Take a Walk on the Wild Side

A gateway to some of Orange County’s most stunning natural resources opens at Limestone-Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park today, thanks to the first major parkland purchase by the county since its catastrophic 1994 bankruptcy.

The 120-acre addition to the park will provide easy access to some breathtaking sights, including Red Rock Canyon, the towering ridge of burnt orange and rust sandstone cliffs.

“It will allow people a better way to get to some of the most unique and beautiful areas of the county,” said Tim Miller, parks manager for the county, which paid $2.4 million for the land in December.

“This is also a very important wildlife corridor,” he said. “We wanted to protect it from future development.”

Until last year, the 1994 collapse of the county investment pool and subsequent bankruptcy forced the county to freeze spending on major park acquisitions and improvements, among other fiscal repercussions.

At 1,700 acres with the new addition, Limestone-Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park is one of the jewels in the 30,000-acre county park system.

The park’s steep, hilly grades make it a magnet for mountain bikers, and equestrians and hikers enjoy a diverse, lush terrain covered with live oak and sycamore trees.

“From an ecologist’s point of view, it’s a wonderful habitat filled with wildlife like bobcat, turkey vultures and deer,” said Richard Gilbreath, owner of Canyon Cyclery in Foothill Ranch. “It’s a great place to get away from urban life, but I’m still amazed by how many people still don’t know about it.”

With the addition, park users, who number about 62,000 a year, can reach all the major trails in the wilderness area from one location for the first time.

The 120-acre site is such a natural entry point into the wilderness area that many bikers and equestrians trespassed through the formerly private property owned by Hon Development.

“Until now, they’ve been entering the park illegally,” Miller said.

The acquisition includes a street frontage along Santiago Canyon Road, an attractive location for residential building.

“I couldn’t imagine this beautiful area all graded and covered with homes,” Miller said. “We also bought this land to preserve it from development.”

Before it opened to the public in 1991, the Limestone-Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park was one of the county’s best kept secrets.

Known as the “Grand Canyon of Orange County” by naturalists, the park was used only by a hefty population of wildlife and a handful of equestrians and mountain bikers who would sneak in.

Besides Red Rock Canyon, visitors are drawn to Limestone-Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park by its unusual variety of natural features.

Within minutes on horseback or bike “you can go from the bottom of a wooded canyon, cross a stream and then climb to the top of a ridge where you can see the ocean,” Miller said.

Park visitor Matt Rayl said he enjoys being able to enjoy the wilderness less than 20 miles from the county seat in Santa Ana.

“It’s hard to explain to people the mystical, spiritual value in this park,” said Rayl, who owns the nearby Serrano Creek Equestrian Stables. “I guess it’s something you experience for yourself.”

Because a Santiago Canyon Road parking lot near the park addition won’t be open for about six months, people who want to attend the 10 a.m. ceremony today will need to hike about two miles to the Four Corners rest area.

Parking is available at the current park entrances and signs will point the way to the ceremonies. Information: (714) 834-6666.