There are few things that soothe the guilt of an overloaded, multitasking parent, like a good old-fashioned trip to the park. Amazingly, your kids will actually manage to get some exercise without a personal trainer and keep themselves entertained without the internet. If you can put down your Blackberry, you might actually have
some fun as well!

For my money, there are few parks in south Orange County better than the “Dinosaur Park” next to Laguna Hills High School. The park has everything you need to spur your kids’ imaginations, give you a few minutes of sanity with a book or magazine, and check a couple of errands off your list.

This Dino Park is a crosswalk away from a Starbuck’s, a great pizza joint, and a Ralphs Grocery Store. You can park at the Ralphs, grab some Starbucks, and then walk across to the park. When your kids are tuckered out, you can grab a bite to eat at The Pizza Store (which has some of the best hot wings around), and grab some milk and eggs before you head home.

The “Dinosaur Park” gets its name from the awesome concrete dinosauskeletons that the kids can climb all over. It’s also got a gigantic two-level sand box, with a huge climbing tower and spiral slide. If the weather is warm enough, there’s also a set of mini-fountains that the kids can control, built around a concrete basin perfect for building mud castles.

Since the park backs right up to Laguna Hills High School, you can also go for a power walk on the track after school hours or take in a LHHS Hawk’s sporting event. For the teens that don’t want to hang with their parents in the sandbox, the Dinosaur Park shares a parking lot with the Laguna Hills Skate Park. If your teen is going to be more than a spectator, make sure to give yourself a few minutes to complete the skate park’s paperwork.

The Dinosaur Park, Laguna Hills Skate Park, and Ralphs shopping center are located on the corner of Paseo de Colinas and Alicia in Laguna Hills. In addition to ample parking in the Ralph’s parking lot, there’s parking behind the Laguna Hills Community Center and in the Laguna Hills High School parking lot (after school hours only).

Laguna Hills Dinosaur and Skate Park
[where: 25555 Alicia Pkwy, Laguna Hills, CA 92653]
949-707-2680
www.ci.laguna-hills.ca.us

Ralphs
[where: 25539 Paseo De Valencia, Laguna Hills, CA 92653]
949-951-0966

Learn more about Laguna Hills.