Pack your basket

Young Chang

Did you know Newport Beach has 47 parks? And that Costa Mesa has 35?

Some are really big, some are barely bigger than an average backyard.

Some have views of Newport Bay, some have baseball diamonds, some have

grills, some have tables, some just have grass.

Which is, in a way, all you need for a picnic. Every park in

Newport-Mesa allows picnicking and the rules are few and reasonable.

So the next time you want to pack a basket, roll up a blanket and eat

among the trees and the ants, remember that your choices are more than

just that one big park you know of across town.

Here’s a breakdown of which park offers what.

In Costa Mesa, picnic tables can be found at TeWinkle Park, Wakeham

Park, Shiffer Park, Del Mesa Park, Wilson Park, Estancia Park and Vista

Park. These fabulous seven also feature barbecue stands and restrooms.

In Newport Beach, parks with picnic tables include Begonia Park, Bolsa

Park, Bonita Canyon Sports Park, Bonita Creek Park, Buffalo Hills Park,

Channel Place Park, Cliff Drive Park, Eastbluff Park, Grant Howald Park,

Irvine Terrace Park, Las Arenas Park, Mariner’s Park, Newport Island

Park, Passive Park, Peninsula Park, San Miguel Park, Spyglass Hill Park,

Spyglass Hill Reservoir Park, Veteran’s Memorial Park, West Newport Park

and 38th Street Park.

Most of the listed parks offer barbecue grills. The ones that don’t

are Bolsa Park, Bonita Creek Park, Las Arenas Park, Spyglass Hill Park

and Spyglass Hill Reservoir Park.

Two parks that provide barbecue machines but no tables are Bayview

Park and Arroyo Park.

“And we don’t allow personal barbecues at the park,” said Cindy Brown,

office specialist at the City of Costa Mesa recreation division. “It’s an

ordinance that was passed that we try to enforce. That’s why we require

people barbecue at parks that have barbecues in them.”Newport Beach asks

simply that if you do bring your own barbecue machine to a park, that you

don’t put it on the ground -- a fire-prevention measure, said recreation

superintendent Andrea McGuire.

Both cities prohibit alcohol at all parks, expect park users to clean

up their space and place restrictions on really large groups (150 is the

maximum for one party for Newport Beach).

Costa Mesa wants vehicles to stay off the grass areas. Groups with

children wanting to use inflatable houses (often called bounce houses or

blow-up houses) in the park need to have a special permit so the city can

make sure the bounce house companies have insurance in Costa Mesa.

Both cities run their parks on a first-come, first-serve basis. You

can make a reservation if you want, but fees vary for residents and

non-residents.

Now if you’d rather be annoyed by sand flying in your food instead of

crawling ants, then the following beaches in Newport Beach offer fire

rings: Corona del Mar State Beach and the strips of beach at B Street, C

Street and Balboa Street.

Corona del Mar State Beach also offers barbecue grills near the

parking lot and picnic tables.

More tables can be found at the beach near 15th Street, at the Balboa

Pier and at the base of the Newport Pier.

“You’re not allowed to have grills on the beaches,” McGuire said. “And

no alcohol on the beaches either.”

If grilling isn’t your forte and you’d prefer a lunch of cold salads,

sandwiches and fruit, several Newport-Mesa eateries -- including Haute

Cakes Caffe Bakery Expresso Bar and Grille in Newport Beach -- will pack

your picnic basket for you.

If you’d rather make your own lunch but don’t know what keeps best

outside, well, that’s a whole separate story. One we’ll get to at a later

date.