Mile Square Park Archery Range

It’s free, and there are many available spaces. These are the upsides.
Now the downsides.
There’s no parking. We had to park a long ways down the street and walk a great distance to the spot.
The targets are on metal stands, and the hay is held together by tar. My friend shot my bow, because his broke in the heat in the trunk, and he kept shooting the metal stand. I ended up with all kinds of broken and flattened arrowheads. Yes, that’s his fault for missing the target, but I can’t imagine he’s the only one who’s done this. Also, when you pull your arrows out of the hay, they scrape against the hard tar and get all scratched up. Maybe I’m being too uptight with my equipment, but I’ve used it in many other places and it still looks new. One day here, and it looked completely weathered.
You have to follow everyone else’s pace. Like a firearm range, you have to wait for everyone else to finish shooting before someone yells «clear!» and people walk out to collect their arrows. I was either done too soon and had to wait for others, or I took my time and felt the pressure of everyone staring at me, waiting for me to finish. Both are terribly annoying.
Yes, it’s free, but I’d rather pay a fee and go somewhere else.

A very nice setting at Mile Square Park. No need to pay for parking. Just park on Euclid and walk over (short walk). You can see the range from the street. Nice people there too.

For the most part this range is amazing. It’s shaded, it’s beautiful, the people are friendly… HOWEVER, it loses a star because the black carpet stationary targets are HORRIBLE. They get eaten up way too quickly and the arrows start to bounce off. They REALLY need to get the hay stacks back. Also, it would be nice if the bow racks were a bit closer to the shooting line. But overall it’s a nice place to shoot

Absolutely beautiful! Always great weather, the target set-​ups are well kept and theres a comfortable ambiance to the range. People are also nice and respectful to others. Best times to go are during the week mid-​day. Weekends are busy and you may have to wait for a lane. But well worth it once you start shooting. Have fun!

Love this outdoor range. Free street parking, nice facility, in beautiful mile square park. The crowd it draws are friendly and knowledgeable.

nice and courteous people around. convenient that it’s a covered area. i’m not quite understanding why they got rid of the hay targets though if anyone knows? The carpet targets are not really fulfilling and it seems like they would be better for people with bows atleast 30lbs or more, also possibly heavier arrows not something like carbon. as i went loosing arrows, some of them will just bounce off and while some will stick. and even if they stick they don’t go very far into the target. my draw weight is low, 25lbs so i don’t really expect much from these targets. but i would definitely prefer hay, so i’ll probably be skipping this place to drive further to el dorado :/​given this is how i feel cuz i know i saw some other archers without problems, i just like the feeling of shooting hay.

Came here with some friends the other day and had lots of fun! Facility is clean and nice plus lots of friendly people here to help you out if you got any questions! Definitely going to come back here!

Recently renovated in 2014, the new Miles Square Park Archery Range remains free (no rentals, bring your own equipment) and open to the public. Came here with family and friends to hang out, launch volleys of arrows down range for an hour or so at a time, and meeting other archers is the norm here. Everyone is quite friendly as long as you aren’t obnoxious and are following proper etiquettes/​rules. The range itself has targets at different distances roughly at 10 yards up to about 80 years. The range also has benches and a rail with a hook to hang your bow/​equipment while you set up. There isn’t anyone out there to maintain a safe environment so be vigilant especially if you are hunting arrows that missed the mark in the backdrop. Even though this place is nice and big, accidents may still occur. Otherwise stop by and have fun at this little archery gem located on the Euclid side just a bit north of Hiel.

Second time back and I would gladly return. The park is hugantic with space for baseball, tennis, golf, and even archery so we came back to use the free range. You have to bring your own equipment but having to pay a fee to use the grounds is nice! If you choose to park inside the park it’s $ 5 on weekends with ample space. The park is very family friendly and has been very well maintained. I want to have a picnic here next, picnic and then shoot some arrows. that’s normal right?

Very organized and well made range. Each distance (separated by 10 yards and up) has approximately 3 lanes (less near max distances) and they are well separated. There are hooks to hang your bow if you need to and the hay is thick/​dense enough to not cause any potential problems with your arrow going through. It is also shaded so you don’t have to worry about getting burnt on a hot day.
The crowd there is pretty diverse. From people dressing up in medieval/​renaissance attire to kids/​teens looking to train professionally (I think) to just people looking to shoot for fun. People there generally seem very friendly and will probably help you out if you asked.
You can park for free on the street and it’s not that long of a walk to the range itself.
Best free range in OC? Not sure yet. But I don’t see any real detractions so far.

Fun and free archery range in Fountain Valley. My brother and his girlfriend introduced me to this place after we recently developed archery as a hobby. Most people park along Heil & Euclid or if want to spend $ 5, you can park inside. The range offers a variety of distances to shoot from, 20 to about 80 yards (Not sure, just estimating). We generally shoot from 30 – 40 yards with our custom made target. Don’t worry for the days which the sun is shining bright; each shooting area is covered.
For the most part, the shooters understand the rules and at times will offer their own personal advice. Generally regulars will do this and at times, this can be a nuisance. Park maintenance does a great job keeping the area well-​maintained. Apparently, they also hold tournaments because this past weekend it was closed. It would be interesting to find more info about that.
Careful on the weekends because it tends to get pretty crowded. Overall, I highly recommend this shooting range to amateur and professional archers.

Wow. This place is really nice! I heard they recently revamped the entire area and man it looks awesome. First off, their line is actually covered which keeps you cool from the sun. On days with great weather and little to no wind, I would recommend you to come out and shoot here. Parking inside is only 5 bucks and the range is free. They have short distance from 20 yards up to 70 I believe. Very clean might I add. Only downside is that most of these targets are not reinforced properly for strong bows. Some of the guys there said their 35 lbs bows can shoot almost through the targets. My 50 lbs compound blew three the targets every time which messed up my fletchings.
If you have high powered bows, bring your own reinforced targets and hang it in front of the hay. This should do the trick.
Highly recommended. I came here based on one Unilocaler review and I am glad that I did. :)

I don’t know how Katniss Everdeen does it. I can’t even hit a stationary target 10 yards away, let alone survive some vicious Hunger Game. But I don’t let embarrassment, failure, and lost arrows stop me.
The archery range at Mile Square Park went through some redesigning last year, and the result is a more efficient use of space. It’s still in the same location so just park your car on Euclid a bit north of Heil, and you’ll be able to see it.
The bales of hay are now arranged in stations by distance, from 10 to 100 yards. Amateurs using the 10 yard bales get the benefit of reaching their stations first and walking a shorter distance to retrieve their arrows. They also get to look incompetent for missing a target point blank.
For safety, there are now range commands to follow. When everyone is done shooting, someone yells «pull» so everyone knows it’s safe to go out and pick up arrows. When everyone has returned, someone yells «clear» meaning it’s safe to shoot. If no one feels like taking charge of the commands, then use your best judgment.
Remember to check the website in case of closure for maintenance or special events:
I got my bow and arrows from O.C. Archery down on Brookhurst and Garfield a while ago. Throw in a glove and some wax for the bow string, and I was ready to shoot. My «starter kit» added up to a bit over $ 300. The outdoor archery ranges at Mile Square Park and El Dorado Park are both free.
Compared to last year, I’ve been seeing a lot more traditional recurved bows as opposed to the fancier compound bows at Mile Square. The recurved are arguably less lethal but more challenging; I’m glad we’re back to the basics. After all, that’s how Katniss does it. And she survived two Hunger Games.