Afoot and Afield: Orange County. Jerry Schad

      Preface

      Hidden within or just beyond Orange County’s urban sprawl lies more opportunity for the appreciation of the natural world than most county residents imagine. Barely a few hundred yards from busy highways and shimmering glass high-rises, shorebirds haunt protected estuaries and marshes. Along the southern coast, ocean swells roll in and spend themselves against lonely sands and jagged cliffs. Over the foothill country, hawks and eagles cruise in search of a furry meal. And deep within the corrugated fastness of the Santa Ana Mountains, mountain lions, deer, and coyotes roam cool, dark canyon bottoms and sun-warmed, chaparral-covered slopes.

      Surrounding Orange County’s densely populated coastal plain are parks, preserves, designated open spaces, and public lands totaling approximately 200,000 acres. Within this domain, intriguing pathways introduce explorers to natural landscapes ranging from the intertidal zone to oak and coniferous woodlands. Orange County boasts, either within or abutting its rather compact borders, 8 state parks and beaches, 19 regional (county) parks and wilderness areas, more than 130,000 acres of national forest, and more than 500 miles of trails and roads for hiking.

      Our goal in writing this guide was to bring into sharp focus virtually every walk worth taking on still-wild public lands conveniently accessible to the average Orange Countian. The hikes range in difficulty from short strolls through selected urban parks and preserves to canyon treks in the Santa Ana Mountains that challenge any adventurer.

      Because of Orange County’s rather small area (782 square miles) but larger sphere of influence, a number of hikes in this book lie either partly or wholly outside the county boundaries. These are found in the following areas: Chino Hills State Park, extending into San Bernardino and Riverside Counties; Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve, in southwestern Riverside County; San Onofre State Beach, in northern San Diego County; and the entire Trabuco Ranger District of Cleveland National Forest, spilling into Riverside and San Diego Counties. (Two other units of the Cleveland Forest, the Palomar and Descanso Districts, extend farther east and south across Riverside and San Diego Counties. Those units, along with other public lands in San Diego County, are covered in Afoot & Afield San Diego County. For those interested in hikes in other parts of Southern California, the Afoot & Afield series also encompasses Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire.)

      I (David) recently hiked every trip in this book. The fourth-edition fieldwork involved more than 850 miles of hiking and 10,000 miles of driving, spread across more than 100 days. For this edition, I eliminated three hikes: Laurel Spring is less interesting after the Santiago Fire, the access gate for Cold Spring Canyon is closed, and the Oak Trail Loop is less compelling than the partially overlapping Bell Canyon hike. In return, I added 40 hikes, most notably trips in Irvine Ranch, Aliso Canyon, the Santa Ana Mountains, and Chino Hills, as well as three regional trails from the foothills to the ocean.

      Roads and trails can and do change. Publicly accessible open-space acreage is increasing, and new trails are being constructed and opened for public use. In the national forest, the greater demand for recreational use is leading to new regulations and new use patterns. I will continue to insert fresh updates in future printings of this edition, and a fifth edition will undoubtedly appear in the future. You can keep me apprised of recent developments and/or changes by writing to me in care of Wilderness Press at [email protected]. I will appreciate your comments.

      Introducing Orange County

      From the look-alike cities in the north to the newer, planned communities of the south, Orange County seems little distinguished from its colossal neighbor and economic parent, Los Angeles. But a deeper identity, rooted in geography, transcends the urban sprawl. Orange Countians are reminded of their uniqueness not so much by the human architecture of city and suburb, but rather by the blue Pacific, the green and tawny coastal hills, and the purple wall of the Santa Ana Mountains.

      Out on the coastline and up along the foothills and mountains, you may discover for yourself Orange County’s place in the natural world. An hour or less of driving and less than two hours’ walk will take you from the frenetic city to any of several interesting natural environments, ranging from tidepools to fern-bedecked canyon streams to mountain peaks affording views stretching a hundred miles. You’ll discover fascinating rock formations, rich and varied plant life, a healthy population of native animals, and a sense of peace and tranquility.

      In the next few pages, you’ll learn briefly about the “other” Orange County: its climate, geology, flora, and fauna. Following that, you’ll find some notes about safety and courtesy on the trail and some tips on how to get the most out of this book. After perusing that material, you can dig into the heart of this book—descriptions of 124 hiking routes from the coast to the Santa Ana Mountains. Happy reading and happy hiking!

Land of Gentle Climate

      A succinct summary of Orange County’s climate might take the form of just two phrases: “warm and sunny” and “winter-wet, summer-dry.” But some variation in climate exists across the county’s width from coast to mountain crests. Without resorting to technical classification schemes, let’s divide the county into two climate zones: The coastal zone, extending inland 10–15 miles across the coastal plain and low coastal foothills, is largely under the moderating influence of the Pacific Ocean. This climate is characterized by mild temperatures that are relatively stable, both daily and seasonally. Average temperatures range from the 60s to 40s (daily highs and lows in Fahrenheit) in winter to the 70s to 60s in summer. Rainfall averages about 15 inches annually. Overall this climate closely matches

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