THE PLAY: BLUFF PARK Big open plots of grass and a view of Catalina, the Queen Mary, the widening Pacific and its gorgeous sunsets make this one of our favorite places to take the kids and big bag of balls: soccer, foot, cheap Spongebob models from Target. Head to the Bluffs with the kids and gear and you will soon find yourself running, chasing, tagging, climbing trees or lying down arguing that that particular cloud does look like Fred Thompson. A lot. Enjoy. Ocean Blvd between Redondo and Lindero | Long Beach 90803 // STEVE LOWERY

THE PATHS: EL DORADO NATURE CENTER It happens when you hit the small foot bridge and loll about with excited kids watching turtles sunbathe and swim. You begin to slow down and actually take time to notice things: trees, birds, your breathing. There are streams and lakes, small wildlife and more than 100 acres of woodlands, including three miles of trails. Quiet and timeless. An absolute oasis. Turtles. 7550 Spring St | Long Beach 90815 | 562.570.1745 // SL

THE WIND: KITE SURFING Part water skiing, part surfing, part something where you’re pulled about by a large swath of multi-colored nylon, kite surfing may seem alluring but too complicated to learn. Fear not. For one, you’re lucky to live in or around the Alamitos Peninsula, an area with the requisite consistent side shore wind that blows parallel to the shore and is ideal for maneuvering. Next, you should know that Kitesurfari in Seal Beach has been around eight years and in that time taught all manner of novices and lame-os ranging in age from 14 to 70. The folks there say it normally takes a couple of lessons—a total of about eight hours, which will cost you about 500 bucks—to get the hang of things. 452 Pacific Coast Hwy | Seal Beach 90740 | 866.949.KITE or 562.596.6451 | kitesurfari.com // SL

THE BEST: LONG BEACH PARKS, RECREATION AND MARINE Nationally recognized as the best of its kind, here’s one bad thing you can say about our local parks and rec: it may be responsible for Long Beach never fully supporting a local professional sports franchise. Why would local residents watch someone else play when parks and rec offers so many things to do and places to do them? Just look at the breadth of the facilities: Belmont Plaza Pool, Bayshore Roller Rink, tennis centers, dog beaches, sailing and rowing centers, golf courses, greenbelts, marine biological reserves and RV Parks. You want to play? How about roller hockey, youth and adult? Pickup or league play? There’s men’s, women’s and coed softball and volleyball. All manner of basketball including 6-foot-and-under leagues. Not a day or night goes by when some kind of organized sport or league isn’t going on in Long Beach. Sorry, professional sports execs. Sucks to be you. ci.long-beach.ca.us // SL

THE TEAM: LONG BEACH POLY BOYS’ TRACK The Jackrabbits’ boys’ track team won the Southern Section title in 2007. Ho-hum, that was its seventh straight title and ninth total under Coach Don Norford. Then Poly won its fourth state title under Norford with superstar Bryshon Nellum leading the way in the 200 and 400 meter runs. To top it all off, the boys and girls teams, competing at the 109th Penn Relays in Philadelphia, each won two races to complete what The New York Times called “the most successful performance by a California high school in the meet’s history.” So, yeah, they’re good. // SL

THE RUNS: RUNNER’S HIGH The store has locations on Stearns and on Second Street and every Thursday evening at 6:15 you’re welcome to show up at the Belmont Shore store for its weekly fun run. The course is four miles out and four miles back, but you can run as much or as little as you like. Like running with an iPod? Cool, though some runners think it poor manners when running with others. “I like to hear things when I run,” Lacie said. “Like my heartbeat and my breathing. You know, make sure I’m alive.” 5338 E Second St | Long Beach 90803| 562.433.7825 | or 6416 E Stearns St | Long Beach 90815 | 562.430.7833 | teamrunnershigh.org // SL

THE PATH: SHORELINE PEDESTRIAN/BIKE PATH The 3.1 mile concrete pedestrian/bike path that gently swerves through the waterfront sand from Alamitos Avenue downtown to upscale Alamitos Shoreline is simply the best thing the city has done for itself in the past 20 years. Since its completion in January of 1988, the bike path has transformed the Long Beach strand into a year-round parade of the city’s vibrant citizenry, whether on bikes or skates, in strollers or sneakers. The bike path passes the foot of the Long Beach Museum, the barbecue scents of the picnickers at Cherry Beach, Belmont Plaza Pool, the kite-surfing and windsurfing beaches before emptying out onto Ocean Boulevard at 54th Place. It’s absolutely wonderful and almost makes up for the fact you can’t go in the water. // DAVE WIELENGA

Tags: best of, parks, recreation, Sports