Are you looking for OC playgrounds with shade covers? It’s still hot and not ideal, but at least these are playgrounds you can visit in a pinch to get the wiggles out.
You can also consult my post for 100+ Ideas for Kids Indoor Play post which includes 13+ frozen treat ideas for hot days and a whole bunch of places with air conditioning!
Top 10+ OC Playgrounds with Shade Covers
The first 8 mentioned are the stand-out parks where the playground shade covers are BIG and effective. The other parks on the list have partial shade covers which provide some relief, but they don’t cover the whole playground.
Full Shade Covered Playgrounds in Orange County
Hurray for shade covered playgrounds! When it gets hot, we go looking for shade anywhere we can find it. This list with photos highlights the playgrounds with BIG shades or overlapping shade sails over the entire playground.
There are playgrounds out there with smaller shade sails over the equipment, but that might only be adequate for sun cover and not as much for keeping cool? I do have a list of those at the end of this post.
Concourse Park in Portola Hills
Concourse Park shade covers are triangular, like shade sails - but they are arranged in a way that gets almost full coverage of the playground. It's a beautiful park playground on the edge of Whiting Ranch.
Canyon View Park in Aliso Viejo
The Canyon View Park shade cover is in an umbrella shape -- but like a GIANT umbrella! There's even shade over the swings and the picnic area.
Lake Forest Sports Park Playgrounds and Recreation Center
Lake Forest Sports Park has two playground areas with shade covers! One has the huge umbrella size that provides full shade. The other playground has shade sails, but they overlap.
Fullerton Sports Complex Playground
I feel like Fullerton Sports Complex Playground is the ORIGINAL shade cover that made me go WOW. So cool to have the cover over ALL the equipment.
Aliso Viejo Community Park
Aliso Viejo Community Park has shade covers over the swings, a smaller one over the big kid equipment, and another over the fenced playground for the 2-5 year olds. It's also down in a canyon so it gets natural shade in the early evening.
Tustin Sports Park
Tustin Sports Park (not to be confused with Tustin Legacy Sports/Community Park) is on Jamboree near Tustin Marketplace. All new for Summer 2022.
Ridgecrest Park in Aliso Viejo
Ridgecrest Park in Aliso Viejo even has a shade cover over the swings!
Larwin Park in Buena Park
Larwin Park in Buena Park comes highly recommended from a lot of readers and it has a lot of shade.
Partially Shade Covered Playgrounds in Orange County
Brea Sports Park – added shade covers in 2012.
Shaffer Park in Orange – a family favorite.
Brio Park and Splash Pad is one of the rare spots where there is shade over the water play.
Lang Park in Laguna Beach – a playground cover AND near the ocean.
Sweet Shade Park in Irvine – minimal covers, but good for a little relief.
Santa Ana Zoo Playground – the giraffe design makes this one unique.
Liberty Park in San Clemente – inland location so no benefits from the ocean.
Stanton Central Park – new park in 2016.
Tamarisk Park in Lake Forest – the shades are there to cover the midday sun, but they aren’t very big.
More recommendations from readers:
- Anton Park in Irvine
- Cox Sports Park in Ladera Ranch
- Altisima Park in Rancho Santa Margarita
In creating this list, I’m discovering that Irvine, Aliso Viejo, and Laguna Beach have all invested in shade covers for their community, so check out their parks first when looking for shade.
Read Cool Tips for Hot Playgrounds for even more ideas to keep cool on these hot days!
Originally published in August 2010.
Stacey Levine
Thursday 13th of August 2015
There is a park in Long Beach that we call "shady park" but that is not it's name. It is the very South end of El Dorado park just before the houses start. Next to an open field for soccer, there are very old tall trees that offer natural shade to the playstructure that is there.
Rosalie
Wednesday 4th of September 2013
We went to the Kids Rock Playground at the Great Park during the Labor Day Weekend 2013 and although it was 85F, there was no mist coming out of the misters. There was a partial shade, the majority of the play area was in the sun.