570 W 18th St, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Hours: Monday-Sunday (6 AM-10 PM)
Restrooms? Yes. 3 individual restrooms located adjacent to the baseball field
Playground Surface: Rubber and a separate sand pit area
Parking Lot? Yes. Dedicated parking lot with 25 spaces
Gated/Fenced? No
Overview
Lions Park in the city of Costa Mesa, was always a pretty cool park, but recently, in the summer of 2021, the playground got a major upgrade that now makes the park really stand out. The main feature of the park has always been the Korean War-era Grumman F9F Panther jet that was installed in 1960 and has led to many calling the park “airplane park”. The jet has been a staple here and the city did an amazing job of refurbishing it and including it in the new playground. The playground now features an amazing roller coaster type zipline and multiple play areas to keep kids busy.
Lions Park is 10 acres and houses a fire station, recreation center, a new community center, The Costa Mesa Historical Society building and the awesome Donald Dungan O.C. Public Library. For anyone who plans on visiting the park, make sure to stop in at the library and to check out the children’s area on the bottom floor. It’s filled with great books and reading areas for the youngsters along with a small play area. Glass windows provide views looking directly out towards the playground making you feel as if you are still outside at the park and not in a library. This is a great park and families will have no problem finding enough things here to occupy a few hours of their time.
Features
The playground features 3 main areas for kids to play along a surface with a runway etched into it. The play structures include one for kids ages 5-12 years old, a toddler play area for kids 2-5 years old and the awesome Korean War-era Grumman F9F Panther Jet that serves as the center piece of the park
Korean War-era Grumman F9F Panther jet
- The focal point of the park is the blue Korean War-era Jet. It includes a ladder so kids can climb inside of it and pretend to be pilots
- The jet has been a mainstay in the park since it was installed in 1960. In the early days the jets dials, knobs and cockpit were all accessible for kids to play with and to pretend to be pilots. The plane has now been coated in concrete so kids can safely enjoy it
- The Jet was purchased for $1 by a local, retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel named Ted Tanner, who served in the South Pacific during World War II
- Other parks that feature similiar war era plane structures include the following.
- Boysen Park, Anaheim (Korean War, U.S. Navy Cougar Jet)
- Palmview Park, West Covina (Korean War-era F-86D Sabre Jet)
- Del Valle Park, Lakewood (Douglas F3D “Skyknight” jet)
Main Play Structure (Kids Ages 5-12 Years Old)
- Incredible sitting swing zipline. Kids will come down a ramp on and then swing in a circle around the play structure like a roller coaster
- 2 bench swings and 2 slides including a spiral tunnel slide
- Long cargo net bridge connecting two sections of the play structure
- Vertical saucer climbers, tunnel saucer climbers and multiple other climbing ladders
Toddler Play Area (Kids Ages 2-5 Years Old)
- Toddler clubhouse with tunnel crawler, small slide and rock wall and bongo drums
- 1 bench swing, 2 tandem swings and 1 accessible swing
- 4 person teeter-totter
- 2 helicopter spring jumpers
- Large Sphere spinner
- Sand pit area with a cool concrete sand castle and excavators (diggers)
- Synthetic lawn area with “ant hills” for toddlers to climb and musical sensory toys
Other Amenities
- The Donald Dungan O.C. Public Library is located directly behind the playground and is a must visit if you haven’t been inside. The bottom floor houses a huge kids book section with play areas and glass windows that look out at the playground
- 1 picnic shelter and 13 picnic tables
- Softball field and the awesome Davis field as well as a small lawn area
- Costa Mesa Historical Society
- Downtown Recreation Center
- Norma Hertzog Community Center
Scout’s Story
On this overcast Monday morning, my wife and I decided to get outside and let our daughter, Scout, play and visit a few new places. We love the Newport area, so I chose a few places in close proximity to make stops at. This had been our first real trip outside to play in some time. Our daughter, Scout, who has been battling stage 4 cancer for closing in on a year, had recently undergone a 10 hour tumor resection surgery to remove half of her liver and to attempt to remove as much of the tumor in her pelvic area as possible.
After two weeks of living in the hospital and watching Scout battle fevers, we finally arrived home, two days before Scout’s 2nd birthday. The following day on May 8th, we were greeted with the news that her pathology was back and that her cancer was being placed into remission. We spent the following week watching Scout once again battle fevers, while spending every day at the hospital trying to figure out what was causing them. Scout still has a central line leading to her heart, so fevers and illnesses are still a huge concern. Finally, the fevers subsided and Scout’s surgeon will be removing her central line within the next month.
Scout’s Day at Lions Park
Having just turned 2, Scout is just starting to get the hang of navigating playgrounds on her own. As we pulled up to Lions park, Scout caught a glimpse of the playground and took off across the lawn. Her first stop was the sphere spinner and then she made her way to the tandem swing with her mom. After a bit, Scout noticed the older kids flying around on the zipline and her attention dialed in on them. My wife decided to take her up the ramp and go on the zipline with her. This began about 20 minutes of Scout wanting to continually go, again and again.
Eventually, we were able to distract her and move her towards the “ant hills” in front of the library. These mini mounds are something that we have encountered at numerous parks and Scout absolutely loves running up and down them. As my wife was watching Scout play, I placed my face up against the glass window of the library that fronted the toddler play area and looked inside. Before we visited, I had no idea that there was even a library but after looking through the window, I told my wife that we had to go in.
We walked towards the front of the library and entered the lower level before heading into the children’s area. The children’s section of the library was so neat and Scout loved it. We were able to get Scout to look at a few books before she became consumed with the gym mats lining the inner walls of the little play area.
Scout went back and forth and even played with a few of the other toddlers, which was something that was new to her as well. Our family had an amazing morning at Lions Park and visiting the library was just an extra bonus. We can’t wait to see what the following weeks have in store and are looking forward to getting Scout outside as much as possible.
May 22, 2023
