Luna Park

A brand-new 13-acre park in the Great Park Neighborhoods where toddlers get their own tot-lot, big kids get zip lines, and everyone gets shade.

By The Editors · August 2026

A brand-new park that is both enormous and free almost never happens in Orange County. Luna Park opened in July 2025 as the eighth neighborhood in the Great Park Neighborhoods, and it was built on purpose to house one of the largest children's playgrounds in the county. There is real parking. You will not circle the block for twenty minutes.

The smart move is the layout. The playground splits into age-graded zones, which means your toddler can dig around a dedicated tot-lot while your seven-year-old flings himself down a winding slide or off a zip line, and you can more or less watch both from one bench. Anyone who has tried to supervise a two-year-old and a first-grader at the same playground knows this is close to a miracle.

One kid on the zip line, one kid in the sand, one parent actually sitting down.

Then there is the shade. Twenty heritage trees plus covered seating keep the play areas usable on a July afternoon in Irvine, which is not nothing when the pavement elsewhere could fry an egg. Parents keep bringing it up in reviews, and they are right to. Bring a hat anyway.

The big sand pit and the little sensory features buy you a long stretch of quiet, the whole place is dog-friendly, and there are three outdoor kitchens with real gas grills if you want to throw a birthday party without hosting it in your own kitchen. For the full rundown of courts and amenities, the official Luna Park page lays it all out.

Two honest caveats. The two pools are lovely and completely off-limits unless you live in the Great Park Neighborhoods, so do not promise a swim you cannot deliver. And hours run about 7am to 8pm on weekdays and 8am to 8pm on weekends, per the community parks rules, so plan around the nap, not the meltdown. Verdict: if your kids are toddler through early elementary, this is one of the best free mornings in Irvine.

Sources and further reading: Luna Park, official Great Park Neighborhoods page, Great Park Neighborhoods: Luna Park opening (July 2025), Great Park Neighborhoods community parks (hours and rules). Photography by Tide & Canyon.