OC Central Playgrounds and Parks

Central OC playgrounds and parks encompass Huntington Beach and Irvine along with smaller cities.

It’s a little weird to have on-the-ocean Seal Beach on the same list as Tustin and Orange, but I’m trying to stick with conventions already set up by other Orange County publications.

Plus, I think it generally applies to how you move around your section of the county. It’s easy to get from Orange to Huntington Beach. 

If you live in central Orange County, please recommend your favorite parks so we can build on your insider information!

I’ve also provided links to OCParks.com regional parks in Central OC and city park pages.

Central Orange County Playgrounds

You can visit Central Orange County playgrounds and parks to see an archive list of ALL the Central OC parks, but it’s a pretty lengthy list. Here are the parks by city:

Costa Mesa

Fountain Valley

Huntington Beach

Irvine

Los Alamitos / Rossmoor

Newport Beach / Corona del Mar

City of Orange

Santa Ana

Seal Beach

Tustin

OCParks.com Regional Parks

Our regional parks require a $3-$5 entrance fee - but they are worth every penny!

Buy your annual pass online. I recommend the $55 County Regional and Wilderness Parks Parking Pass unless you are a regular at the Salt Creek Beach Park in Dana Point. In my humble opinion, that would be the only reason to spring for the $80 All County Parks and Beaches Parking Pass.

Irvine Ranch Open Space (Irvine)

Irvine Regional Park (Orange)

William R. Mason Regional Park (Irvine)

Mile Square Regional Park (Fountain Valley)

Peters Canyon Regional Park (Orange)

Talbert Regional Park (Costa Mesa)

Upper Newport Bay Preserve (Newport Beach)

Harriet Wieder Regional Park (Huntington Beach)

Central Orange County City Park Links

• Costa Mesa (map of city parks)
• Fountain Valley (link to PDF map)
• Huntington Beach (text links to 78 parks)
• Irvine (links to park facilities and maps)
• Los Alamitos (text list of parks with descriptions)
• Newport Beach / Corona Del Mar (table with all the amenities, plus links to maps a few photos for each park)
• City of Orange (list of parks with photos)
• Santa Ana (list of parks with a map)
• Seal Beach (table with all the amenities)
• Tustin (list linked to pages with photos and more info about the parks)

Or check my other indexes and my playground map for:

• North OC Parks and Playgrounds
• South OC Parks and Playgrounds
• Park Map of Orange County (markers link to blog posts)