A trail-side meadow filled with yellow flowers shines in the sunlight in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, Calif. on May 22, 2023. (CREDIT: Xavier Rony/VOICE OF OC)
Tucked between the rolling hills of the City of Orange, you will find 495 acres of trails, park space, bike paths, lakes, OC Zoo, and more at California’s first regional park.
Irvine Regional Park goes back to 1897, when it was gifted to the County of Orange by James Irvine, Jr. for just $1 and later became the state’s first regional park when county supervisors gave it that status in 1926.
It is a gift that keeps giving to Orange County to this day.
The park is still active and alive, the way it was intended to be.
Families gather for celebrations while firing up the public grills, or there are more quiet moments shared between smaller groups of people who stayed cool under mature old coast live oak and sycamore trees; some visitors opt to rent bicycles or floating paddleboats on the pond.
Visitors also ventured into the trails on foot or on their bikes, in the midst of nature, where local wildlife make their home.
On any day here is a glimpse of what you can find:
Families kickback on their paddleboat rentals in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, Calif. on May 22, 2023. These paddleboats can be rented nearby and taken out by the hour on the lake. (CREDIT: Xavier Rony/VOICE OF OC)
A child celebrates his successful summit of this geological rock formation in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, Calif. on May 22, 2023. (CREDIT:Xavier Rony/VOICE OF OC)People converge at one of the many family picnic areas throughout Irvine Regional Park in Orange, Calif., on May 22, 2023. The pathways aren’t just for pedestrians but cyclists of all styles too.
Kambiz, an Orange County local, snaps a shot of some birds in the distance in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, Calif. on May 22, 2023. He has been photographing wildlife in the park for years and loves coming back at sunset to see what he can find. (CREDIT: Xavier Rony/VOICE OF OC)A boy resting in a hammock takes in the view of one of the fishing lakes here at Irivne Regional Park in Orange, Calif. on May 22, 2023. Anyone can come fish as long as you have a California State Fishing license. (CREDIT: Xavier Rony/VOICE OF OC)Families cross paths on one of the many paved bicycle/walking trails throughout Irvine Regional Park in Orange, Calif. on May 22, 2023. You can rent these double bench surrey’s by the hour at a stand towards the front of the park. (CREDIT: Xavier Rony/VOICE OF OC)Ponies and horses take a snack break during the day in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, Calif. on May 22, 2023. The public can purchase pony rides as well as horseback riding throughout the parks trails. (CREDIT: Xavier Rony/VOICE OF OC)A squirrel along one of the bike paths in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, Calif. on May 22, 2023. Credit: Xavier Rony, Voice of OCPainters admire the paddleboats at sunset in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, Calif. on May 22, 2023. (CREDIT: Xavier Rony/VOICE OF OC)A man on a rental chopper zooms by at sunset in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, Calif. on May 22, 2023. (CREDIT: Xavier Rony/VOICE OF OC)Two orange county locals take in the sunlight and each others company in Irvine Regional Park in Orange, Calif. on May 22, 2023. (CREDIT: Xavier Rony/VOICE OF OC)
Correction: A previous headline stated California’s first regional park was in Irvine. It was created in the City of Orange. We regret the error.
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