Orange County Parks, more commonly abbreviated to OC Parks, is a government agency that maintains and oversees the public parks of Orange County, California. The agency operates both natural and manmade parks of the region. OC Parks is responsible for 60,000 acres (24,000 ha) of inland and coastal open space that collectively receives millions of visitors every year.[3]
 | |
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1922[1] |
| Jurisdiction | Orange County |
| Headquarters | 13042 Old Myford Rd Irvine, California 92602 33°26′05″N 117°28′14″W / 33.4348°N 117.4705°W |
| Employees | 200 (2020)[1] |
| Annual budget | US$90,018,793 (2015-16)[2] |
| Department executive |
|
| Website | ocparks |
Operations
editWilderness parks
editOC Parks manages several wilderness parks:[4]
- Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, Aliso Viejo
- Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park, San Juan Capistrano
- Featherly Regional Park, Santa Ana
- Irvine Lake
- Irvine Ranch Open Space (a category of parks)
- Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Laguna Beach
- Limestone Canyon Regional Park
- O'Neill Regional Park
- Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park, Coto De Caza
- Peters Canyon Regional Park, Orange
- Santiago Oaks Regional Park, Orange
- Talbert Regional Park, Costa Mesa
- Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park
- Upper Newport Bay, Newport Beach
Urban parks
editOC Parks is in charge of many manmade or partially manmade parks in urban settings:[4]
- Carbon Canyon Regional Park, Brea
- Ralph B. Clark Regional Park, Buena Park/Fullerton
- Ted Craig Regional Park, Fullerton/Brea
- Irvine Regional Park, Orange
- Laguna Niguel Regional Park, Laguna Niguel
- William R. Mason Regional Park, Irvine
- Mile Square Regional Park, Fountain Valley
- Tri-City Regional Park, Placentia
- Harriett M. Wieder Regional Park, Huntington Beach
- Yorba Regional Park, Anaheim
Other operations
editOC Parks closed many of their parks to vehicular traffic in March 2020 due to COVID-19 safety concerns. Pedestrians and horseback riders were still permitted to enter the parks.[5] In December 2020, OC Parks was permitted to use sand cubes and boulders to temporarily prevent erosion in Capistrano Beach while looking for a permanent solution.[6]
Public works
editOC Parks hosted a virtual Halloween event[7] as well as a series of drive-in movie nights amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b "OC PARKS". LinkedIn. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- ^ "405 - OC PARKS CSA26" (PDF). OC Gov. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- ^ "About Us". OC Parks. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- ^ a b "Parks & Trails". OC Parks. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ Connelly, Laylan (March 18, 2020). "OC Parks shuts down vehicle traffic at regional parks due to coronavirus concern". Orange County Register. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ Boyd, Lillian (December 10, 2020). "Coastal Commission Grants OC Parks Short-Term Fix Ahead of Master Plan". Dana Point Times. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ Painter, Alysia (October 12, 2020). "Phantom-tastic: OC Parks Has a Free Online 'Spooky Series'". NBC 4 News Southern California. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ Fadroski, Kelli (October 1, 2020). "OC Parks hosts 'Hocus Pocus' drive-in movie nights and free virtual Halloween 'Spooky Series'". Orange County Register. Retrieved February 7, 2021.