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Adventure Playground in Huntington Beach: a mud park in OC

Contributing post by Justine Burgess

2022 update: Adventure Playground in Huntington Beach is set to open on Monday, June 20, 2022.  Reservations can be made beginning on Friday, April 1, 2022.  Please call (714) 960-8839.

Are you looking for things to do with your kids this summer? Then check out Huntington Beach’s mud park, Adventure Playground. It’s set to open in June and is sure to be a hit with kids of all ages.

With a variety of obstacles and activities, including a giant slide and a wading pool, Adventure Playground in Huntington Beach is sure to keep the little ones entertained for hours on end. So make plans to visit Huntington Beach this summer and check out its new mud park!

Adventure Playground in Huntington Beach is a mud park

For the mere price of $4 per child (adults are free), your little guys and gals (and you, if you like) can captain a raft, build a fort, navigate a rope bridge, slide down a hill into a mud puddle, and just generally have some rambunctious fun while getting covered in the evidence of it.

What place, you ask? Adventure Playground in Huntington Beach, located behind the library.

The park is geared toward kids ages 5- 12, and my little guy is 5 (and one-half, he’ll be sure to tell you), so he was more than ready for a dirty day.

When we arrived, we parked in the library lot on the side nearest to the youth shelter- the playground is immediately up the hill and to the left. A huge handmade sign directed us, and thank goodness- it’s well hidden so it would be easy to overlook.

things to do at Adventure Playground in Huntington Beach

Upon entrance, a counselor greeted us, collected our $3, and gave some very specific instructions that must be followed in the park, such as:

  • No running. Absolutely none.
  • Everyone (including parents) must be wearing closed-toed tennis shoes
  • No dropping or throwing things from tree houses. Kids will get a warning and a time out.
  • Rafters must stand on a raft. No swimming in the shallow pond allowed.
Adventure Playground in Huntington Beach is a mud park that opens June

There were a few other rules as well (for a list, see the Adventure Playground website), and the counselors are very observant- any rule breaking is immediately noticed and they get on a bullhorn to give out warnings. I was pretty impressed by how well they watched what the kids were doing.

Parents need to be observant as well, and if your kiddos are under 8, you’ll need to help them out in the wood yard and building areas. They get a chance to practice using tools (hammering nails, sawing wood) and have a lot of dirty fun, but it’s the kind of fun where close supervision is ideal.

Ponds rafts at Adventure Playground at Huntington Beach

The first thing my little dude tried out was rafting at this adventure park. The rafts look like something I imagine Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer might have had.

Great fun once you get the hang of it. He rafted right over to the rope bridge, hopped on, and made his way across- I’m fairly certain that the three times he fell in the water (that time) were totally intentional. His next conquest was the “mudslide”.

It’s essentially a sheet of plastic on a hill that leads directly into a shallow mud puddle. He was a little nervous at first, but after his initial slide, he couldn’t get enough of it. It was worth the $3 just to see the thrilled expression on his face each time he went down and hit that mud. He came out yelling “YEAH! WOO-HOO! I’M GOING AGAIN!” every single time.

We moved on to the building area for a bit- he put together a “space station” at the top of the tree house, but pretty quickly wanted to go back and do the rope bridge and the slide.

We stayed for a total of about three hours, and he loved every minute of it. If you’re up for good clean dirty fun, this is the place to be.

If you go, be sure to bring a towel and a change of clothes. There are changing rooms (they kind of resemble a homemade fort) and there is a shower,

Bring light snacks or lunch and water as well, and some hand sanitizer is probably a good idea. And be prepared. Wear old clothes, because it may not be salvageable by the time you are done- but it will be worth it.

Mud away!

Boys-building-at-Adventure-Playground-at-Huntington Beach

Adventure Playground in Huntington Beach

Adventure Playground in Huntington Beach is open only through August 9th, so take advantage of it now! You can head to the library beforehand for some educational time, and then head up the hill for a different kind of fun.

Hours of Operation

10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Saturday, closed Sundays and July 4th. Play ends at 3:40 pm for cleanup.

Address

7111 Talbert Ave, Huntington Beach

Located in Central Park near the Central Library at 7111 Talbert Avenue, Youth Shelter, and Amphitheater. Enter from the Central Library parking lot.

Phone

Once the facility is open, contact the Adventure Playground Staff at (714) 842-7442.💕

Adventure Playground Cost

$4.00 per child fee is charged.  Adults 16 and older are free when accompanying a child.  Adventure Playground does not accept purchase orders or credit cards.  Large groups may pay with cash or a check made payable to the City of Huntington Beach.  We appreciate payments with $1, $5, and $10 bills, unless your are paying for a large group.

Adventure Playground Reservations

Families or groups of less than 10 children do not need to make reservations.

Groups of 10 or more and birthday parties must make reservations. To ensure there will be room, make reservations early in the season. Due to space limitations, tables can only be reserved for Saturday birthday parties and only one table per party and with a minimum of eight entry fees ($32.00).

Adventure Playground Parties

Tables are available for $32 for birthday parties.  Must be a minimum of 8 children and payment must be received to keep the reservation. No more than 5 table reservations per day.

Adventure Playground is a wonderful playing experience for children 5-12 years old. Kids can raft on a small pond, go down a mudslide, and build forts.

Adventure Playground is a mud park that will open in Huntington Beach this June. If you’re looking for an exciting and unique place to take your kids, look no further! This new playground is sure to be a hit with both children and parents alike. Have you been there yet? Let us know in the comments below what your thoughts are on Adventure Playground – we can’t wait to check it out ourselves!

Originally published on June 21, 2013. Last Updated on October 25, 2022 by Pattie Cordova

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