Irvine’s Great Park has so much more to offer than idyllic picnics on the lawn. The green space also features an art gallery, community gardens, soccer fields, balloon and carousel rides, movies on the lawn, garden workshops, a working farm, outdoor concerts, everything.

Take your eco geekdom to brand new heights at a course at Hopland’s Solar Living Institute, where the green curriculum covers a range of topics such as growing your own mushrooms and biodiesel brewing. Afterwards, enjoy a shaded picnic and some sipping at a carbon-neutral tasting room. less

Meander through scenic marshlands