Irvine's Secret Gems, Favorites & Amenities

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roundcorners_IHB

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I wanted to start a thread to highlight and share secrets about hidden amenities that we come to discover about Irvine. Through the years, my wife and I have simply stumbled onto hidden treasures simply by being a little nosy and curious. I'll try to list as much as I remember; I'll try to categorize them by topics here. Please understand I'm not condoning doing anything illegal, or against any HOA rules, or abusing certain secrets. I'm simply here to share and learn other secrets on what makes this city great.
 
Free/Cheap Movies:



First, if you haven't discovered Woodbridge Dollar Theater it's great! Check it out for older movies.



Watermarke Condo, screen movies every Tuesday and Thursday night around 7:30 for its residences. They are usually first rate DVDs, there are always empty seats; free popcorn and coffee whenever you are in the Clubhouse. The Clubhouse doors are always open no, fob needed. Just walk in look the concierge in the eye and smile, act like you own the place. Walk upstairs and enjoy a move on me.



We watched a few movies at The Village's screening room; I forgot the time and dates, but our friends who live there gave us permission to do so. If you know someone there, all the better.



Camden on Main & Jamboree has a screening room for its residences, we used that once, but they are usually pretty hard to get into.
 
BBQs:



Throughout most of IACs newer complexes, there are some great BBQ pits out there. We certainly had plenty of get together with friends. Most are propane and are close to parking. We had a couple of instances where a small group of friends simply bought some meat and fired up the nearest grill, here are some great locations:



Avenue One: Not gated, close to new parking lots, have a couple of picnic tables, and a cool putting green and tot lot.



Woodbury Square: In a building court yard, you can find some scattered around.



Woodbury Court has two grills next to the out door fireplace patio, right next to your car, with tables & seatings



Tustin Fields: The SFR side, center park wide open and no one asks you any questions.



Oh, please clean the grill afterwards!
 
Gates:



If you haven't figure it out by now, you can get through any gate simply by following a car inside. Even if the gate is closing, as long as you are within a few feet of the closing gate, it'll open back up.



If it is a community that has a guard, you simply do a little research and look up some residences on redfin; or simply say you want to see an open house. Or park outside and walk through most gates, they are usually unlocked. Northpark is one of them; they have such a false sense of security.
 
Pools/Gym/Activities:



Las Palmas apartments have a great yoga class. Woodbury Commons has some great classes also; Columbus Groove has a great activities director. Get to know some of them. Again they will assume that you are a residence, they never ask. I have gotten tennis lessons at The Commons, joined an Easter celebration at CG, and a wine tasting event at The Village. Again, we all had friends/residences who invited us or told us about it, but we just went ourselves.



The Commons at Woodbury is a great place if you can get in, it has a really fun water park for the kids and a nice sand volleyball court. We usually meet our friends who lives at WB square; they by the way, renters at all the Woodbury IACs have access to The Commons.



I think IR might have highlighted this but Woodbridge has this great jungle gym/tot lot right on the water (north lake), simply walk east side of the lake bank to discover it.
 
Fishing:



The Woodbridge Lakes are a great place to fish for bass. They are teeming with them. The south lake is the best, simply take a rod late at night and just cast from the shore. If security stops you, simply reference the name of your friend who lives in Woodbridge and his address. They usually leave you alone after that. We fished a couple of times, its catch and release, but lots of fun. Take W Yale Loop to Thunder Run, park on Warmspring.



Irvine Lake charges you $10 admission but that includes the license. I don't know much about fish, so I forgot what we caught, sorry...
 
Trails/Hiking/Walking:



The most exciting walk my wife and I ever did was to sneak into Tustin Ranch Golf Course at night. You can access the course by walking through Sierra Vista, IAC. You park at Sierra Vista and walk across a lawn by the laundry/gym, and you are on the course. We had so much fun walking almost all 18 holes, looking at the backyard of some of those homes. That was a very different perspective of TR.



Hick?s canyon in Northwood is great, not gated, with nice tall trees.



JOST is a nice trail while pushing a stroller - fun for parents and baby



Quail Hill commons park ? I don?t know the name of it, that park that runs down Pine Needles ? good walk up and down.



UCI, arboretum off Campus and Jamboree is a nice place for a romantic stroll.



The San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, is a nice hike and walk to see ducks & plants; if you want to be in Irvine but feel like you are in "normal" city this is the place. *Warning no landscape trees or brush*
 
Secret Gardens:



Villa Siena IAC has the most wonderful secret garden. Through a small gate at the north east corner of the complex you'll find a wonderful fountain, seating for reading, and a tot lot. Great for relaxing and talking. No one ever goes in there, EVER! Oh BBQ pits there too, but we never used it.



Quail Hill the park along vermillion & nightshade has the most wonderful rose garden, check it out when it blooms in the spring.



Woodbury of course, the various parks around...



Northpark's one park on Atwater/Chula Vista is simply wonderful, took many, many pictures there...
 
Business Centers: *caution abuse*



Watermarke has two computers with a printer/fax. I'm outside sales, so I'm always looking for a place to print out a quick email, send a fax or surf the net.



Camden has a nice business center; I got in a few times by implying that I needed to just print sometime quick and didn't have my fob.



Usually if someone is inside a business center, I just knock and they would let me in.
 
Best Outdoor Fireplace:



Orchard Hills IAC has a great open/non gated fireplace. We spent plenty of times just reading a good book by the fire.



Woodbury Court also has a great fireplace with tables and chairs.



The Bluffs - Shopping Center - has a hidden seating area behind Daphne?s - huge fireplace with plenty of benches.



Of course, The District, but you already know that...



And, Serrano IAC nice fireplace also.



We just discovered Palmeras IAC, they have a nice outdoor seating area, and no one around yet.
 
Hidden Retail:



There is a hidden McDonalds inside Boomers, they don?t accept coupons though. It beats driving an extra 10 minutes to Main & McArthur.



There are new convenience stores under the Plaza 3000, its great if you need to pick up a few items.



There are two Irvine Post Offices that are pretty well hidden:

1) 1 League Irvine, CA 92602 - Northwood, off Culver, close to the 5.

2) 17192 Murphy Ave Irvine, CA 92623 - Off Jamboree & Kelvin

Both locations are not crowded; I go in almost one every week, in & out in less than 5 minutes.
 
Sleep/Rest/TV:



If you have a few minutes or an hour to kill, are tired but do not want to go back home, here are a few quiet places to simply hang out.



Watermarke Club House, has a great game room, TV, tables, couches; library with newspapers and comfy sofa and fireplace. Many times when guests arrive from the airport and we are not yet home to receive them we simply refer them to the Club house.



Villa Sienna IAC after leasing business hours their Club house is dead! Its on the second floor, elevators are open. Simply go up, relax, watch some TV and make sure to enjoy the view out the balcony on to the pool area.



Relax-the-Back, Irvine marketplace is a great place to kick back for a few minutes. I could fall asleep in those zero gravity chairs. The sales men usually leave you alone.



The Great Indoors is another place with recliners and sofas right in front of a large TV.



Dare I say, Baby?s R Us, glider/recliner section? Well while the wife shops, the husbands can usually be found there.
 
Food:



If you are out and are feeling just a bit hypoglycemic stop in the nearest IAC for a quick snack; they usually put out some yummy cookies, bottle water and coffee. Simply walk in and just ask a few questions. They usually love telling you about their complex.



You don't need to be a Costco menber to simply pick up a pizza or a hot dog. Just walk through the exit and tell the security person. They usually don't ask for the Costco card.
 
Pets & Animals:



A great place to get your cat or dog fix, if you don?t already own a pet is to go to the Irvine Animal Shelter off Sand Canyon. You can play with and run around with various dogs and pet all the cats you want. They also have some farm animals such as goats, chickens and pigs. Great place to bring the kids!
 
[quote author="roundcorners" date=1230649333]Trails/Hiking/Walking:



The most exciting walk my wife and I ever did was to sneak into Tustin Ranch Golf Course at night. You can access the course by walking through Sierra Vista, IAC. You park at Sierra Vista and walk across a lawn by the laundry/gym, and you are on the course. We had so much fun walking almost all 18 holes, looking at the backyard of some of those homes. That was a very different perspective of TR.



Hick?s canyon in Northwood is great, not gated, with nice tall trees.



JOST is a nice trail while pushing a stroller - fun for parents and baby



Quail Hill commons park ? I don?t know the name of it, that park that runs down Pine Needles ? good walk up and down.</blockquote>


What is JOST
 
[quote author="escrowbear" date=1230708047][quote author="roundcorners" date=1230649333]Trails/Hiking/Walking:



The most exciting walk my wife and I ever did was to sneak into Tustin Ranch Golf Course at night. You can access the course by walking through Sierra Vista, IAC. You park at Sierra Vista and walk across a lawn by the laundry/gym, and you are on the course. We had so much fun walking almost all 18 holes, looking at the backyard of some of those homes. That was a very different perspective of TR.



Hick?s canyon in Northwood is great, not gated, with nice tall trees.



JOST is a nice trail while pushing a stroller - fun for parents and baby



Quail Hill commons park ? I don?t know the name of it, that park that runs down Pine Needles ? good walk up and down.</blockquote>


What is JOST</blockquote>


Oh sorry, <a href="http://www.irvinecompany.com/Our-Legacy/forever-wild/jeffrey-open-space-trail.aspx">Jeffrey Open Space Trails</a>
 
Valley Oak Park and Oak Creek Community park by corner of Barranca & Sand Canyon. Both are public access with restrooms. Valley Oak Park has tennis courts and Oak Creek Park has big soccer fields.



The Dovecreek Park inside Oak Creek community is also public access (next to elementary school) but is not as nice.



Take Sand Canyon up to Quail Hill and drive around. A few nice public access park areas.
 
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