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Home » Playgrounds by City

10 Ways to Find New Places to Play

To learn 10 ways to find new places to play - you first need to learn a little about your play trips guide -- ME! Read why I'm the perfect person to guide you through suggestions of new places to play and things to do outdoors in Orange County.

Next - you need to know that this is NOT an official website of any government entity or nonprofit organization. It is a completely independent blog written by a local mom about local parks and outdoor things to do in Orange County. 

10 Ways to Find New Places to Play

Boredom is NOT Boring

(#1 - #4) Figure Out How to Find Places to Play on This Site

  • Pick a region of Orange County - South OC, North OC, or Central OC from the Park Map & Playgrounds page.
  • Pick a city within the region - The regional pages all have:
    • a city link which will bring you to my blog posts about parks in that city,
    • a list of regional parks in that region,
    • and a list of direct links to all the city website park pages in that region.
  • Explore my custom interactive park map -- and click on a marker. The marker will bring up the park name which links to a blog post with detailed info about each park. I'm currently working on an update to this map that makes it easier to access via mobile.
  • Type the name of a park into the Search bar at the top right of your screen (when you're on your desktop). Or the search box after the blog posts on mobile.

(#5 ) Read Everything I Write

  • Subscribe to get an newsletter every Thursday with simple play trips & tips. It's free, free, free! Or you can pay to get the OC Tiny Hikes subscription which includes a weekly mini trail guide.

(#6 - #9) Join This Community and Contribute

  • When I ask questions in my newsletter -- answer back! I always try to respond to emails. 
  • Connect with me at my @ocplayparks Instagram account 
  • When you find a park that needs updating on my blog or you just want to contribute to our park conversation -- email me (play@funorangecountyparks.com) with edits.
  • If you ever find a park that I don't have on the site or if you want to write for the blog, please consider sending photos and contributing so I can post for others (see How to Be a Volunteer Park Reporter).

(#10) Consult the Experts

  • Go straight to the source and consult the OFFICIAL Parks & Recreation pages of each city in Orange County. I've gathered them all together here in one post entitled: Ultimate Guide to City Recreation Programs and Calendars in OC.

Hope this helps you find new places to play -- and you can always email me and ask me questions. (Although, I sometimes take a little while to answer.)

Thanks for reading and it's nice to see so many families getting out to play these days.

More Playgrounds by City

  • Lake Forest Sports Park Playgrounds and Recreation Center
  • 20+ Parks with Big Slides in Orange County
  • 2025 OC Parks Annual Pass
  • Bonita Canyon Sports Park in Newport Beach

About Michele Whiteaker

Writer mom and nature guide promoting play and empowering families to prioritize outside time since 2008. Park information gathered through my personal experiences and provided as a FREE community resource to millions of Orange County families over the past 17 years via blog and social media. Subscribe to my FREE weekly email inspiring you with park tips and play ideas.

"The Park Lady"

My name is Michele Whiteaker and I'd love for you to think of me as your personal Play Concierge. When I used to search online for family-friendly activities, nothing quite fit my playful outdoor interests or tight budget.

More about me

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