Haven for Hikers : South County Park Puts the Beauties of Nature on Display Amid Suburbs

It was Fila Barnett’s first hike in weeks and the lush, green coastal hills that surrounded her were a welcome summer sight for the Laguna Beach artist.

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“Isn’t this beautiful?” Barnett gushed, reaching a rise in Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park. “I enjoy walking, but hiking out here is one of the many things I do to refresh myself.” Barnett was in a group of 15 hikers this day who challenged one of Orange County’s most obscure open spaces, a 6-mile loop into the nearly 3,800-acre park.

For Barnett, this hike is a spiritual pastime. It is a special rite of summer, when the warm weather especially invites Orange County residents to pursue a wealth of recreational activities on land, on water and even in the air.

While the Aliso and Wood Canyons park isn’t well known, it is hardly remote or inconspicuous: Residential development encircles it.

Yet as devoted hikers know, within minutes they can find themselves deep in a canyon with tall grass and wildlife, with no homes in view. And record rainfall earlier this year makes hiking here an even more spectacular excursion into rich colors and dense foliage.

Barnett is not alone in her enthusiasm.

“It’s hard to believe that amidst all the development in Orange County there is such a place,” said county ranger Ron Slimm. “Otherwise we would have to travel to the Cleveland National Forest. There are very few undeveloped areas anymore in Orange County.”

As a cool coastal fog lingered, hikers enjoyed a visual feast of wild birds, tall mustard plants that dwarfed them, and a dazzling array of flowers in bloom.

“This is wonderful,” said Mary Herring, a registered nurse from Dana Point. “It was incredible to see all the flowering plants here blooming at the same time.”

“We’ve had twice the normal rain this year and the green hillsides really show it,” said Tom Maloney, a county ranger who accompanied the group.

The hike led along the park’s western border. With its vast acreage, the park stretches from South Laguna on the south to Aliso Viejo on the north, and borders Laguna Niguel on the east.

After parking their cars at Alta Laguna Park in Laguna Beach, hikers had to share the first half-mile of the trail with mountain bikers and local residents out walking their dogs. After that they were surrounded by wild land where the only sounds were their feet plodding the dirt and birds noisily at play.

Maloney kept a brisk pace, but that proved to be too slow for Barnett, her good friend Monique Crowley and other hikers in the group, who forged ahead.

“Usually, some of these hikers are more interested in hiking fast. They don’t like stopping,” Maloney said. “But after we go up a few hills, some of the tired ones will start hanging back and asking me a few questions.”

Sure enough, after several hilly sections, some hikers lagged and sought out Maloney, who was bringing up the rear, and peppered the friendly ranger with questions.

Where was the nearest road? What kind of bird is that? Are there any snakes?

As the group hiked near a rushing creek, its banks dotted with large oaks, Maloney said: “This is kind of a glance back in Orange County history. This is really how things were for the most part and how California and Orange County looked when there was an agrarian society.”

Along the trail, hikers came across old coastal live oaks, huge California sycamores, and an battered horse corral that was part of the Moulton Ranch, owned by Lewis F. Moulton, a sheep rancher in the 1890s whose spread included what is now Laguna Niguel.

Although Aliso and Wood Canyons is an odd name for a park, it is apt, Maloney said, reflecting the confluence of those two canyons inside the huge park.

Near Moulton Peak, the hikers crested Poop Out Hill, a steep, half-mile climb, and heard the distant, loud growl of progress as earthmovers graded for a development in the next canyon.

The construction sights and sounds left some hikers awe-stricken, especially Barnett’s friend.

“It’s surprising to find [construction equipment] out here,” Crowley said. “I’m glad I live in Laguna Beach.”

Crowley, a spiritualist, said she loves to walk in the woods and find plants useful in cooking, such as rosemary, and also plants she incorporates in ceremonies.

“This hike has really been surprising. Oh look, beautiful sage. Smell it,” Crowley said, breaking off a small green leaf and sniffing its strong, aromatic scent. “Isn’t it nice? It helps clear the space in rituals and is used in much the same ways as the Catholic church burns incense.”

As for Barnett, she is an abstract expressionist who enjoyed the trail’s sights because of exercise and myriad blossoms exploding with color.

“The colors out here were great,” Barnett said.

It was a chance for the two hikers to reconnect with nature, they said.

As Barnett and Crowley viewed an unusual rock outcropping in the distance, Crowley said, “I wouldn’t mind coming back one day and doing a meditation there.”

John Wilkie, 25, of Placentia, had his mind more on his career than the outdoors.

He recently was accepted to begin training at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Academy in Whittier, and the outing was his last chance for a while to enjoy pristine countryside.

“I just wanted to get out and see what it’s like,” Wilkie said. “It’s really pretty.”

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Conspicuous but Comfortable

Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park combines two favorable characteristics: It’s close and it’s deep. Despite being surrounded by development, hikers can soon disappear into its canyons and cool, wooded paths. Heavy rainfall this year has made it particularly spectacular.

* Size: Nearly 3,800 acres * Geographic features: Scenic canyons, rock formations, oak woodlands, freshwater marsh and creek-side riparian communities * Live attractions: Wide variety of native wildlife and plants, including some 91 bird species * Hours: 7 a.m. to sunset, daily * Entry: Free * Information: (714) 831-2791 Source: Orange County Environmental Management Agency