500 years ago based on cog stones. Interestingly they're not sure what they were carved for. They may be ritual & ceremonial objects, or sacred replicas of nature (starfish, jellyfish, urchins) to help replenish their food source, or fishing weights, or game pieces. One thing's for sure, they used a black light and found acjachemen on their sheets. Fast forward past colonization and land grants to 1899, when the rich duck-hunters from Pasadena and Los Angeles who formed the Bolsa Chica Gun Club (a club that included Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig) dammed Bolsa Chica for their members. They were the luckiest guys in the face of the earth. In July 1920, Standard Oil Company got permission to drill, promising a 50/50 split of revenue. Fighting to preserve the area for themselves, the Gun Club fought off efforts to drill directly on the land but from the surrounding area, still making millions in royalties without a single rig. Annual club membership was $75,000, an idea that Disney ran with less than a century later. Fearing attack in the 1940s, two bunkers (Battery 128 and 242) were built. Though the largest was demolished in 1995, the circular frame of the smaller bunker, and you might get a ranger to show you if you sure him your cog wheels. In the 1960s, most of Bolsa Chica was acquired by Signal Landmark, who planned housing and a marine. State officials objected and 300 acres were set aside in 1970. The League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women decided to create a new group to preserve the area, but they all got into car crashes the first meeting. They became Amigos de Bolsa Chica "Friends of Little Bag" in 1976. By 1990, the Amigos and developer created the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, and two years later formed the Bolsa Chica Land Trust to expand the reserve to provide nesting, shelter, and food. People thought it was for the birds. It was. The egrets, herons, and raptors. Much of the developers land was bought and the remaining land was under dispute (California Coastal Commission, Proposition 50, etc), but it eventually ended up in Acjachemen Tongva Land Conservancy (by 2023). And, the 2006 restoration included opening an inlet to the Ocean, reconnecting it for the first time since 1899. It's the Circle of Life. Ha-bolsa Machica! It was because of the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, we took our Extended Day Care kids there for educational field trips. The Bolsa Chica Conservancy Interpretive Center offers live animal exhibits and other scientific stuff. They would start us off with something academic before setting us free upon lands full of "Seriously, rattlesnakes can kill you" signs. The coolest thing I remember hearing is that some of these species have "euryhaline tolerance", meaning some of the saltwater fellows are coming into the freshwater to eat and vice versa. Other fish would explode. This includes the local legend California Killfish and the Striped Mullet, which I had in high school when I was really into the Thompson Twins. Free public tours are offered each month by three organizations: the Amigos de Bolsa Chica, the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, and the Bolsa Chica Land Trust. Say Bolsa Chica one more time!! Approximately 30,000 people visit the reserve each year. Hiking, photography, and birdwatching are popular activities at the reserve. Fishing is permitted at designated areas around outer Bolsa Bay only. Pets are prohibited, unless you dress them up as a rattlesnake and they'll fit right in.

+ Robust wildlife. We saw large caterpillars, many snails, eleodes (aka desert stink beetle aka…read morePinacate beetle), egrets, and other common species. + Pleasant, peaceful ambience. - A few parts of the trail run close to the streets and farther from nature. - A few parts of the trail were very narrow due to overgrown bushes. + Good amount of free street parking. - Few to no trash cans, restrooms, potable water. - Lotta litter. + Thankfully volunteers/rangers come to pick up trash.