Come out and join us on a breathtaking hike from the Irvine Open Space Preserve into OC Parks’ Limestone Canyon Nature Preserve. This week’s docent-led hike begins in the Agua Chinon wash, continues to The Sinks, and may include a side trip to Box Springs, a natural year-round source of fresh water.

Maximum distance is just short of 8 miles, with some sustained climbing in one section. Participants must wear sturdy, closed-toe hiking shoes. Remember to pack plenty of water, sunscreen, a hat, and all other necessary equipment to keep you safe on the trail. This activity originates in the City of Irvine and travels into OC Parks’ Irvine Ranch Open Space.

Please be aware this is a Fitness Hike and not for beginners; the pace is approximately a 19-minute mile. Join Laguna Canyon Foundation Volunteers to raise your heart rate and your spirits on this strenuous, fast-paced, 7.2-mile hike over steep and uneven terrain with a 1,050-ft. elevation gain.

Age: 16 or older. Participants under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Location: Nix Nature Center, Laguna Coast Wilderness Park (18751 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach 92651, East side of Laguna Canyon Rd/SR-133).

Parking: $3/car at Nix Nature Center parking lot. Parking is limited, carpooling is encouraged.

Difficulty Rating: 4/5

Materials: Participants must bring plenty of water, closed-toed hiking shoes, and sun protection. Hiking poles are recommended.

Safety precautions and protocols:

Advanced registration required. Every individual, including children, must be registered. Register here.
Group sizes are minimized for safety purposes. For group registrations or questions please email volunteer@lagunacanyon.org
Participants must individually sign a waiver at the beginning of the program. For participants under 18, a parent or guardian must sign the waiver.
To protect all employees, volunteers, and participants, please do not attend if you are not feeling well, have symptoms of illness or have been in contact with someone who was ill.
Contact volunteer@lagunacanyon.org with any questions.

Weather, including high temperatures and wet or muddy trail conditions, may lead to cancellation of this event.

Spend the morning helping the High School Youth Action Team water newly planted oaks within a beautiful oak woodland, and then hike to Dripping Springs, a natural water source dripping out of an earthquake fault and down a gorgeous fern-covered rock face. Your work on the trail will benefit the rare plants and animals that this unique feature supports!

Join OC Park naturalists for story time and short hike with your little ones (ages 3-6) as we explore the wonderful world of cacti! We will be discovering what makes cactus such a unique plant!

Age: 3-6 year-olds. Participants under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.  

Location: Nix Nature Center, Laguna Coast Wilderness Park (18751 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach 92651, West side of Laguna Canyon Rd/SR-133).

Parking: $3/car at Nix Nature Center parking lot. Parking is limited, carpooling is encouraged. 

Difficulty Rating: 1/5  

Materials: Participants must bring plenty of water, closed-toed shoes, and sun protection.  

Safety precautions and protocols: 

Advanced registration required. Every individual, including children, must be registered. Register here.
Group sizes are minimized for safety purposes. For group registrations or questions please email volunteer@lagunacanyon.org 
Participants must individually sign a waiver at the beginning of the program. For participants under 18, a parent or guardian must sign the waiver. 
To protect all employees, volunteers, and participants, please do not attend if you are not feeling well, have symptoms of illness or have been in contact with someone who was ill. 
Contact volunteer@lagunacanyon.org or shelbi.richardson@ocparks.com with any questions. 

Weather, including high temperatures and wet or muddy trail conditions, may lead to cancellation of this event. 

Join us as we explore the native seed farm while learning about plants, pollination, and pollinators. We’ll focus on the native plants grown at the farm as we talk about, and identify, the pollinators we find on them. Closed-toe shoes and water are required for the walk. Hats and sunscreen highly recommended.

Come explore Baker Canyon in OCParks’ Irvine Ranch Open Space. This scenic equestrian ride involves steep climbs and descents on both double and singletrack trails and around 1000’ of accumulated elevation. We will travel through multiple landscapes of coastal sage and chaparral and rewards you with sweeping views of the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks as well as the Santa Ana Mountains. On clear days you can see Catalina Island and even beyond Orange County into the Los Angeles Basin. This is a shorter ride views make it well worth it.

IRC Volunteer support is needed to assist in a fun field trip for about 30-40 students from Delhi Center (ages 5 – 13) to explore the Augustine Staging Area and Limestone Canyon. An educational walk, nature journaling, watering of staging area and nursery, as well as other fun activities will round out the outdoor experience for these kids. Bus will arrive about 10:00 a.m., lunch 12:15 – 12:45 p.m., departure by 1:00 p.m.

Support is needed to help work gates, assist as a sweep, and aid in group management.

Contract Yezly at YFontalvo@irconservancy.org for more details.

Enjoy an evening hike through stunning rock formations and fragrant native plants as you listen to the sounds of nature. During this hike in the Irvine Open Space Preserve, you may travel at various hiking speeds based on your comfort level.  This out-and-back program travels 3.5 miles round trip up to scenic Loma Ridge and back down. Please bring a red-tinted flashlight as the return portion of the hike may be after sunset.

Looking for a way to give back to Nature this Spring? Come help us behind the scenes at the Irvine Ranch Conservancy’s one-of-a-kind Native Seed Farm in Irvine! Every day at the farm is different; depending on the needs of the farm we will be harvesting seeds from beautiful native plants, planting new seeds in the annual plots, working in our native plant demo garden, or tending to younger seedlings in our nursery.

Working with us at the Native Seed Farm is a great way to grow your community and cultivate knowledge about local plant and wildlife! Absolutely no experience or special equipment required! 

At the Native Seed Farm, it is crucial to collect a variety of genetic material from different individuals within a plant species, so that an array of characteristics (flowering/seed times, size, tolerance to sun, and many more factors) are represented when incorporating it into IRC’s restoration projects. Although the Irvine Ranch Open Spaces are well loved and used by the community, they are some of the most under-documented open space areas in Orange County. For future seed collection efforts, it is crucial to document location data for populations so that we determine accurate identifications for hard-to-determine species, have current location data, and know the best time for collection. When seed collection season starts in the summer, it can be difficult to know exactly where some populations are due to many perennial plants going dormant or annual plants dying out. 

To assist with providing new genetic material, Plant Materials staff are asking for volunteers passionate about native plant identification to help record populations in under-documented areas within the the Irvine Ranch Open Space. No prior plant documentation or identification is required, but a smart phone or camera with GPS capability is heavily encouraged. All observations will be uploaded into IRC’s group Calflora account to help staff with assessing collection areas for the seed collecting season. 

Join us on a five mile out and back moderate fitness hike (averaging about 3 mph) before experiencing yoga outdoors at the Community Center. The hike is highlighted with a short but steep climb which provides great views of the Quail Hill neighborhood and beyond. The yoga is suitable for those with little or no experience, focused on hips, legs and core. Our focus on breath calms the nervous system and has positive effects on mental, emotional and physical health. If you have never done a yoga hike before you will be surprised how connected you feel to nature. Please bring water, your own yoga mat plus a large beach towel, and wear shoes appropriate for hiking on trails.

Join us for a slow-paced interpretive hike related to current IRC projects focused on research, monitoring, and conservation.  The series will rotate through the landscape based on the season and projects.

For this series, we will spend the spring morning hiking along beautiful Limestone Canyon where we will focus on the butterflies in Limestone Canyon, and the newly created butterfly habitat plots.  These plots were seeded and planted with a variety of both host and nectar plants to aid the documented, declining population of butterflies in the canyon. We will hike through Limestone canyon plot by plot, and up to Dripping Springs, a natural water source dripping out of an earthquake fault and down a gorgeous fern-covered rock face.

Spending time outside is one of the best ways to nurture curiosity and instill a love of the natural world. Bring your young ones and join OC Parks staff to learn all about the Newport Back Bay.

Our Wild Tales program is offered every Friday from 10:00-11:00am and includes a story time, an age-appropriate hike, and a themed craft. Each week will focus on a different topic that encourages young ones to learn about the outdoors.

The program begins at the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center. Program content is tailored for the preschool level (ages 2-5), but all are welcome to attend. Minors under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult guardian. Please wear comfortable attire and closed-toe shoes.

Advance registration is REQUIRED. In an effort to keep our program size manageable and engaging for participants, this program no longer accepts walk ups. Program and parking are free.

Adverse weather conditions may move the program indoors or cancel it.

*This program takes place at the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve, 2301 University Dr, Newport Beach, CA 92660*

The OC Parks Jr. Ranger Program encourages park guests to find their own paths within OC Parks by developing a sense of belonging, becoming a part of nature and feeling empowered to be stewards of Orange County’s natural and cultural resources.

Participants will explore the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve, complete activities and take the OC Parks Jr. Ranger Oath to earn a unique Jr. Ranger badge.

This program is designed for ages 7 to 12, but all are welcome.

Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian during the program. Sunscreen, sturdy footwear and water are recommended.

The program and parking are free. Inclement weather will cancel the program.

Advance registration is required.

Experience the serenity of Bommer Canyon during this moderate-paced hike in the Irvine Open Space Preserve. We’ll experience mature coastal sage scrub and fantastic views overlooking the city of Irvine and the hillsides to the north. This hike is just over 3 miles and includes 700 feet of total climbing elevation with several very steep inclines. The steepest section ascends 300 feet in a quarter-mile. Participants must be in good physical condition and should be able to hike steep hills.

Do you want to explore the Sinks, a geological rock formation that has got its reputation as “Orange County’s miniature Grand Canyon”? Come out and join us on a hike from the Portola staging area to the West Sinks in OC Parks’ Limestone Canyon. Distance is about 6 miles, with some sustained climbing in one section. Participants must wear sturdy, closed-toe hiking shoes. Remember to pack plenty of water, sunscreen, a hat, and all other necessary equipment to keep you safe on the trail. This activity originates in the City of Irvine (Portola Staging Area) and travels into OC Parks’ Irvine Ranch Open Space.

Join us on this moderate-paced hike over the ridge and the through beautiful Limestone Canyon Nature Preserve, part of OC Parks’ Irvine Ranch Open Space. We will enjoy short breaks at the East and West Sinks viewing platforms before hiking back through the canyon. We will enjoy a view of wonderful vistas in addition to spectacular view of The Sinks. This hike involves hiking on both double and single-track trails with an elevation gain of 1000.

Lend a helping hand to improve native habitat at Peters Canyon Regional Park. Dedicate the morning to caring for restoration sites and help our native plants and shrubs thrive. Be prepared for weeding, watering, or planting as needed.

Strong gardening gloves, trail snacks, water, sun protection and wearing clothes you don’t mind getting dirty are highly recommended.

Program and parking are free. Parking passes will be made available to volunteers at check-in. The program will begin in the parking lot and will proceed to the restoration site. Be prepared to hike a moderate distance with tools.

Advance registration required.

For questions, please contact resource specialist Shelly Marshall at (714) 973-6625 or shelly.marshall@ocparks.com.

Access is first come first served until parking capacity is reached. No registration required.

Equestrians, while space is not guaranteed we encourage you to please email irvineranchopenspace@ocparks.com to coordinate parking.

Come explore 6 miles of new trails at Gypsum Canyon Wilderness through this self-guided opportunity.

Located within OC Parks’ Irvine Ranch Open Space, Gypsum Canyon Wilderness features seven new trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. Two lookout points offer sweeping views of the surrounding canyons and unique prehistoric rock formations. Multiple loop options that vary in distance and range from easy to moderate in difficulty are available for self-guided exploration.

Gypsum Canyon Wilderness is comprised of protected and preserved native habitats that a variety of wildlife, including mule deer, red-tailed hawks, California gnatcatchers and bobcats, call home.

Rain or inclement weather will cancel the program.

Gypsum Canyon Wilderness is located at 390 South Gypsum Canyon Road, Anaheim, CA 92887.

Please review our Trail Tips page and FAQ page to prepare for your experience in the wilderness area.

Come search for evidence that animals leave behind in OC Parks’ Irvine Ranch Open Space. Mule deer, bobcats, coyotes and even mountain lions call this hidden canyon home. Gain the basic tracking techniques as we search for evidence such as tracks, fur, bones, homes, and even scat. You never know what you may find! Please wear comfortable clothes and shoes that you do not mind getting a little dusty. This program is focused on older children and adults.