Hidden Gems in Costa Mesa
5 spots in Costa Mesa, CA that locals know about and most visitors walk straight past.
1 of these you cannot simply turn up to: hikes led by a docent, scheduled access days, or a few open hours a month.
Every location below was checked against Google Maps; anything that could not be verified was left out rather than guessed. Descriptions come from the sources credited under each entry.
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Fairview Park
Trail · Easy
Costa Mesa's largest park, "hosting 195 acres of open space - natural area, and 13 acres of manicured landscape for a total of 208 acres," with "7 miles of trails for walking or bicycling." The city says it holds five distinct habitat ecosystems with rare and endangered species, plus two nationally registered historic sites.
Described from costamesaca.gov
Orange County Model Engineers
Oddity · Easy
A miniature railroad inside Fairview Park giving free public rides "on the third full weekend of every month, from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM" with "no tickets or reservations" and riders required to be at least 31 inches tall. The club's own pages differ on the route, describing "nearly a mile of track" in one place and a trip of 12 to 15 minutes around a loop of 1.25 miles in another.
- Hours: Open on scheduled weekends only. Check before going.
Described from ocmetrains.org
Talbert Nature Preserve
Trail · Easy
Two sections north and south of Victoria Street, where "North Talbert consists of 91.5 acres and South Talbert is approximately 88.5 acres," with trails through coastal dune, native grassland, alluvial woodland and wetland. Hours are 7am to sunset, and OC Parks notes "there is no on-site parking at Talbert Regional Park."
Described from parks.oc.gov
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Noguchi Garden (California Scenario)
Oddity · Easy · Best at evening, it is open until midnight
Isamu Noguchi's sculpture garden, commissioned in 1979 and completed in 1982, occupies 1.6 acres and is built from six named elements: Forest Walk, Land Use, Desert Land, Water Source, Water Use and Energy Fountain. Its centrepiece, The Spirit of the Lima Bean, is "composed of 15 rust-colored granite rocks cut precisely to fit together," and the garden is open free to the public from 8am to midnight.
- Parking: Park in the Avenue of the Arts structure.
Described from travelcostamesa.com
Las Poderosas Mural
Oddity · Easy
A 2020 mural near Baker Street led by muralist Alicia Rojas from an original concept by Camilo Romero, honouring eight Orange County Latinas including Modesta Avila, Dolores Huerta, Sylvia Mendez and Frances Munoz, "the first Latina trial judge in California." The District Attorney's office reported it was defaced in October 2022, resulting in a vandalism charge with a hate crime enhancement.
Described from regeneracion.co, ocdistrictattorney.gov
These places change and we do not get to visit them all. If something here is closed, moved, or just wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
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