GREAT ESCAPES FAR FROM THE MADDENING CROWD : LAGUNA NIGUEL : Seaview Park Offers Panorama

Those in search of an eagle’s eye view of South County can find it at one of the area’s newer recreation spots in the coastal foothills.

Towering about 1,000 feet above the rolling hills and gullies carved by the Aliso Creek, Seaview Park offers a sweeping panorama of the Saddleback Valley and mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the north, west and south.

It also offers an ideal view of a huge swath of open space set aside by county supervisors for the future Aliso/Wood Canyon Regional Park.

Eventually, a hiking trail in the regional park, extending east from the Aliso Creek Golf Course, will link with the ridge-top pathways in Seaview Park, said Ann Cristoph, who worked for six years on a trail system outlined in the South Laguna Specific Plan.

The main dirt trail in Seaview Park begins at a monument installed by the Hon Development Co., which will officially deed the park to county officials in January, said Bob Hamilton, manager of program planning for the county Harbors, Beaches and Parks division.

The monument plaque describes dozens of native plants inhabiting the untouched slopes that are just steps away from thousands of tract homes surrounding Seaview Park and the adjacent greenbelt.

“It is good that the park was preserved and that it gives people the information about why it was preserved,” Cristoph said. “The people that move into the houses don’t often understand that.”

While serving on the South Laguna Specific Plan Board of Review since 1983, Cristoph, a landscape architect, helped choose the plants to identify with smaller signs along the trail that list both botanical and common names.

A 10-minute walk along a portion of the trail peppered with picnic tables ends at a scenic overlook. However, the foot trail continues beyond the guardrails and across the coastal ridgelines, until it ends near Coast Highway just north of Crown Valley Parkway, Hamilton said.

Rare species of plants visible along the trail include the Laguna Beach live-forever and Orange County Turkish rugging. Other plants include spice bush, milkmaids, summer holly, lemonade berry, sagebrush, Jesuit flower and mountain mahogany.

The park can be reached by taking Crown Valley Parkway to Pacific Island Drive and turning onto Talavera Street. Curbside parking is available along Talavera at the park entrance.