Adventure Playground Irvine University

My boys, ages 3 – 7, loved it… climbing playground, sand, mud, dump trucks, long slides, and large building blocks for hours of fun. Couple of picnic tables to eat and a clean walking path for parents. Kids will get dirty so dress for dirt and mud… pants and mud boots worked great.

This is such a neat park! Parents like me (who are ALWAYS at some sort of park) can appreciate a different kind of playground like this. The adventure playground is located in University Community Park located on Beach Tree Ln. When you’re at the park look for the sign over the entrance that says ‘Adventure Playground’. The adventure playground is staffed by Irvine City Rec employees and is open daily from 10am-​5pm. You are required to sign-​in. The staff oversee the all building toys, which include over-​sized legos and some other fun big pieces. The park is MUDDY! I cannot stress this enough, your child will be filthy, bring towels, extra clothes and appropriate shoes (on warm days most kids go shoe-​less). There is a hose-​off area for rinsing shoes, but you’ll need more than that. The park is multi-​level and features a lot of open space, a classic playground set with a wicked fast tube slide and netting, a few concrete slides that aren’t very slippery, a sensory maze garden (sounds cooler than it is), a creek that runs through the park (when it rains), and a water pumping station for the kids. Even though the park is huge, it’s fully enclosed to let those babies FREE!!!

We just explored the newly reopened Irvine Adventure Playground and it is a MUST! After being closed for 5 years, it’s reopened within the last few weeks. Families like ours will love the self-​directed, non-​bubble wrapped play environment complete with mud pit, river, playground, water pumps, concrete slides, human sized Legos and more. The park is open 7 days per week from 10-​dusk, is completely secure and well staffed with people who understand kids and it’s free. We brought a picnic lunch, blanket, change of clothes and towel (there are hoses to rinse off your dirty kiddos) and spent ALL day. Even with exhausted kids, they were so bummed to leave. It’s the most fun we’ve ever had a park… GO!!!
p. s. If you are the kind of family that is not wanting your kids to get dirty and would prefer them to be in a totally controlled environment, this playground will likely not work for you. This playground invites kids to be totally authentic and «wild» and it is likely a turnoff for some.
But, not our family :)