Beacon Park

Park is for RESIDENTS ONLY. Except that it’s not gated or anything, so you’ll show up start playing and then get hassled by security. In our case, security was kind and only asked us to park on the street and not in the lot, but still, having security around really harshed my mellow. It felt like everyone was sneaking around. The tree house is neat looking but there’s no easy way to access it so kids have to haul up a dirt hill every time time they want to go on the slide, also the ninja warrior section — which is awesome for bigger kids — is totally exposed in the direct HOT sun.
This park is more of a show piece to attract home buyers to the community, than a real park for kids.

4.5 stars.
From reading the reviews, a lot of people say it’s a private park, and although we did see security walking around patrolling the park, they were only there to enforce park rules (mostly making sure parents weren’t getting on some obstacles that had a weight limit, etc). I’ve only been here once so far, but plenty of my friends have come and none of them were ever asked to leave the park because they weren’t residents.
My son loved it here! It’s huge, and there’s so many cool new things here that I’ve never seen at other parks. Very clean, lots of shaded picnic tables, as well as other areas to sit and lounge. Huge soccer field that the kids can run around in, as well as a basketball court.

Came here last weekend for their Lunar New Year celebration. They had ample parking a little ways away, with lots of shuttle buses and golf carts to take you to the park. We only expected to stay for a little bit to check it out, but we ended up staying for hours! They had lion dancers, crafts, and live music.
The park itself was awesome for kids. Lots of playground equipment for kids of all ages to play on. Nice big open grassy area for running around. And the bbq/​clubhouse area was very modern and nice. They had a pizza oven and a tandoori oven for pete’s sake! The clubhouse had a fair amount of seating. And as a bonus, they were handing out tangerine Eos lip balms, embossed with «Great Park Neighborhoods» presumably because it looks like the orange balloon. Cute touch.

This park looks awesome in pictures. and Im sure it looked awesome on some computer design program. HOWEVER… it feels like it is designed to sell (million+ dollar) homes and for show. Its not a practical playground for actual PEOPLE.
We have been here 3 times (my kids are born in 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2015).
Positives:
— It looks awesome! Its modern and clean.
— Big grassy area
— Clean bathrooms
— Library/​art room for older kids
Negatives:
— There is only 1 or 2 picnic tables, for the whole park.
— No shaded seating
— Only 1 trashcan
— Bathroom is at the clubhouse (big PLUS, HOWEVER. It is so far away from the playground)
— No toddler play area
— Baby swings are separated from the regular swings (= You can’t push 2 kids at the same time).
— Its hard to access slide (only 1 for the whole big playground). You have to walk up a hill to ride down.
— Parking. There is NO PARKING on the side of the street where the park access is located. You can either park at the club house (but then You have to walk across half the park to get to the playground) or on the opposite side of the street (and thats kind of scary if you have little kids running around).
— Its really spread out and no fence so it’s easy to loose track of Your kids. Be prepared to be on Your feet and constantly looking for Your kids (if you’re like me and have more than 1 that you can follow around or keep your eyes glued to).

Everything about this park, aesthetically, is nice and new. My toddler daughter and I have visited several times and consistently, have gotten really weird vibes from the people there. I’m not sure what type of people are moving into this community but the «air» is so uncomfortable that we no longer visit — and have told others; I would hate to buy a home here and discover this afterward. Also, the slide that comes down from the main tree house is so poorly designed that it’s hard for the kids to get to, albeit dangerous — a faux pas that the playground equipment designers should be made aware of.

Came to this park on a whim to see what its new and modern playground had in store and it definitely caught our attention. The park is hidden in the middle of an“in-progress” and newly emerged neighborhood in Irvine. This playground consists of many different equipment, from swings, a 3-​way seesaw, a whimsical tree house, many things to climb on, etc.
Getting to the park was no problem. Getting out of it was a problem. Using only our GPS to direct us to and from the park, the directions led us astray to a blocked off exit and we ended up exploring the neighborhood in order to find an exit. There was a point in time where we thought we were stuck inside.

Great park! Brand new. Very clean. Everything is very modern. Tons of climbing equipment for those that are a little bit older. The only down side is the park is very spread out so it is hard to keep an eye on more than one child. Bathroom facilities are clean, they even have a family one. They have a life size chess board too. Great park. Kids can’t wait to go back.

Here’s the thing — the park itself is awesome! Toddlers will do OK but 5+ is really where the sweet spot is here. Tons of cool climbing equipment and slides and a massive tree-​house. A giant chess board, a cool fire pit, a take & leave library, basketball courts and so much more.
BUT
This park is PRIVATE.
There are signs stating as such everywhere. Such a bummer because this park is really, really cool. Why anyone would build such a great park & then not allow local kids to use it is beyond me. Minus 1 star.
While exploring the park we were approached by someone who worked for the association (maybe? I’m not sure who she reports to honestly) and while she was very nice, she made it clear that if we were not living in the community or touring the homes for sale, we were most definitely NOT welcome to use the park.
It just so happens that we’re in the market for a new home so we checked a few of the models out. They are abhorrently overpriced. I don’t care how cool your park is, there’s no way I’d pay that much for a town-​home.
Irvine. Smh.

This is not a review for the actual park but for the professionals working in the club house/​office.
I visited Beacon Park Community today. An Asian gentleman was very kind and friendly, he assisted me in familiarizing the new community, featured home plans and price points, and answered questions in a very professional manner — I’m very sorry to not have asked for his name, I would like to recognize him for providing excellent customer services, and I really was considering Beacon Park Community as my new home.
I am also writing this in regards to my very negative experience with one of the other Asian associates, May. After I spoke with the Asian gentleman, I met one of my friends who resides in Irvine at Beacon Park, she referred me to this new community, as I have recently moved here from Northern California. We sat right outside the club house/​office discussing the city of Irvine, while watching our three children play in the play area inside the club house/​office.
I heard May saying to one of our children: «Don’t climb on that, if you fall, we are not responsible for it.» My friend and I immediately attended to our children when we heard «don’t climb on that» and removed the child who was actually standing, not «climbing,» on the stool in front of the book case by the play area. May then proceeded to say: «This is not a daycare, you need to watch your children, and look at all this mess they made.»
Her attitude toward us was very disrespectful, I confronted her by telling her that I didn’t appreciate her tone and implication of us being negligent parents, because we were indeed watching our children, and that there were many other children playing in the play area before she arrived, it was inaccurate for her to accuse our children for making all the mess. May then said: «I was just concerned about your daughter’s safety.» I told her if that was truly the case then it would have been fine, but there was still no grounds for her to react the way she did.
I find her attitude extremely degrading, she was unapologetic until I asked for her name and told her I was going to complain about her behavior. If May has difficulty communicating and behaving appropriately, then there ought to be better professionals who truly understand the integrity of their job responsibilities in the customer service industry. I also returned the key chain to the Asian gentleman, because if this is how The Five Points Communities treat potential buyers, I do not wish to become a resident.

A brand new playground has popped up in Irvine, but this one undoubtedly sets itself apart from the rest. The modern meets fairy tale architecture known as Beacon Park dons a massive tree house, a variety of sandless play areas, and accommodates kids of all ages. It’s pretty awesome!
The best time to come is in the early morning or late afternoon. I went at noon and unless you’re inside or directly under the tree house, shade is hard to come by here. Which seems to be the case for almost all parks in Irvine… I wish the Irvine Company would realize that and maybe eliminate some barbecues and replace them with tarps for the playgrounds.
The play areas are filled with rubber wood chips that provide extra cushion for any fall. The Tot Lot has a netted tire swing, toddler swings, children’s swings, a tunnel, and turf. The play areas for the older kids have a tarp slide, ropes to swing on, and obstacle courses. There are plenty of places to sit and observe but this park is not gated and close to the street so keep an eye on the little ones.
My favorite part of the park was the water fountain station that fills up water bottles above and an area for dogs to drink below. The grass area is vast and lined with windy pathways that are perfect for strollers or chasing toddlers. The drought friendly landscape includes fragrant herbs and colorful succulents. There is a parking lot near the pool and also plenty of spaces on the street. It’s free to get in!

We enjoyed ourselves at this awesome park. So many things to do for the kiddos. Tree house, slide, trampoline slide, swings, art and crafts room that’s air conditioned, an area with bean bags and books, large chess set, bocce, basketball, balls all over the field, and toddler area. We spent quite a bit of time here and the kids had a ton of fun.

This playground is pretty awesome. It is modern and has some of the best play areas for kids.
It has a tree house and lots of cool places to explore, like a big bouncy slide, intersting swings and even a full tree house.
Highly recommend it!