A visit to Adventure Playground Irvine has been on our list for quite some time. The park’s interactivity and hands-on design allow kids of all ages to get dirty and show off their creative side. Its Fort Zone piqued our interest with its large-scale lego blocks. The blocks allow the kids to make life-size versions of whatever they can imagine. Potentially provided hours of entertainment. Even in my mid 30’s, I felt like I had just as much fun as my 3-year-old daughter when we built our first fort. We highly recommend a visit with your family to Adventure Playground if you’re looking for something fun to do with the kids in Orange County.
Adventure Playground Irvine Visitor Info
Address
1 Beech Tree Lane. Irvine, CA 92612
Phone
949-724-6818
Entrance
Free
Parking
Free
Time Spent
1-3 hours easily
Things to do at Adventure Playground Irvine
- Giant size Lego Block Forts
- Tonka Trucks in a big dirt area
- A play structure recommended for ages 5-12
- Sand Area
- Cement slides
- Hand pump wells for kids to crank and water table. (wasn’t on when we were there)
- Mud Pitt
- Climbing poles
- Ping Pong & Foosball
- Different terrains for the kids to run around
- Steep hills for the older kids to climb up and down
Prepare for dirt!
Adventure Playground Irvine embraces getting dirty. The center of the natural play area is an actual mud pit! So, make sure to dress the kids in clothes you don’t mind them getting filthy, and bring a change of clothes they can change into afterward.
Restrooms
Adventure Playground has two full-size bathrooms located inside a converted shipping container near the entrance. Each bathroom has flushing toilets with seat covers and soap. Baby changing tables are also available in each bathroom, but make sure to bring a changing pad. The bathrooms are dirty, but it’s expected with the kind of environment Adventure Playground offers its visitors.
Seating
They have a few benches and picnic tables with shade. Probably not be enough shading during the summer months.
Our Experience
We didn’t know what to expect when we arrived at Adventure Playground Irvine. Would Kairi get scared off by all the kids, or would she embrace the chaos of a playground where kids can be kids? She was nervous at first, but eventually dove right in, playing on the play structure and building a fort. Sure, we had to make the fort with her and protect it from marauding older kids. But the hunger games fort zone taught her a great lesson about property rights in a hostile environment (half kidding).
Like every fort, it was eventually overrun. Unfazed, Kairi quickly turned to her favorite outside activity, playing with dirt. Thankfully, Adventure Playground has plenty of dirt. Still, the park upped the ante by only leaving a small amount of digging tools throughout the area. Eventually, our daughter was running for her life with three hoarded shovels in her hands! But like all pack-hunted animals, she was finally taken down, and the digging by hand got her dirty enough that I didn’t want to let her back in my car. Luckily, a quick rinse brought her back into acceptable cleanliness.
I’m sure Kairi would have stayed in Adventure Playground all day if we had come sooner, but the hour and a half running around with her was good enough for us. While it was hard getting her to leave, but it was nice to see her enjoy such an old-school playground.
Things to bring
- Picnic blanket
- Extra clothes
- Wipes
- Hat
- Towel
- Water
- Sunscreen
- Snacks or Lunch
- Jacket for cold days
Should you go?
Yeah. Adventure Playground Irvine is a nice change from all the cookie-cutter playgrounds you see nowadays. We recommend bringing some of your kids’ friends and candy if you visit. Together, they can use the candy as currency to grow their gang, I mean, “group,” to build the biggest badest fort in the land. All kidding aside, you should definitely bring the kids, but provide some supervision to make sure they aren’t getting bullied or unintentionally bullying others. Adventure Playground is a great environment to teach your kids about interacting and sharing with others if you invest the time.
There is another Adventure Playground Huntington Beach that we have yet to visit, but we’ll be sure to write a post about it if we do.
Nearby
The Orange County Model Engineers (OCME) Club is about 15minutes north in Costa Mesa, CA and it’s great for kids!
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