9 Fun Things to Do in Fountain Valley

Fountain Valley might be a place you’ve heard of, but it is certainly one of the best places to visit in the Golden State, especially if you’re looking for a place full of options for a family outing. An unassuming suburb outside of Los Angeles, the City of Fountain Valley is today known as a vibrant and diverse suburban city with plenty of great amenities and a high quality of life. To top it off, Fountain City, CA has no shortage of fun things to do that will be fun for the whole family. This includes classic entertainment venues such as an escape room as well as more outdoorsy activities for happy healthy fun.  

Mile Square Regional Park

Named after the fact that it occupies a near-perfect square mile of pristine agricultural land, Mile Square Regional Park is one of Fountain Valley's most famous green spaces. The park also has a unique history as it was once a US Navy airfield before it was leased to Fountain City and ultimately redeveloped as a park. Given that it once had three 2,200-foot-long runways when it was a naval air station, it is no surprise that Mile Square Regional Park is the biggest green space in Fountain Valley, California. 

Today the park features plenty of recreational facilities, such as a volleyball court, fishing locations, picnic areas, trails, and an archery range. These quality facilities, combined with the pristine natural beauty of the site, make it the ideal place for you and your family to enjoy the great outdoors.  

Cream Pan

If you start feeling peckish after a day of outdoor recreation, the next stop on your trip is Cream Pan, one of the best bakeries in the city of Fountain Valley. What makes this place so special is that it aims to recreate the chic experience of a European-style bakery. That much is clear the moment you walk through the door and find a range of sumptuous French pastries, tasty Italian sandwiches, and quality fresh bread in a beautiful modernist setting. Cream Pan also offers some excellent fried rice dishes on their menu inspired by Japanese cuisine, so if you find yourself in the mood for something bigger than a delicate pastry, they’ve got you covered. 

Vox Kitchen

For dinner, we recommend heading on over to the Vox Kitchen. This cozy restaurant is a special kind of Asian fusion eatery. Specifically, Vox’s menu is inspired by Chifa cuisine, a flavorful fusion between Chinese and Peruvian cuisine born from Chinese immigration to South America. Vox’s mission is to perfectly recreate the most exquisite meals from this unique culinary tradition and celebrate diversity through delectable meals. For the authentic Chifa experience, you can’t go wrong with Vox’s succulent “Saltado” Shaken Fries, a plate of steak fries, red onions, aji sauce, rice pilaf, and tomatoes.   

Fountain Valley Skating Center

Skating rinks aren’t that common in America these days but residents and visitors alike can still enjoy this fun experience in Fountain Valley. The Fountain Valley Skating Center is a large indoor skating rink where you can go roller skating to your heart’s content. This is a great place to practice rollerblading since it’s a lot safer than the street, and the skating center even offers themed nights. Come to their Flashback nights and skate to all the hits from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and aughts. Don’t fret if you don’t know the first thing about skating, as the Fountain Valley Skating Center also offers instructive classes that can help you get started and hone your skills. 

Fountain Bowl 

With 60 bowling lanes, this family-owned bowling alley is the biggest in Fountain City. Fountain Bowl has long established itself as a household name thanks to its many decades of providing memorable experiences to countless happy families. This is one of the best places to go in Fountain Valley, CA if you’re in the mood for a celebration. Enjoy a round or two of bowling with family and friends, treat yourself to great bar food straight from Ozzie’s, and see if you can beat your score from the last round. If you want to take bowling beyond just a casual sport, consider joining one of Foutain Bowl’s local leagues and playing competitively. 

The Reptile Zoo

Nature lovers and casual visitors alike will love the reptile zoo in Fountain Valley, CA. This zoo provides a great edutainment experience, allowing visitors to see over one hundred exotic spiders, reptiles, and amphibians from all over the globe. However, this isn’t just a place where you get to see colorful animals behind glass, as Fountain Valley’s reptile zoo also offers some cool interactive exhibits. Children will love feeding veggies to the Reptile Zoo’s local tortoises, and if you’re feeling adventurous, you can get a very instagrammable picture cuddling with Sunshine, the Reptile Zoo’s twelve-foot Burmese Python.

Fountain Valley Power Line Trail

For the ultimate hiking experience in Fountain Valley, the Power Line Trail is the place to go. This 3.5-mile out-and-back trail is great for a long walk or a quick jog through nature, and since it’s an out-and-back style trail it's quite simple to navigate. Plus the elevation gain is about 55 feet which makes this a pretty easy level trail. The entirety of the Power Line Trail is located in the urban environs of Fountain Valley, and it takes just an hour to walk the whole thing. We recommend going either in the morning or evening as it gets rather warm during the day.  

Kryptic Tales Escape Rooms

Kryptic Tales opened just a handful of years ago, but it has already made a name for itself as the best escape room in Fountain Valley. Prepare for an experience like no other with riveting puzzles that will keep you and your friends busy for hours. Each of the escape room modes features plenty of high-tech special effects that seamlessly immerse you into an amazing space-age world. Although the puzzles are quite challenging they’re also meant to be intuitive, so you won’t feel lost or overwhelmed while navigating through this escape room. Overall, this is a great choice for a memorable and entertaining activity that keeps everyone engaged.   

Bowers Museum

For a slower-paced experience, check out the Bowers Museum, a charming art gallery that’s just across the county line in Santa Ana. Housed in a beautiful Spanish mission, the museum holds over 100,000 artifacts from various cultures in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Since one of the museum’s main focuses is pre-Columbian art from Mexico, this is one of the best places to go for a window into the vibrantly colorful world that existed in North America before the arrival of Europeans.