The Great Park

I was SO excited for my visit to "The Great Park" in Irvine. I'd heard a lot about the building of this park, the contention, the controversy, the history, the back and forth over the development of this giant swath of valuable land that was once a former marine base. I am so sad to say that it was horribly disappointing. So disappointing that in writing this entry, I feel genuinely sad about this park.

The park is hot, bright, with little shade and a bizarre design that feels mostly like a parking lot at Disneyland. Completely tucked away off a large avenue in Irvine, the only way to get into the park is to drive. There are not even bike paths or for that matter road shoulders that one could ride a bike into the park safely.

Once you're there, it seems an awful trek from the asphalt parking lot to the concrete plaza pictured above. There is a hot air balloon that takes visitors 400 feet into the air and back down again. There is also a carousel for the young and young at heart:

I realize all this seems like GREAT fun! Great Park with hot air balloon and a carousel?! What's wrong with that?! And granted maybe I caught the park at a bad time of day, but it just seemed...unfinished. Too sunny, too hard, lacking the softness and inviting qualities of other parks. It was hard to get excited about a space that seemed like a parking lot redesigned to be a public park.

Such a bummer. Sorry, Great Park. You were a Great Disappointment.

The Great Park
Sand Canyon at Marine Way
Irvine, CA

~7 miles away

Free