Sharing Precious Domain : Rustic Riley Wilderness Park Will Open to Public

“I don’t think I’ll get cabin fever here,” county ranger Ginny McVickar said as she watched a red-tailed hawk circling over the rolling hills and oak-filled canyons of Gen. Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park.

It was a cold, clear afternoon and McVickar was admiring the panoramic view from Skink Vista Point--one of two lookout spots in this minimally developed recreational area that will open to the public Dec. 10.

Saddleback Mountain dominates the view to the north, and to the east one can see the Cleveland National Forest and portions of Riverside County. San Juan Capistrano lies to the south, and the rugged ridge above Oak Canyon is to the west.

“This is heaven for me,” said McVickar, who has been a county ranger for four years and previously worked as a wilderness guide in New Mexico. “I used to do this for fun. Now I have a job doing it.”

The sign at the entrance had to be altered when the 475-acre Wagon Wheel Canyon Regional Park was renamed in honor of the retiring county supervisor.

Other than that change, there aren’t many improvements at this park, which is intentional. Trails have been cut for hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers, and there will be some nature exhibits, corrals, portable toilets and a few picnic tables.

“And that’s about it,” McVickar said, explaining that the park’s mission is to protect the natural environment while providing educational opportunities and low-impact forms of recreation.

Among the plants growing in the park are stately oak trees up to 200 years old, sycamores, coastal sage, prickly pear cacti and a profusion of wildflowers in the springtime. Animals include mule deer, gray foxes, coyotes, birds of prey, bobcats and an occasional mountain lion.

“I’ve seen tracks, but not the lions,” McVickar said. “But they’re here.”

The park is also home to endangered California gnatcatchers--which sound like kittens--and cactus wrens, she said.

“For being a little spot, it’s full of all kinds of things,” she said. “There’s a family of native deer that I see every single day. They used to run away, now they just stop and look at me.”

Riley Park is east of Mission Viejo and next to the residential community being developed by Coto de Caza Corp. The parkland, which had historically been used for cattle grazing, was donated to Orange County by Coto de Caza Corp. in 1983.

To give visitors a sense of the park’s agricultural heritage, McVickar is bringing in an antique buckboard--a horse-drawn wagon--for permanent display. She is also looking for some “really old, old photos” from that period.

“It will kind of bring it alive for people,” she said, “so they can imagine what it was like back then.”

McVickar plans to offer free guided tours every Saturday morning, and will conduct specialized tours for a small charge. There will not be an entrance fee at the park, which will be open from 7 a.m. to sunset, seven days a week.

As for the celebration Dec. 10, McVickar has scheduled a ribbon-cutting ceremony, hay rides, tours, environmental exhibits, food and refreshments from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“It’s been a real great experience for me to open this park,” she said. “How many people get a chance to do that?”

Riley Park is at the east end of Oso Parkway off Interstate 5. Additional information is available from the County Environmental Management Agency at (714) 728-0235 or (714) 728-3420.

Wildnerness Park

The Gen. Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park opens Dec. 10. Profile:

* Original name: Wagon Wheel Canyon Regional Park

* Acres: 475

* Owner: In 1983, the canyon was dedicated to the county by landowner Coto de Caza Corp.

* Trails: Hiking, equestrian, mountain bike

* Amenities: Picnic tables, portable toilets, some paved roads, trail signs, parking

* Hours: 7 a.m. to sunset, daily

* Flora: Native western sycamore trees, coastal live oak, California buckwheat, prickly pear cactus, black sage, monkey flower

* Fauna: Woodpeckers, raccoons, gray fox, mule deer, bobcats, coyotes, hawks and owls

Source: County of Orange