William R. Mason Regional Park, or as it is more commonly referred to, Mason Park, is a park in southern Irvine, California

Irvine, California

Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...

. It is one of the largest parks in Irvine and is traversed by trails.

Background

The first phase of the Mason Park, forty-five acres, opened to public use in 1973. A 50 acres (202,343 m²) second phase was completed in 1978 that included a 9.2 acres (37,231.1 m²) lake which has proven to be a popular attraction.

Mason Park straddles Culver Drive and is thus split into two parts. The east side of the park is a wilderness area. It features scrub-covered ground, traversed by a bike trail and a small creek. As it is located on the northern edge of the San Joaquin Hills

San Joaquin Hills

The San Joaquin Hills are a set of low hills in coastal Orange County, California. They extend in a northwest-southeast direction, starting in the northwest in Newport Beach at the southern edge of the Los Angeles Basin, and extending southeast to San Juan Capistrano.-Geography and habitats:Named...

, the terrain is rugged: the south edge is a large palisade, marking the edge of the park. The west side of Mason Park is more like a typical park than the east side. Though a ring of wilderness surrounds this side, it is mostly flat grassland, with an occasional hill or rise. An artificial lake about 900 ft (274.3 m) wide and 800 ft (243.8 m) long in the center of the park is often home to migrating birds and other local wildlife.

The park is named for former Irvine Company

Irvine Company

The Irvine Company is a privately held real estate development company based in Newport Beach, Orange County, Southern California. The corporate center of the company lies in Newport Center. A large portion of its operations are centered in and around the City of Irvine, a planned city of 250,000...

 chairman William R. Mason, who in 1959 commissioned the master-planning of the Irvine Ranch by William Pereira

William Pereira

William Leonard Pereira was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, of Portuguese ancestry who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco...

.

Its numerous trails eventually lead to Ridgeline, a street that connects Turtle Rock Loop to University Drive. The trails offer a different view of Irvine as well as a popular route for the cross-country runners of University High School as well as runners from other schools.