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Hurray! You just found “The Park Lady!”

At least that’s what most moms call me. You can pretty much ask me anything about parks in Orange County, California — and I’ll either know the answer or know where to point you in the right direction. You can learn more about me, by reading my ABOUT page.

Are you craving something new when it comes to playgrounds or family outings? Do most play ideas seem insanely complicated for your parental brain? Are you baffled by ALL the choices of things to do with your kids in Orange County?

Don’t spend another minute randomly searching! I can narrow things down for you and make it easy to get outside and have fun with your kids.

The best way to hear about parks is to subscribe to what I call my “weekly love letter” which is actually a weekly email of play trips and park tips for Orange County, California.

It’s not just a boring feed of my blog posts. Remember? I’m a writer! So it’s more of a weekly magazine. You can count on it to come on Thursday evenings so you can plan your weekend. It’s the spot where I let you know what’s happening on the calendar that week or even occasionally run giveaways.

 Just want to say THANK you! I’m a working mama and your blog does the research for me. I’m always finding new parks and beaches. Love the quick pros and cons lists. Again, you’re amazing. Thanks.” – FunOrangeCountyParks.com Reader

You’ve entered a No-Pressure Zone where PLAY rules!

Besides breathing, eating, sleeping, and love — I believe PLAY is an essential part of development for every child. All you have to do to make them happier, healthier, and smarter is LET THEM PLAY. Ahhh, doesn’t that take the pressure off? The seemingly simple, but genuinely academic / complex act of playing enriches their lives so much! Even though I write about parks, my real mission is helping you infuse FREE PLAY into your everyday life. That’s the good stuff!

Park Basics

My Most Popular Play Posts (inspired by reader questions over the years)

Powerful Posts That Might Immediately Change Your Parenting Life

I was not raised in a family that emphasized or valued the importance of the outdoors, so I used to doubt that I could expose my kids in a meaningfully way to nature. Your blog and book chapters have taught me that I can do it if I give it the time and start small – day trips, half day visits to nature centers and parks, etc. I have three kids ages 6, 4, and 3, and work full time. Yet, your insights and guidance has made exposing my kids to nature attainable for me. I think my kids believe that our family culture includes low key exploration of new parks, nature centers and long walks. I hope to move up to longer hikes and camping as the kids get older – but for one who never did any of this as a kid, I am happy with what we have already done. Thank you for your inspiration and guidance — you have been a positive presence in my early parenting years and hope to continue using your expertise.” – FunOrangeCountyParks.com Reader

FunOrangeCountyParks.com is a FREE community resource, but it’s also become a community of local outdoor explorers who “hang out” together on Instagram (@ocplayparks). It used to be on my Fun Orange County Parks page on Facebook, but we’ve all migrated over to Insta. I also enjoy when you have conversations back and forth with me by hitting “REPLY” on my weekly Play Trips emails.

There are no dumb questions and I’m just an email away (play@funorangecountyparks.com). Just give me a few days to reply – I try to live the lifestyle I promote by taking time off on the weekends or certain weeks during the year to eliminate screen time and focus solely on playing outdoors with my family.

Go ahead and take your weekends off to play!
I’ll be here during the week to help you find parks and figure out play trips for your family.

Follow me at Fun Orange County Parks on Facebook
@ocplayparks and @planwritepost on Instagram