101 Things to Do with Teens and Tweens in Orange County

Entertaining teens and tweens can be hard! Most of the time, they just want to be with their friends or playing on their electronic devices or social media. They're too big to play on park playgrounds. And many of the activities on my list of 101 Kid-friendly Things to do in Orange County aren't geared towards their age range. So I made this list of 101 Things to Do with Teens and Teens in Orange County.

Some of these teen activities are FREE or low cost...most of them do cost money. So are even pricey. As the kids get older, it becomes harder and harder to entertain them for free. Your best chance for free things to do are the community events. I post many of the Orange County community events on my Sandy Toes and Popsicles Facebook Page.

Fun Things for Teens to Do in Orange County

Below are all the fun things for teens and tweens to do in OC that I could think of. NOW lets have some fun!!!!!!!

Orange County Parks & Nature Centers

Fun Orange County Play Parks has written an article on Parks for Teens in Orange County, and Go Explore Nature has written a great article about Getting your Tweens Outside. Here is a list of Tween and Teen-friendly parks in Orange County.

1. Irvine Regional Park OC Zoo & Fun Wheel Rentals - Spend an hour in the zoo and then rent a paddle boat or surrey bike. There are nice trails to hike and also horse rentals.
2. Mile Square Park Archery Range (Fountain Valley)
3. Carbon Canyon Nature Trail (Brea)
4. Turtle Rock Nature Center (Irvine)
5. San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (San Juan Capistrano)
6. Aliso Wood Canyon (Aliso Viejo) free
7. San Onofre State Beach (San Clemente) free
8. Environmental Nature Center (Newport Beach) A 3.5 acre facility with nature trails, a native plant reserve and a nture center with kid-friendly exhibits. It is open 7 days a week. Admission and parking are free.
9. Oak Canyon Nature Center (Anaheim Hills) Hike the nature trails, visit the nature center and have a picnic at the picnic tables. Admission and parking are free.
10. Fullerton Arboredum (Fullerton near Cal State Fullerton) Beautiful gardens host plants from different regions such as the Mediterranean, Woodlands and the Desert. Yoga in the garden and nature walk are often hosted on the weekend, and family-friendly nature classes are scheduled every few weeks.
11. Peter Mary Muth Interpretive Center (Newport Beach Back Bay) 10,000 square foot facility has hands-on exhibits for the public to learn about the Back Bay's wildlife nature. Family events are held on various days, so check their calendar for dates. Open Tuesday - Sunday. Admission and parking are free.
12. Shipley's Nature Center (Huntington Beach)
13. Orange County Great Park (Irvine) Ride the Big Balloon, stroll through the gardens enjoy events on the weekends.

Orange County Museums & Historical Centers

14. Discovery Science Center (Santa Ana)
15. Bowers Museum (Santa Ana)
16. Orange County Museum of Art (Newport Beach)
17. The MUZEO (Santa Ana) Museum and cultural center that engages the community by exploring and celebrating our diverse heritage, culture and arts through creative programming.
18. Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (Santa Ana)
19. San Juan Capistrano Mission (San Juan Capistrano)
20. Richard Nixon Library (Yorba Linda)
21. Beall Center for Art + Technology (Irvine) Icludes exhibitions that explore new relationships between the arts, sciences, engineering, and promote new forms of creation and expression using digital technologies.
22. Heritage Museum of Orange County (Buena Park)
23. Laguna Art Museum (Laguna Beach)
24. Susanna Bixby Bryant Ranch House and Museum (Yorba Linda) visitors can glimpse some of Yorba Linda's unique heritage - each room depicts a different period or aspect of the area's history, from Indian times to the first settlement by the Yorba family, and into the modern age. Opened to the public on limited days.
25. Dr. Willeta Howe-Waffle House  (Santa Ana) built in 1889, the House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as a California Historic Point of Interest, and as a landmark building on the City of Santa Ana's Historic Register. Limited tours available the first Saturday of selected months.
26. International Surfing Museum (Huntington Beach)
27. Marconi Automotive Museum (Irvine) Museum displaying an impressive 30 million-dollar collection of historical, exotic, and classic cars. Not open to the public on the weekends. $5, Kids are free

Unique Orange County Experiences for Teens

28. Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt (Laguna Beach & San Clemente) Interactive scavenger hunt.
29. Exodus Escape Room (Anaheim Hills) Beat the clock to turn the lock! Exodus Escape Room is a real life adventure game where you are locked in a room. The goal is simple – you have 60 minutes to work together with other players, crack codes and solve ciphers to escape.
30. FlightDeck (Anaheim) Experience aerial maneuvers at 600 knots and air-to-air combat in an authentic military flight simulator, and feel what it’s like to take the controls of a commercial airliner in our Boeing 737 flight simulator. Reservations required.
31. Prehistoric Pets - The Reptile Zoo (Fountain Valley) Largest display of reptiles. My kids love this place. You can feed meal worms to turtles and also hold snakes and lizards. Meet "Twinkie" the largest albino boa in captivity. Admission is $5.

Go-Karts in Orange County

32. K1 Speed (Anaheim & Irvine) Indoor go-karting. open 7 days a week.
33. Boomers! (Irvine and Fountain Valley)
34. Camelot Golfland (Anaheim off of the 91 freeway)

Fun Shopping & Entertainment in Orange County

35. Downtown Disney - LEGO Store, Star Wars Outpost, Disney Store.
36. Irvine Spectrum (Irvine) Big Wheel Ride, Movie Theater, Casey's Cupcakes and shopping.
37. Anaheim Packing District (Anaheim) Communal gathering place in the heart of downtown, that features 20+ artisan eateries with live music on the Mezzanine Stage every weekend. complete with refurbished historic structures, restored Packard Building & former Car Showroom, Farmers Park, restored citrus Packing House, and an outdoor event area with a fireplace and orange grove.
38. Fashion Island (Newport Beach)

Discounted Movies in Orange County

39. Summer Outdoor Movies in Orange County
40. Picture Show at Main Place Mall in Santa Ana - $6.75 before 6pm
41. Woodbridge 5 AMC Cinema in Irvine - $5 movies on Tuesdays.
42. Starlight Cinema City in Anaheim Hills - $7 before noon, $5 on Mondays & Tuesdays, and on Sundays before 6pm.
43. Drive-In Movies Near Orange County - Full list of every drive-in theater near the OC

Orange County Amusement Parks

44. Knott's Berry Farm - California's oldest theme park!
45. Disneyland - Tickets by reservation only.
46. Legoland California in Carlsbad - Great for LEGO lovers! Best for kids 12 and younger.
47. Adventure City in Anaheim - Carnival rides, rock climbing wall, arcade, petting zoo, children's theater and food. Great for younger kids.
48. Universal Studios Hollywood
49. OC Fair - Runs mid July - mid August

Orange County Trampoline Houses

Giant trampolines from wall to wall. Activities include dodgeball, basketball & foam pits.

50. Sky Zone Trampoline House - (Anaheim Hills)
51. Big Air Trampoline House - (Buena Park)
52. Get Air Surf City Trampoline Park - (Huntington Beach)
53. Big Air Trampoline House - (Laguna Hills)
54. Sky Zone Trampoline House - (Mission Viejo)
55. Rockin' Jump - (Santa Ana) Indoor trampolines and rock climbing.
56. Sky Zone Trampoline House - (Westminster)

Orange County Indoor Rock Climbing

57. Sender City at Sender One (Santa Ana) this is seriously one of our favorite places…loved by kids and adults! and fun interactive rock climbing experience with a giant slide and staff that is amazing. Teens will love the regular rock climbing area of Sender One.
58. Rock City Climbing (Anaheim)
59. Rockreation (Costa Mesa)

Ropes Courses in Orange County

60. OC Ropes Course - (Yorba Linda) One of the largest courses west of Colorado. Offers a series of supervised individual and group challenges that promote adventure, success and improved problem solving. It consists of 2 zip lines extending up to 277 feet each in length, and over 32 different challenges reaching a height of over 60 feet!

Orange County Miniature Golfing & Amusement

61. Boomers! (Irvine and Fountain Valley) Miniature golf, go-carts, arcades, rides, and food. Irvine has laser tag. Admission is free, but all activities have individual pricing.
62. Camelot Golfland (Anaheim off of the 91 freeway) Miniature golf, laser tag, arcade, water slides and food. Admission is free, but all activities have individual pricing.

Orange County Beach Area Fun

63. Huntington Beach Pier and Shops
64. Paddleboarding in Newport Back Bay
65. Balboa Fun Zone - Arcade, boardwalk, ferris wheel, take the Balboa Ferry and walk Balboa Island, rent a Duffy boat.
66. Rent bikes or segways to ride on the beach sidewalks.
67. Day in Laguna Beach - Walk Pacific Coast Highway, visit the galleries, window shop, beach, candy store, ice cream, farmer's market on the weekends.
68. Take a Surf Lesson - A fun thing to do as a family! HB Surf School is one of my favorites.
69. The Best Tidepools in Orange County free
70. Corona Del Mar Tide Pools free
71. Crystal Cove & Ruby's Shake Shack
72. Pacific Marine Mammal Center - (Laguna Beach) See rescued ocean animals and education.  free
73. Aquarium of the Pacific Aquarium (Long Beach)
74. Victoria Beach (Laguna Beach) - Old castle staircase ruins
75. Newport Dunes Movies on the Beach (Newport Beach) free
76. Ocean Institute (Dana Point)
77. Jet Pack America (Newport Beach) Jet Pack and Jetboarding experience

Orange County Water Parks & Water Slides

78. Soak City - (Buena Park) Orange County's largest amusement water park located adjacent to Knott's Berry Farm.
79. Wild Rivers - (Irvine)
80. Bucaneer Cover at Boomers! - (Fountain Valley)
81. Raging Waters - (Diamond Bar)
82. Splash! - (La Mirada)

Orange County Public Pools

83. Aliso Viejo Aquatic Center (Aliso Viejo) Public Pool, Splash pad and lap pools. Admission is $5-7 for non-members.

Fun Dining & Dinner Theaters in Orange County

84. Benihana - (Anaheim, Tustin & Newport Beach) Highly skilled and well-trained, your personal chef will entertain you while cooking in traditional Japanese style on a hibachi table.
85. Medieval Times - (Buena Park) Medieval dinner and tournament with knights and horses at a fun dinner show. A full dinner is served and must be eaten with your fingers.
86. Pirates Dinner Adventures - (Buena Park) Dinner and show featuring pirates and stunts. A full dinner is served.
87. Chuck E. Cheeses - (multiple locations) Pizza and arcade.
88. John's Incredible Pizza - (Buena Park) Pizza, arcade, rides, bowling and laser tag.
89. The Improv (Irvine & Brea)

Arcades in Orange County

90. Dave & Busters (Orange)
91. Dave & Busters (Irvine)
92. Nickel Nickel (Huntington Beach)

Skating & Ice Skating in Orange County

93. Holiday Skate
94. Fountain Valley Skating Center
95. Irvine Inline
96. Anaheim ICE
97. Aliso Viejo Ice Palace
98. Yorba Linda ICE

Bowling in Orange County

99. Fountain Bowl - (Fountain Valley)
100. Lucky Strike at the Outlets of Orange - (Orange)
101. Concourse Lanes - (Anaheim)
102. 300 Anaheim Lanes - (Anaheim)
103. Irvine Lanes - (Irvine)
104. Linbrook Lanes - (Anaheim)
105. Bowlero Lanes - (Tustin)

Professional Sports Arenas in Orange County

106. Dodgers Baseball (Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles)
107. Anaheim Angels Baseball (Angel Stadium in Anaheim)
108. Anaheim DUCKS (The Honda Center in Anaheim)

Candy Stores in Orange County

109. Balboa Candy Store (Newport Beach at the Balboa Fun Zone)
110. B.Candy Store (Corona Del Mar)
111. Wonderland Bakery (Newport Beach)

Orange County Skate Parks

112. Etnies Skate Park (Lake Forest)
113. Volcom Skate Park (Costa Mesa)
114. Brea Skate Park (Brea - Imperial Hwy at Berry Street free
115. Beebe Skate Park (Mission Viejo) free

Laser Tag in Orange County

116. Outdoor Laser Tag at Camelot Golfland - (Anaheim)
117. Laser Tag - Boomers! - (Irvine)
118. Laserland - (Mission Viejo)
119. Off the Wall Social – (Huntington Beach)

Art Fun in Orange County

120. Sawdust Art Festival (Laguna Beach) Hosts Summer and Winter Festivals, plus monthly 2 hour workshops for pottery and glass blowing.
121. Color Me Mine - Brea Paint your own pottery
122. Color Me Mine - Costa Mesa Paint your own pottery
123. Color Me Mine - Tustin Paint your own pottery
124. Hidden Talents Ceramic Studio Paint your own pottery
125. Fired Up (San Clemente) Paint your own pottery
126. Timree Paint Studio (Newport Beach) - One day painting workshops
127. The Ceramic Studio (San Juan Capistrano)

Don't forget to check out the Sandy Toes and Popsicles Facebook Page for daily updates of events happening in Orange County!

PLUS.....101 Things to Do with Kids in the OC!!!