Irvine Great Park

Prior to construction of the Great Park, the land was occupied by the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. While the Air Station has been decommissioned for years, a small portion of the land also was used as a boat and RV storage. Neighboring the base was miles and miles of farmland and very few houses used to occupy the area from the 5 freeway up the 133. As Orange County grew, construction on the Orange County Great Park began in 2002 as the local voters approved the project. From 2002 to 2017, the park has grown tremendously and now takes up nearly 713 acres. Imagine what you could do with just one acre of land! While this is a tremendous amount of space, the retired El Toro Marine Corps Air Station was a massive 1,300 acres. This park is currently only half of the available land!

The Great Park now hosts a plethora of activities. One could go to the park for a whole day and still not experience everything this land has to offer. Most notable and seen throughout Orange County, is what us locals call the big orange balloon. This attraction has a large 25+ person deck where you are able to see 360 degrees around and up to 40 miles on a clear day. The balloon ride costs $10 and rides occur on a first come-first serve basis, so it may be beneficial to call ahead to see how crowded the balloon is. Ride this attraction day or night, but ensure you check the availability and weather first as the ride does not operate on windy days. This is a must for any tourists (or even locals) to the Irvine area.

Aside from the Great Park Balloon, this enormous park has a soccer stadium and fields, volleyball court (with over one-hundred stadium style seats), countless tennis courts, athletic fields, merry-go-round, children’s play area and even a fitness path. The park also hosts free farmer’s markets every Sunday (weather permitted). The City of Irvine also plans to add baseball fields, a wildlife corridor, and even a golf course! What attraction does the park not have? Rumors are also going around that the Verizon Amphitheater will be moved to this park. Who knows, maybe us locals will see Wild Rivers appear again at the Great Park. With all of the amenities developed in Irvine, maybe the 2024 Olympics will be hosted here? Just kidding…but this park does have top-of-the-line facilities and the growth plans are tremendous.

The Irvine Great Park is now a centerpiece of Orange County. Make sure to check this awesome family friendly adventure off of your bucket list!