Riding Irvine CONNECT with Kids

by Michele Whiteaker

Riding Irvine CONNECT with kids may be my new favorite way to get around Irvine for free!

The City of Irvine describes this service as:

“Irvine CONNECT provides free shuttle service for community members – making it easier than ever to get around the City of Irvine. Ride on the Irvine CONNECT shuttle service to travel between the northern end of Irvine to Irvine Station, with stops at parks, schools, hospitals, and shopping centers.“

Here is the official Irvine CONNECT website and real-time shuttle information. It all feels similar to trolley rides in other parts of the county.
And this is the press release announcing the shuttle and its features from March 2024 before the shuttle started in April 2024.

For a limited time during Summer 2024 they have a fun collectible card challenge for as you travel along the routes!

City of Irvine Collectible Card Challenge

One OC dad and his kids took on the Collectible Card Challenge for the 2024 National Park & Recreation Month offered by the City of Irvine. He was so eager to share so I asked him if he would be willing to write up his experience for you! He is AMAZING and got me all pumped up about it. Unfortunately, the experience ends on August 9th — so you need to hurry up and have fun with it!

Here are his words! You can follow his new Instagram account at FrugalTechDad!

As a father, there’s nothing quite like the joy of watching your children discover the world around them. This summer, we embarked on a unique adventure right here in Orange County – the City of Irvine’s National Park & Recreation Month Collectible Card Challenge. The challenge began on July 10th, 2024 and will conclude soon on August 9th, 2024, so hurry and get your cards soon!

I created this Participating Irvine Parks Map to help you figure out your route.

Imagine the thrill of a treasure hunt, the beauty of our local parks, and the excitement of collecting limited edition cards, all rolled into one. From the sprawling fields of Great Park to the nature trails of Turtle Rock Community Park & Nature Center, we explored, learned, and bonded as a family.

Join us as we relive this unforgettable journey, celebrating the natural beauty of Irvine, the joy of discovery, and the bonds forged along the way.

Our Journey through Eight Stunning Parks

University Community Park

Our first stop was University Community Park. We went here first because it is conveniently located next to the amazing Irvine Adventure Playground and the Irvine University Park Library.

Orange County Public Libraries has an amazing array of events for children of all ages, with each branch listing their calendar of events.

On this day we:

Played at Adventure Playground.
Attended a library event.
Then went to the University Community Park office to collect our card!

The facilities here were immaculate, so if you had a long play day at the playground, Adventure Playground, or the library take your kids here for a “tactical wee” before your car ride home.

Turtle Rock Community Park

The next day we spent a beautiful morning watching caterpillars and butterflies at the butterfly garden at Mason Regional Park before getting back on the Irvine CONNECT heading to the nearby Turtle Rock Community Park to collect our card. Can you spot the monarch caterpillar?

We made our way to Turtle Rock Nature Center after our park play and I had no idea how beautiful this grounds are here! The nature trail felt like you just disappeared into the wilderness. There were streams, mini waterfalls, and canopies galore.

One of the things unique to the playground here is a shorter basketball hoop for younger children. The only other playground I know of with this is Irvine Heritage Park.

Los Olivos Community Park

This is one of our favorite playgrounds! We have nicknamed it “Musical Park” because of the plethora of percussion instruments available. The musical instruments are similar to the instruments at Portola Park in Lake Forest but there are a little more variety and availability here.

We have been to this park dozens of times, but doing this collectible card challenge has made me more aware of little things available at many City of Irvine Community Parks. For one, many of them offer free wifi, a Little Library, and the bathrooms are usually very clean, this one was no exception. Clean bathrooms may not seem like a biggie, but cleanliness is pretty important when you’re potty training and the kids are touching everything.

As a bonus the surrounding housing is being built up, so you can usually see big construction trucks at work if your kids are into that.

Quail Hill Community Park

This is a fun playground to go to – but not in the summer. There is no shade so it gets pretty hot. We were in and out. Be sure to look UP near the entrance. There are usually a variety of birds nesting on the covered patio ceiling.

Great Park Visitor Center

If you’ve never been to the Irvine Great Park, it is definitely a must see!

There are lots of play areas for all ages, trails to bike, attractions, art, and culture.

My boys’ favorite thing to do is play with the excavator sand play toys as well as the unique padded climbing structure.

Cypress Community Park

We did a quick stop here on our 1-2 punch to knock out Cypress & Woodbury since they are very close to each other. The main thing I noticed here was a Little Library, free wifi, and a place to sit and hang out to cool off on a hot day.

Woodbury Community Park

This was a quick stop. I thought the boys wanted to play, but it was “too hoooot” and they were “melting.” The playground area looked fun, but the facilities were definitely a little dated.

Harvard Community Park

This was our last stop. It is a sports playground. I was amazed by a full parking lot and fields with full games at play on a Monday morning. That’s why it’s nice to take the Irvine CONNECT. There are no playground facilities at this location. We were in and out.

Completed the Challenge!

Each park offered a unique card, a snapshot of its character, and a memento of our adventure. We collected eight and proceeded to Irvine City Hall’s information desk to collect our pin!

The commemorative pin.

After we collected our pin, we made a quick stop next door into Irvine Police Department Station and asked for Irvine Junior Officer stickers.

Strategy for Completing the Challenge!

Collecting all eight cards was no small feat. It took us 6 separate trips. But with a bit of strategy, you can knock it out in a day or two!

But with a bit of strategy, we turned it into a fun and educational game. We planned our visits to coincide with the parks’ least busy times, ensuring we could fully explore each location and secure our collectible card.

To find every park in Irvine, the City of Irvine has a very powerful Interactive Map powered by ArcGIS. But this didn’t really work well for this challenge.

When the City of Irvine’s map couldn’t filter participating parks, I turned to Google Maps. I mistakenly searched for “Irvine Community Park” and ended up at Mike Ward Community Park, which wasn’t on the list. But this happy accident led us to see firefighters training! As a planner, I’ve learned that being a stay-at-home dad means being flexible and going with the flow. You don’t get to see this every day!

Here are the participating parks:

There are only a few days left for the Collectible Card Challenge, so the fastest way to get 8 cards are as follows:

Make it a Free Shuttle Day with Irvine CONNECT (5 cards)

You can get 5 cards using these 3 steps.

Northwood Community Center (1 card)
Heritage Park, Irvine Fine Arts Center, Wollett Aquatics Center (3 cards)
- This is also a fast way to knock out 3 cards without driving anywhere
Irvine CONNECT has a bonus card you can get while riding (1 card)

Here’s how you can easily knock out five cards on this bus trip. You’ll be visiting these locations:

Here’s how to plan your shuttle day with Irvine CONNECT

Start at Northwood Park aka “Castle Park”. After collecting your collectible card at Northwood Park, take the bus on the south side of the park (the north side of Yale) going West towards Heritage Park.

Don’t forget to ask for a collectible card while on Irvine CONNECT! (Don’t worry if you forget, just remember to ask on the way back.)

When you arrive at Heritage Park get the card at the community center, Fine Arts Center, and the Wollett Aquatics Center. If it’s a hot day, cool off at the splash pad.

You’ll take the bus route in reverse across the street from Heritage Park on the south side of Yale and you will disembark on Bryan right in front of Northwood Park. That’s how you get 5 cards!

Don’t have time for a bus day?

Just visit Heritage Park to knock out 3 cards! You can get 4 cards if you pop in and ask the Irvine CONNECT driver for a card without riding.

Nature Day! Hike or Bike Between Two Parks with Nature Trails (3 cards)

Here’s where you’ll be going:

You can use the Shady Canyon Trail Bikeway to walk or bike from Turtle Rock Community Park to Bommer Canyon Preserve. There are definitely some hills on this route , but it’s mostly off-street.

After your hike, you can drive to Las Lomas Community Park which is 6 minutes away. If you did the shuttle day, then you’re done with the challenge!

Bike Day! Ride Jeffrey Open Space Trail (2 cards)

This bike ride is 10 minutes each way, using safe, Class 1 trails (away from cars) and only crossing one major street. It’s mostly flat biking, with the most uphill portions being the two bridges to cross.

Start at Cypress Community Park and follow the trail on the north end heading north on Jeffrey Rd. After passing two bridges, hang a right on Long Meadow and you’ll make your way south towards Woodbury Community Park at the very end. Please use caution and keep an eye on your little ones at the intersection of Vintage and Long Meadow as you may need to cross with traffic or use the crosswalk to walk your bike across.

If you’ve never biked on Jeffrey Open Space Trail, you are in for a treat! The trails are smooth and slightly curvy with many native plant species to pass along your path. If you have little children, I would avoid it during school drop off and pick up hours because of the massive amount of students commuting to and from school on their e-bikes. During the summer, get here early before it gets to hot.

Shuttle, Bike, Walk or Drive to Complete the Parks Challenge!

You can use any combination of the above strategies to quickly complete the City of Irvine’s Collectible Card Challenge.

If you find yourself needing one last card, here are the 3 closest parks to Irvine City Hall for a quick stop before claiming your commemorative pin:

Don’t worry if you don’t do multiple cards in one day. Visit a park, get a card, push your child on the swing, climb a rock climbing wall, cool off in an air-conditioned building, ride the bus, explore the trails, and repeat. Each visit is an opportunity to create lasting memories with your family. Embrace the adventure, enjoy the journey, and cherish the moments spent together. The true reward is the joy shared along the way. Happy exploring!

There is no need to bike this if you need to get two quick cards for your challenge, it’s a 6 minute drive between them.

Volunteer Park Reporter Bio: Charles Aquino is a fellow UCI alum who shares amazing tech hacks and tips for budget-conscious parents. He’s a married stay-at-home dad to two lucky boys who spends his family time hiking, biking, and going on playground adventures. You can follow his new Instagram account at FrugalTechDad!

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