One of my favorite things to do is to go on hikes, have the kids wade in streams and look for all sorts of different type of animals, draw in their nature journal and just have some good old fashion fun without all the play equipment. However, here in Orange County, California, most of the parks that have these hiking trails, streams and lakes etc. cost money. OK, I know it is not that much, only about $5.00, but I do try to save money where ever I can and if I go a couple times a week it can add up.
One of my favorite city parks is Eisenhower Park on 2894 N. Tustin St, Orange, CA 92865 .
This is a city park so it is 100% free and it has just about everything you can ask for in a park. The Hiking is not perfect, but the park is large enough to take a nice long walk, jog or ride around with your bike or scooter. It has a man made lake with catch and release fishing, but what is really cool about that is that on the other side of the park is a small pond with a little river/stream that runs down to the large lake.
Now the kids and I usually do not spend much time at the Lake,we are not to big into fishing, but spend it in the creek part looking for craw fish, chasing and feeding the ducks, looking for bugs, identifying plants, drawing in our nature journals and just playing on our scooters or with our balls. There are huge beautiful old, old trees that supply a ton of shade for those lazy days of summer.
OK, now this park does have a couple play sets, but because of spending a lot of time taking hikes etc. my kids spend very little time on the play sets. One of the other things I really like about this park is that there are several different areas for picnicking and BBQing. This is not just a huge flat park but it has rolling hills and different levels for different activities like rolling down the hills and getting all itchy form the grass. That is one of my children's activities or taking your scooters down some of the less steep hills.
I think what I am going to do at this point is stop talking and give you a ton of pictures of the areas we hang out in the park the most with my kids. This will give you an idea of how beautiful this park really is. I know most city park can get kinda creepy with vagrants or degenerates, but in all the years I have been going here, I have never felt like that. If you live in or around this area, I highly recommend you check it out one day. Bring a picnic lunch, a blanket or folding chair and spend the day. Of course there are picnic tables, but you know they are not nearly as comfy as you well broken into lawn chair.
Hey, you never know, one day we might see each other there. Take today and sit back and enjoy your kids. Take the camera and make some memories. They are only this age once! Eisenhower park is a cheap way to enjoy your children's company and make some memories!
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