El Dorado Nature Center a Mid-Metropolis Oasis

Southern Californians have long lamented the destruction of the natural world caused by freeway construction, but in one community, freeway building resulted in the formation of a unique nature center.

In the mid-1960s, during construction of the San Gabriel River/San Diego freeway interchange, earthmovers were moving millions of cubic yards of earth. Thanks to concerned citizens and conservationists, some of that earth was moved to form 800-acre El Dorado Regional Park and 80-acre El Dorado Nature Center. The park is everything a big park should be, with wide lawns, ball fields and picnic areas. The nature center is a surprise--an oasis in the midst of the metropolis.

Surely this land has undergone a strange evolution: from San Gabriel River flood plain to bean fields to freeway interchange to nature preserve. Only in Southern California.

Next to the city’s beach, El Dorado Nature Center is Long Beach’s biggest natural attraction. Established in 1969, this man-made wildlife sanctuary includes two lakes and a stream, tree-lined meadows and low rolling hills. It’s a serene habitat for flora and fauna as well as a tranquil retreat for humans.

Several ecological zones are represented in the nature preserve, which for the most part emphasizes native California flora. Walkers can tour oak woodland, grassy meadow and chaparral communities, which are representative of Southern California plant communities, and can meander among redwoods and a white alder grove--vegetation typical of the northern part of the state.

El Dorado Nature Center’s small museum, perched on an island, is a good place to learn about Southern California’s plant life and wildlife. This satellite museum of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County features a “hands-on” ecology exhibit and a gallery that displays the work of nature artists and photographers.

Kids will particularly enjoy a visit to the nature center. The museum’s exhibits, interpretive walks and even the pint-sized drinking fountains were designed with the smaller nature lover in mind.

Two miles of easy trail circle El Dorado. A one-mile nature trail is keyed to an interpretive pamphlet available from the museum. Another mile of trail loops around the preserve’s two ponds.

Bird-watchers flock to the preserve because more than 150 resident and migratory bird species have been sighted. A bird checklist is available at the museum.

Directions to the trailhead: From Interstate 405 (San Diego Freeway), exit on Studebaker Road and travel north about 2 1/2 miles to Spring Street. Take a right on Spring Street and proceed three-quarters of a mile to the entrance of El Dorado Park Nature Center. You can park in the lot by the nature center museum for $2 weekdays, $3 weekends, or park for free along Spring Street.

Trails are open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. The museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about El Dorado Nature Center and its many interpretive programs, call (213) 421-9431, Ext. 3415.

The hike: Pick up a nature trail interpretive pamphlet from the museum, then head out across the bridge into the reserve. Enjoy the native plant communities, including a cattail-lined creek and a chaparral-cloaked hillside. And keep an eye out for two non-natives that have been part of the Southland scene for more than a century and seem like natives--the large, plume-like pampas grass from South America and the ubiquitous eucalyptus. Be sure to get the “big picture” from the observation tower, the preserve’s highest point.

When you reach a trail junction, you can proceed straight ahead on the “One Mile” nature trail or bear right for a 2-mile hike. The second mile of trail meanders past the park’s ponds before returning to the nature center building.

El Dorado Nature Center

2-mile loop through

El Dorado Nature Center