Bringing the Family Together Through Fishing
Start a new tradition with an old classic and let the serenity of fishing bring you together. The most restful adult day I ever spent...
Stay Active
From adventure-filled bike trails to pleasant hikes, OC has tons of outdoor activities for all ages.
Editor's Picks
Gardening with Kids
Playing in dirt isn’t just loads of fun — it’s healthy, too! There’s no question, playing in the dirt tops the list of fun for...
Family Hiking Magic
The wonders of hiking can be enjoyed by the whole family with just a bit of planning. This is shaping up to be a spectacular...
Recent Articles
Starry Nights
Astronomy Nights at The Nature Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo offer wonder of the night sky. If there’s one thing to love about a night spent looking at stars
A Glowing Little World
A few summer nights a month, Dana Point’s Ocean Institute leads a Bioluminescence Night Cruise that is popular among Orange County families.
Take a Holiday Fun-cation!
Stay local and booked with these festivities. Experience snowfall at Disneyland or Knott’s Berry Farm and warm sunlight while you skate on the ice.
Stay & Play
Cool down, chill out and zip along while staying close to home this summer vacation. The itch to get out and go do something only gets worse for the average kid
10 Picks for Summer Fun
Start your summer off right with some of our favorite options for family fun in Orange County. Take a Family Hike Crystal Cove TrailsCrystal Cove State Park has
Make a Summer Camp Plan
A pediatric and sports medicine expert offers tips on getting the most out of summer camp for your child….
Family Staycation Guide
(Photo Courtesy of Dana Point Marina Inn) From north to south Orange County, here’s your guide to fun family travel while staying local. North Buena Park From Knott’s Berry Farm and Soak City to Medieval Times and Pirates Dinner Adventure, there’s no lack of things to do in this busy city. Knott’s Hotel offer several packages for those wishing to stay a night or two. The Summer Nights Vacation Package is themed around the park’s summer entertainment and food. Summer at Knott’s is running now through Sept. 5 and includes activities both day and night — from the interactive Ghost...
Exploring Orange County’s Native Wild Lands
(Photo Courtesy of Irvine Ranch Conservancy) How you and your kids can take outdoor adventures through OC’s wild, open spaces. With so much wild, open space in Orange County, residents have access to one of the most biologically diverse landscapes in the world, so why not experience it with your children? Introducing kids to the outdoors and allowing them to experience nature is the best way to grow the next generation of nature enthusiasts, while making lifelong family memories. Besides, spending time on the trail with your family is a great way to get out of the house for a...
Educational and Entertaining Outdoor Experiences for Your Kids
(Photo Courtesy of Vitolda Klein/Unsplash) Take this unusual summer and turn it into a fun and enlightening family adventure into the outdoors. We’re entering a summer like no other. Orange County businesses and venues have started re-opening, but things are still in a state of flux. Kids are done with the school year and families are likely feeling the pull of some kind of adventure that doesn’t involve staying home. Though there’s still a pandemic looming and no official risk-free zone outside the home, health experts have generally pointed to the great outdoors for getting in some exercise, sun, fresh...
Romantic Getaway Destination La Jolla
A weekend of culture, kisses and kayaks proves it: couples that paddle together stay together. By Randall Tierney An aerial view of La Jolla, with the breakwater in the foreground. This gem of a seaside village called La Jolla is endlessly scenic, with hilly ocean bluffs and sandy beaches, and cultured to the bone. Photo courtesy of Grande Colonial Hotel It’s late October, the week of our wedding anniversary, and my wife, Ronda, and I are on the beach in La Jolla listening to our guide’s instructions on how to “put in,” kayakspeak for the launch, jumping in and paddling...
Bringing the Family Together Through Fishing
Start a new tradition with an old classic and let the serenity of fishing bring you together. The most restful adult day I ever spent was on a sport fishing boat out of Dana Point Harbor. (The second most restful day was rock climbing out at Lake Perris.) In both cases, my mind was totally focused all day on what I was doing and the scenery around me. Climbing, my nose was inches from the rock face, my hands and feet attuned to every ridge and bump that might give me a handgrip or foothold. I was concentrating too hard...
Gardening with Kids
Playing in dirt isn’t just loads of fun — it’s healthy, too! There’s no question, playing in the dirt tops the list of fun for young children despite the protests of many well-intended parents. If you’re one of those parents, you can put your fears aside. It turns out dirt is actually beneficial to the long-term health of kids, according to a Northwestern University article, “Germs at Four, Less Inflammation at Forty,” by Clare Milliken. Studies have found that early exposure to certain germs, like those found in dirt, actually help kids’ immune systems learn to better regulate inflammation. In...
The Ranch at Laguna Beach
[caption id="attachment_31889" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Photo by Randall Tierney[/caption] A uniquely serene setting and a world-class 9-hole course make this staycation a gem. Whether you’re ready to hit the open road with the family this summer and explore life outside of OC, or you want to chill closer to home and enjoy a bit of what this local paradise has to offer, we will be presenting family-focused destinations over the next three months, tried and tested by Parenting OC’s intrepid travel crew. [caption id="attachment_31890" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Photo by Randall Tierney[/caption] Canyon seclusion meets sandy shores at The Ranch at Laguna Beach...
Family Hiking Magic
The wonders of hiking can be enjoyed by the whole family with just a bit of planning. This is shaping up to be a spectacular hiking season. The early, drenching rains set the creeks flowing with water again. The warm sunshine interspersed among the storms provided just the right conditions for colorful wildflowers to pop open by mid-January. If you haven’t taken your family out on the trail yet this year, don’t worry. The very best of the season is in March and April, when the blooms are at their most abundant, the hills are thick with greenery and the...
Family-Friendly Hikes in Orange County
Check out some of these family-friendly docent-led hikes in time for the Orange County hiking season. In most areas of the country, this is the dead of winter. In Orange County, it’s prime hiking season. Depending on when and how much rain arrives, this is often the time when the first wildflowers show up, water flows in previously dry creek beds and the weather is cool enough for everyone to be comfortable building up a little body heat on an uphill climb. If you know the signs along the trail, there are all kinds of extraordinary sights and stories. Fossils...
Snow Rides and Dude Ranch Vacation Spots in Colorado
It’s the best time of the year to simmer down and get on a horse in snowy Colorado. If you are ready for a hassle-free school break in a fantasy setting, consider an all-inclusive family vacation at Vista Verde Guest Ranch, a luxury dude ranch in Northwest Colorado. How best to describe it? it’s like a marriage of cowboy culture with uber-luxury service, or like Sam Elliott is your innkeeper, but he has a degree from the British Butler Institute. With a limit at 52 guests per stay, and a guest-to-staff ratio of 1:1, even in the high season, Vista...
Autumn Picnics
Summer’s over, right? Time to delve into school and extracurriculars. It’s back to the workplace, back to “normal life.” Sure. Sort of. But why should we let our school and work calendars run our lives to the point where we don’t feel there’s room for spontaneity, fun breaks and glimmers of summer relaxation? Specifically, now that official picnic season is over—we need more weekday picnics! They’re actually more pleasant as the weather cools, yet while the days are still long enough to revel in evening sunlight. Dinners feel different and taste better when eaten outdoors and away from home. We...
Fairies In Our Midst
Escape to the enchanted garden of mystical fairies with your children by creating one in your own backyard, or visit one together at this obscure gem of a trail in Mission Viejo. What child can resist the book, “The Secret Garden”? It’s always been an enchanting notion: A special, hidden space for children, which they transform into their own world with its own stories. A place where adults don’t arrange and guide. The book has special resonance these days. Through outdoor activity and in-person friendships, two children with dark pasts who have spent too much time brooding indoors become healthy...