Nature Center Hours: Monday-Friday (9 AM-5 PM) Saturday (9 AM-4 PM) Sunday (Closed)
Restrooms? Yes. Located adjacent to the Nature Center
Parking Lot? Yes. Dedicated parking lot with 50 spots
Overview
Located among the many great parks in the city of Irvine is this 5 acre nature preserve at Turtle Rock Nature Center. This is another great Irvine park where kids and families can get outside and enjoy the local environment. Turtle Rock Nature Center is also home to an interpretive center that houses a day care/children’s camp. The inside has some books and toys and a few displays for kids. Overall, it is somewhat unimpressive as far as interpretive centers go, but kids will most likely enjoy a brief stop inside.
Upon exiting the interpretive center, visitors will encounter a half miles worth of paved trails. The highlights along the trail include a few bridges, a pond, a rock labyrinth, a tiny waterfall and a sand station with animal prints. Along the way visitors will travel through multiple native Southern Californian habitats. The trail is perfect for younger children and many animals such as local birds, lizards, rabbits, coyotes and rattlesnakes are often in this area. In addition to the nature center the park also features a playground, basketball court, ball field, tennis courts and tons of open lawn space.
Nature Center
- Some nice interactive displays for kids and information on what hikers will see along the nature trails
- Big book area and a puppet theater and small toy area
Trails
- 1/2 mile loop through native Southern Californian habitats, including riparian, desert and woodlands.
- Birding is an extremely popular activity here
- The labyrinth will almost assuredly be kids favorite stop along the loop
- The Labyrinth is a circular, winding rock path, designed and completed by a former Eagle Scout. It represents our passage through time and experience
- Sand station with animal prints
Playground Features
Very basic but nice playground structure
- 3 slides including a spiral tunnel slide and spiral slide
- Sand Surface and not gated or fenced
- Climbing wall with chain
Other Park Amenities
- Sand volleyball court
- Baseball field and tennis courts
- Half Basketball Court
- Expansive lawn area
Scout’s Story
With 4th of July weekend now behind us, nearby parks have quieted down quite a bit. We decided to take advantage of this and spend a few hours in Irvine letting Scout explore a few new parks, including the Turtle Rock Nature Center. Our morning started by visiting the incredible Adventure Playground in Irvine before driving the short distance to the Turtle Rock Nature Center and Community Park.
In comparison to other nature centers, the one at Turtle Rock Community Park is rather underwhelming but still offers a few things that younger kids will enjoy. A puppet theater is present as well as a reasonable amount of toy farm animals and other toys. A few interpretive animal displays are also in the nature center as well as a good sized selection of children books. We spent about 10 minutes letting Scout explore the inside before heading out the back door that leads directly to the nature trails.
The trail winds its way around a half mile loop with a few neat stops along the way. This is a great spot for those looking for a short walk with younger kids. Our daughter, Scout, enjoyed the trail from the beginning. Our first stop was the crossing bridge and small pond and then after a short uphill walk we came to the rock labyrinth.
Scout absolutely loved this area and spent about twenty minutes walking back and forth through it before we grabbed her to finish the rest of the trail. While the trail is short, it is enjoyable and worth a visit for those looking for something new to do in the Irvine area.
July 11, 2023
