Huntington Beach: Sustenance for Mind and Body

* Looking for a new neighborhood to explore?

Here are a few suggestions, culled from recent stories. Complete articles can be accessed at https://www.calendarlive.com/go/discover/

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People aren’t born in Huntington Central Park and they can’t be buried there. But the 100-plus-acre eastern end of the park in Huntington Beach offers something to address nearly every human need that falls between. There is a restaurant to please the palate and fill the stomach. A public library housing 300,000 volumes and subscriptions to 650 periodicals beckons the intellect, the imagination and even the spirit (three local churches rent meeting rooms for Sunday services).

The park grounds offer relaxation or exercise in a lovely setting where nature is the star; there are no ball fields or paved courts, just rolling green expanses and a wide variety of trees that provide shade to people and dogs, and a home for a multitude of bird species. It’s not unusual for couples to get married here.

Dave Winkler, who became the park’s ranger/naturalist in 1975, a year after it opened, says bird-watchers have sighted about 280 species over the years. Among the park’s denizens are great horned owls that nest each winter under the eaves of the library, which sits atop a hill at the south end of the gently sloped park.

Park visitors can picnic; set up volleyball nets; or play soccer, softball or touch football, although they’ll have to map out fields. Bicycling and skating are welcome on the park’s wide paths; joggers can stop to exercise at stations on the fitness course along the park’s perimeter. A small playground at the northern end, near Slater Avenue, offers swings, slides, gear to climb on and sand to play in.

Fronting Goldenwest Street, the Park Bench Cafe (17732 Goldenwest St., [714] 842-0775), a green clapboard restaurant, is famous for its clientele: It offers a special menu for dogs. Breakfast and lunch are served six days a week (7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays, and until 3 p.m. on weekends; it’s open daily during the summer but currently is closed Mondays).

The Huntington Beach Central Library and Cultural Center (7111 Talbert Ave., [714] 960-8839), a mansion of learning--and fun--is set atop a hill overlooking the park. The original 1974 building was designed by the famed architect Richard Neutra and his son Dion to blend into the natural setting. The western and northern facades facing the park are reflective glass offering a mirror image of trees and sky. Inside, most of the reading areas offer expansive views overlooking the park.

For scholars in need of a caffeine boost or snack, there is the One Fine Blend coffee shop on the lower level; it offers coffees, fruit drinks, teas, breads and pastries, along with pre-wrapped refrigerated sandwiches, and drinks and snacks from vending machines.

Getting there: From the San Diego Freeway take Goldenwest Street south; for playground and north end of park, turn left at Slater Avenue then right into the parking lot; for Park Bench Cafe turn left after Slater into the restaurant parking lot; for Huntington Beach Central Library and south end of park turn left on Talbert Avenue, which becomes a driveway into parking lots for the library and park. From Pacific Coast Highway, take Goldenwest Street north to Talbert or Slater and turn right.

* A new Discover Orange County will run next Sunday in the Orange County Calendar.

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Central Park

1. Park Bench Cafe, 17732 Goldenwest St., 842-0775

2. Huntington Beach Central Library, 7111 Talbert Ave., 960-8839

3. Park area