Not sure how I feel about this one. North Lake Park is beautiful, that's for sure. But is it a…read morepark? Trail? Open to public? Or private property? After taking a confused stroll around, I am still unsure. I've driven by here many times and always wanted to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised to find more info here on Yelp, as well as All Trails. So I figured it was a public accessible trail. Many people of all ages were walking, jogging, and riding e-bikes. But there was no specific way to enter or even a specific loop. Just got to walk around a beautiful lake, then turned around because I had no idea where I was going. Regardless, beautiful and serene.

A great lake for a walk and for fishing. The only minus is…read morethat the lake is private so you need a Woodbridge ID or you can be a guest of a person who has an ID.

Blue Lake Park is located in a residential neighborhood near the Woodbridge area of Irvine. Despite…read moreits name, there is nothing about this park that resembles a lake. The park has a grassy area, basketball courts, a kids playground, and some covered tables. There is mainly street parking and also a small private parking lot that is currently blocked off for construction. The swimming pool is also under construction. This is a park mainly used by the residents in the area.

Great beautiful park beautiful photography cool place to hang out and chill pretty coolread more

Located right next to Heritage Park, this location houses multiple camps through the Spring and…read moreSummer season. The camps are structured, well organized and affordable. Sign up through City of Irvine website. Cancellations are easy to make too. Plenty of parking. They also have an art building for Arts and Crafts lessons.

This is a huge park and community center with a lot to offer. Several parking lots to start. They…read morehave a good sized pond with a walking trail around it. They have basketball, baseball, tennis, pickleball, and soccer areas to enjoy some recreation. The greenery is well maintained. There is a nice sized playground with a splash pad.

A cool spot to chill. Clean, peaceful, and surprisingly relaxing for a man-made lake. Great for a…read morewalk, a picnic, with or without kids!

tl,dr: Family-friendly place for fun group activities…read more Likes: + Polite staff. + Safe, friendly place for families to swim and play in shallow pools and have picnics. + 2 volleyball courts Non-likes: - Restroom access requires resident card scan. Highly inconvenient for guests. - Many ants around the picnics tables. Check the ground before you put your belongings down on the ground or tables. - At the sand volleyball courts, the net for preventing the ball from flying into the lake isn't tall enough. Our ball flew over it during "regular" gameplay once, and almost did it again 3 more times. Please excuse our beginners. We'll need a taller boundary net. Neutral: . Limited parking lot space, but plenty of street parking. It's just a bit of walk if you have to carry a lot of stuff from your car.

Orange County parks seem like the perfect date spot. A place for athleticism and wildlife, with…read morewater fountains, bathrooms, and marked trails; near gas and food for recovery; within Orange County city areas. I see the beauty of nature and city, serene and lovely, for $5 to park and zero dollars to walk, breathe, and admire the natural and person-made park. According to the squirrel I met here, the food here is amazing, but nothing for us human beings. The parking lot was so clean and spacious on this lovely Sunday. The bathrooms were clean and comfortable; they even had a trash can outside. They have enough ventilation, so even if someone farts hard, it may not be so bad. I saw some lovely dogs, families, people jogging and walking, and some cool airplanes and boats controlled remotely by people chilling and enjoying Sunday morning. For me, this is also a great place to burn off complex carbohydrates from breakfast.

So here are the pros & cons. Beautiful park with 2 little lakes. There is a playground on 1 side…read moreas well. You do have to pay for parking and there really is no free parking. However if you go on a holiday, be prepared for long lines to enter and then no parking available. They have overflow parking in the grass which is not my favorite at all. I would probably have left if I hadn't paid for parking. Our party was clear on the other side so they will also stop traffic from entering to that side. Pain in the butt. What can you do. So great park but enter at your own risk! I'm not usually a fan of paid parking parks either. But when there's a group you are going with, what can you do. SYOY!

If you enjoy hiking under the blazing sun while carrying coolers, chairs, umbrellas, and all your…read moreother gear for what feels like a mile from your car, then this place might be perfect for you. The biggest downside is the distance from the parking area to the actual destination. By the time we arrived, we were already tired and sweaty. There are staff members who drive around in golf carts and occasionally offer rides, which is appreciated, but whether you get one seems to come down to pure luck. If you happen to see one and there's room available, great. If not, you're on your own. The location itself may be worth visiting for some people, but the long trek back and forth can quickly take the fun out of the experience, especially on hot days or if you're carrying a lot of supplies. Just be prepared and pack light, because there's a good chance you'll be hauling everything yourself.

Beautiful location for long walks, tranquil surroundings covered by wildlife (but please be mindful…read moreas this is the wilderness therefore snakes, coyotes and mountain lions do live in the area) If you are mindful of the wild creatures I do think anyone that enjoys the outdoors will find this location a gem! SIDE NOTE I was there for an event but I did get an opportunity to walk around by the lake

You know, if we hadn't gotten stuck in the wrong lane on our way back to our hotel, we might not…read morehave ever discovered the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary. Without knowing what it is, I would've guessed this was just an open green space in the middle of Irvine. Little did I know, this place is a whole lot more interesting than that...and a beautiful gem, too! While there are multiples ways in and out of the sanctuary, the main entrance and parking lot is on Riparian right off of Campus Drive (there is a second, smaller lot on the Michelson end of the same street, but the stretch in between is gated off). Regardless of which way you get in, though, among the first things you'll probably notice is how big this place is and how peaceful and tranquil it feels. Walking along the dirt paths through their 300+ acres of foliage and ponds/marshes, it doesn't take long before you start to feel far removed from all of the nearby office complexes, strip malls, and housing communities. As much as we thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon walking around, it could've been so much better if we had been better prepared. For one, we parked and entered by that smaller lot, so we missed out on checking out the learning center, Audubon house, visitor center, and the Duck Club. What's more, we also missed out on the butterfly garden and didn't see many birds or wildlife. Part of that could've just been due to the time of year we were here, but it probably would've helped if we had gotten ourselves informed as to what to keep an eye out for! As awesome as the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary obviously is, perhaps the most impressive thing about it is how it was actually built to act as a water filter, but disguised as a nature preserve. Quite an accomplishment to build something to serve an infrastructural, urban need while still benefiting nature! Even more of a reason to come back on my next trip to spend more time exploring the rest of the preserve, learning center, birds, and butterflies!

I took my children to the wildlife sanctuary yesterday and saw a big sign in front of the welcome…read morecenter about a kids summer camp. The welcome center had a large sign out front advertising it and a big sign saying "open! Visitors welcome"... I was "welcomed", and I use this term loosely, by Barbara. I asked for information about the summer camp and she was very rude to me from the start and very unhelpful. She pointed to a wall with pamphlets and said "maybe there's information there", and then after about 30 seconds began making rude comments to my children because one of them asked to hold my hand "and it was much too loud". He was not being loud... he is 4 and spoke at a normal volume. I tried to quickly look for a pamphlet so we could leave since our presence was clearly not welcome... and when he asked if we could go outside I was again met with more rude comments from Barbara about my children. This is the first time an adult has ever spoken to my children in such a rude way - I was honestly so offended I will never go back there. I was in the visitor center less than 2 minutes but it was long enough to make a last impression and keep me away. I guess I'll look for summer camps else where.

I've been coming to Inspiration Point for many years, and I still enjoy it every time I visit…read more I usually bring my dog here for a walk so She can enjoy the ocean breeze and watch the sunset with me. Sometimes I bring a blanket, sit on the grass, and bring some food to have a little picnic. It's a simple thing, but I always enjoy spending time here with the ocean view and the sound of the waves. I also like that they have bags available the area in case you need to clean up after your dog. I noticed there is a one of stations near the end of the street where you can grab them. From here, you can walk down toward little Corona del Mar and get closer to the beach. You can also walk on the sand, but personally I prefer staying up here because it feels cleaner and more convenient when I don't need to go down to the beach. Street parking is available nearby, but you may need to drive around a little to find a spot for parallel parking.

Amazing place, peaceful, great walking distance to get cardio. Dog walks. Excellent views.read more