OC Parent Guide
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Fun ideas for family friendly spots, activities, and events around Orange County.
For a kids eat free guide and daily event calendar, check out our website at orangecountyparentguide.com!
06/22/2026
☀️Need some fun and FREE ideas for your kids this week? I got you!
✨Here’s 5 that I pulled from my subscriber event calendar that seemed particularly novel and special.
📆 For $4/month you can become a subscriber and access the full event calendar. Browse hundreds of events every week, take advantage of exclusive discounts, and get invites to FREE and fun community meetups throughout the year.
➡️ Comment “events” and I will send you a link to sign up! Over 2500 families are already subscribed - come join the fun!
06/15/2026
😎Summer Break has officially arrived in Orange County! I thought it might be helpful to do these weekly event guides, so I’m trying it out today to see how it goes!
📆If you want a more comprehensive calendar, check out my website at orangecountyparentguide.com! I am combining hundreds of free & affordable events every week into one central event calendar where you can find location filters, clickable links, and an option to save to your personal calendar.
☀️Here are this week’s summer break picks!
⛺️ Camp Arvida on Monday at
🧺 Picnic Pals at .coffee on Wednesday
🎨 Foam and Face Paint Wednesday at Costa Mesa Donald Dungan library
🌺 Hula, Crafts, and Movie at on Thursday
🎵 Kids concert with on Friday in Dana Point
☀️Summer is here and that means free family events are back at The Market Place!
⬇️Here’s the line up - the first event starts TOMORROW June 13th!
⛱️ Summer Fun Fest with games, crafts, and music!
📆 June 13 near Regal Edwards and August 1st near Panda Express
⏱️ 12pm-2pm
⚽️Grooves and Games
📆 June 17, July 15, August 12 near CPK
⏱️ 10am-12pm
🎸Summer Music Series
📆 June 20, 27, July 25, August 15, 27 near Regal Edwards
⏱️ 5pm-7pm
🌴Summer Sunset Family Nights
📆 June 23, July 21, August 8 near Regal Edwards
⏱️ 5pm-7pm
This weekend we tried the Shady Canyon Trail in Irvine, starting and ending at the Turtle Rock Nature Center. This scenic trail offers breathtaking views, and my kids and I really enjoyed this weekend adventure. Here’s some tips to make this trip a success for you and your kids:
☀️Go on an overcast or cooler day, because there is limited shade. Bring hats, sunscreen, and water.
🚗We parked in the lot by Turtle Rock Nature Center: 1 Sunnyhill, Irvine, CA 92603. There is also a playground by the nature center.
🌳When you hop on the trail from Sunnyhill, you can head toward Bommer Canyon or Shady Canyon and Quail Hill. We’ve only ever gone toward Shady Canyon/Quail Hill. It starts off with a lot of lush greenery, and then you cross some bridges and reach an open space with incredible views. Toward the latter half it does start to become more hilly and challenging. This is an out and back trail, so I always gauge my children’s energy levels and turn back when I think it’s appropriate. We’ve never done the full 7.9 mile trail.
🚴♂️Keep in mind that mountain bikers and pedestrians share this trail. I can’t remember how many times I told my 5 year old to “stay to the right.” If I could have a do-over, I probably would have had a conversation with them beforehand to emphasize the importance of trail safety and etiquette.
👶🏻For babies, toddlers, and younger kids, the trail is very stroller friendly. Howver, when I came here with babies in the past we never went past the bridge area because it does become a bit hilly at that point.
🍃The Nature Center is open from 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm Saturday, and closed on Sundays
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