For the better part of three years, if you walked or drove along the stretch of Mile Square Park where the golf courses run, you'd have hit a chain-link fence and a patch of dirt where a third course used to be. No signage explaining what was coming. No visible progress most weeks. Just orange construction netting and weeds filling in where fairways once ran.
That fence is coming down this fall. What replaces it is not another course, another set of ball diamonds, or more parking. It's a botanical garden, a meadow, and a constructed wetland, the biggest change to the park's footprint since the executive golf course went in back in 1987.
The Fairway That Became a Fence
Mile Square Regional Park has run on golf for most of its life. Two courses still operate there today, one executive and one regulation, both leased to the City of Fountain Valley and both still very much in business. A third course existed once too, and by the time Orange County approved a 93-acre expansion in July 2021, that land had already been pulled out of rotation and set aside for something else entirely.
The plan, developed with landscape architecture firm EPTDESIGN after a multi-year community outreach process, converts that former course into open space built around a nature trail, accessible walking paths, a splash pad, picnic areas, and gathering space designed to serve the neighborhoods within a five-mile radius of the park, not just golfers. Construction broke ground in March 2022. Phase one, which covered lake reconstruction and path paving, wrapped in November 2023. Full completion is anticipated this fall.
That's nearly a three-year gap between "phase one is done" and "the whole thing opens," which is the kind of detail that explains why the fence has stayed up so long even as work clearly progressed behind it. If you've been wondering whether the project stalled, it didn't. It's just a slower build than a ribbon-cutting press release usually suggests.
What Actually Finishes This Fall
When the fence comes down, residents get access to a stretch of the park that's been off-limits since before most people's kids started elementary school. The new acreage includes:
- A botanical garden built around native plant collections
- A great meadow designed for open, unstructured gathering rather than reserved-shelter picnics
- Constructed wetlands for habitat and stormwater management, tied into the park's existing lake system
- An interpretive nature trail connecting to the accessible walking paths that already loop the park's east side
For a park that's always been organized around scheduled activity, softball leagues, archery permits, reservable picnic shelters, this section is built around the opposite instinct. There's no permit required to sit in a meadow. That's a real shift in what the park offers, not just an amenity refresh.
Friday Still Belongs to Freedom Hall
None of this touches the smallest, steadiest ritual in the park: the certified farmers market at Freedom Hall, Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., year-round. It's one of eight Orange County Farm Bureau certified markets in the county, which means every vendor selling produce there has been inspected to confirm they actually grow what they're selling. It's not large. Longtime visitors describe it as a handful of vendors, some produce, a coconut water stand, pastries, maybe a masseuse table on a good week. But it's been running long enough and consistently enough that it's become one of those things residents plan a Friday morning around without thinking twice.
The expansion doesn't change the market's footprint or its day. It just means that after you've picked up produce at Freedom Hall, there's now a meadow and a wetland trail worth walking off breakfast in, rather than a fenced construction zone.
The Festival That Bridges Summer Into Fall
Just up Brookhurst from the park, at the city's Sports Park, Fountain Valley just hosted the 30th Original Lobster Festival, September 11 through 13. Three decades running is a long stretch for any local festival, and the anniversary weekend delivered the usual mix: live Maine lobster flown in daily, a karaoke lounge with a live band, carnival rides, and a lobster feast and admission package priced at forty dollars with no added ticket fees.
If you missed it, there's no need to circle a date for next year yet, but it's worth knowing the festival exists on the calendar as a fixed end-of-summer marker for this part of the city, the same way the farmers market is a fixed Friday marker. Between the two, plus what's opening at Mile Square this fall, the neighborhood's rhythm this season has more than one thing pulling residents outdoors.
What's Actually on the Table Nearby
A day built around the park usually ends with food, and Fountain Valley's restaurant scene has quietly filled in around it. Near the Costco complex, Pho Nic has become a go-to for pho and Hainanese chicken rice. On the Mediterranean side, Chicken Maisón serves spicy lemon garlic chicken and lamb chops in a casual, family-friendly setting near the beach side of town. Mì Á Đông, tucked near the Town Center, has built a following for food that's authentic without being fussy, the kind of place you duck into after errands rather than plan a special trip around.
For something more particular, Shin-Sen-Gumi Robata & Yakitori runs two connected dining rooms behind a split entrance that confuses first-time visitors into wondering which door to use. BOK Kitchen + Pub leans Thai-inspired with dishes like Tom Yum fried rice and a cold cut salad built around bright, fresh flavors. Taste of Beauty, open since 2022, has carved out a niche with an eight-course plant-based tasting menu that's become a regular special-occasion pick for residents who want something more composed than a quick dinner. And Paderia Bakehouse remains the standing answer for anyone craving egg tarts or cheese ensaymada on the way out of the neighborhood.
None of these are new discoveries broken by this article. They're the places residents already know. What's changed is that there's now a longer list of reasons to be in this part of town on a Saturday, not just a golf tee time or a picnic reservation, but a wetland trail, a meadow, a market, and a festival that all sit within a few minutes of each other.
What This Actually Means for the Neighborhood
Mile Square Park has spent decades known primarily as a golf destination with some soccer fields attached. That identity isn't disappearing. Two courses remain fully operational, and league play, tournaments, and reservable shelters aren't going anywhere. But the 93 acres that spent years behind a fence are becoming something the park never really had: unstructured, walkable, open space that doesn't require a reservation, a permit, or a green fee to use.
For a neighborhood that already runs on small fixed rituals, a Friday market, a September festival, a rotating list of restaurants people return to, that kind of open space fills a gap most residents didn't know was missing until it started to take shape behind the fence.
If you're already living near the park and thinking about what comes next for your own home, whether that's refinancing to free up equity, exploring a move within the neighborhood, or just understanding what your property is worth as Fountain Valley continues to change around it, NAMY Inc is a phone call away. Schedule a free consultation and talk through your options with a team that already knows this stretch of Orange County.
