Perry Park, Huntington Beach

Perry Park is one of the first parks I visited as part of my recent decision to see just how many of Huntington Beach's 71 s (give or take) parks I can reach.

It is a decent-sized park tucked in next to an elementary school, an example of what I'm starting to think of as a "typical pocket park."

It's got a good selection of trees, even one, nice, central, twisty character tree (there's even a bench, of sorts, around it). There are at least five kinds of trees of different sizes (I'm starting to think of them as "the usual suspects; maybe one of these days I should try calling the park department again to find out just exactly what they are called), so there are plenty of places for the eye to rest and the view doesn't get monotonous.

Also, some of the trees had really great "toes," so I'd give Perry Park a high mark on the "trees with character" section, if I were giving marks.


The critter count was actually slightly higher than average. Not way up there--I wouldn't visit Perry to watch birds, for example, but I scuffed up plenty of small moths and flying creatures as I walked, by which unscientific method I'd say the park has more small life than the average area around it, and more than many of the other pocket parks, though that may not be entirely fair to them as I think I gave Perry's small life more attention than I gave, say Drew. There were some interesting gnats, spiders, ants--enough to keep a kid (or me) busy, but no special concentration, and, at least on that day, no dragonflies or larger butterflies.

I saw few non-bugs, though a squirrel in the nearby neighborhood makes me think they probably do show up.

As is fairly usual, the landscaping isn't particularly critter-friendly. The only available water was a large puddle due to recent rain, and there were no ragged edges for anything to hide in or ripening grass (or other greenery) for them to eat.

Picnic tables: Yes, there are picnic tables. I'd be surprised if the shade ever hits either of them, though (I note the website claims one is "in partial shade," so maybe sometimes a few leaves worth reaches it).


Bathrooms: No.

Water fountains: No.This is probably just as well, since the parks that have had water fountains haven't really had water fountains I'd drink from.

Playground Equipment: Perry Park has the standard setup with the yellow slide and all. Also swings for both tots and older kids.

Sports stuff: They do have soccer goals set up. There were no nets, but I'm no expert on this. You may have to ask ahead of time or something.

Parking: Streetside.

Worth visiting for its own sake? Not unless you're a park aficionado. It's great for the school kids and nice for the neighborhood, but there's nothing that makes this park stand out among parks.