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Wildflowers Are Blooming! Take a Walk on OC's Wild Side
This is my very favorite time of year for hiking in Orange County—the temperatures are fabulous, the hills are green and, best of all, the wildflowers are in bloom. We’ve had a lot of rain this year, so the wildflower displays should be particularly beautiful. It only lasts for a few short weeks, so put on your hiking boots, grab your camera and get out there! The bloom began in March and is expected to extend in some parks through early May.
Luckily, there are great places to hike all over the county. OC Parks manages 20 regional and wilderness parks, encompassing over 32,000 acres. For a full listing of parks, along with upcoming hikes and events, check out the OC Parks website. In addition, Park Rangers and staff are posting photos and locations of blooms they find on a new OC Parks Wildflower blog. I checked it this week and it showed fabulous blooms in the Upper Newport Bay. I agree. Upper Newport Bay is in full bloom and is the most beautiful I’ve ever seen it. In late March, the county was reporting that Caspers Wilderness Park may have the largest and most dramatic wildflower display, including fields of California poppy, chocolate lily and lupine. Caspers’ 8,000 acres are extraordinarily beautiful and offer the added benefit of a rare escape from civilization. The wildflowers are also particularly beautiful this year in Santiago Oaks Regional Park and Limestone Canyon and Whiting Ranch, two parks that were 90% burned by wildfires in 2007. These are great places to see nature at work in fire recovery.
The canyons and hilltops of Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park are usually good places to spot wildflowers. This expansive South County park is located at the south end of the Laguna Greenbelt. My personal favorite coastal park is Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, which offers Pacific Ocean views, a little lake and some lovely, sycamore-shaded canyons. There are a number of entry points to this 6,500 acre park, but the Nix Nature Center is a good place to start your exploration. The photos accompanying this blog were taken last spring at the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. If you happen to get some fabulous wildflower photos that you’d like to share, the OC Register and the OC Hiking Club Southern California are co-sponsoring a Wildflower Photo Contest. There’s no entry fee. The contest runs through April 20th and photos are to be submitted online. For more information about categories and prizes, see: www.ocregister.com.
Each park has its own trail maps available and there are regular Ranger-led hikes at many parks throughout the county. A good guide to local hikes, Afoot & Afield in Orange County by Jerry Schad, is also available at many area bookstores. My copy has been well-used through the years and it has always led to some great new discoveries of the county’s beautiful and varied landscape. I hope you have a wonderful time experiencing some of Orange County's great wild spaces.
For parks mentioned in this blog:
Upper Newport Bay and Ecological Reserve, Muth Interpretive Center, 2301 University, Newport
Beach (949) 923-2290
Caspers Wilderness Park,
33401 Ortega Hwy., San Juan Capistrano (949) 923-2210
Santiago Oaks Regional Park,
2145 N. Windes Dr., Orange (949) 923-6620
Limestone Canyon and Whiting Ranch,
Portola Parkway & Market Place, Foothill Ranch (949) 923-2245
Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, 28373 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Niguel (949) 923-2200
Laguna Coast Wilderness Park,
18751 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach (949) 923-2235
For locations of other parks, along with upcoming hikes and activities, see www.ocparks.com.
Comment
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Comment by Michael Maxsenti on April 16, 2010 at 2:36pm -
Ah, yes the hills are so beautiful with the flowers and greenery. As you say, it is the best time of the year for hiking.
So many places, so much opportunity...where to begin? Just do it!
:)
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