Happy Trails--Until We Eat Again

Make like Columbus and discover a new world of 1492--feet above sea level, that is. Rains have eroded some trails at O’Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon, but not Vista Trail, which offers the best views. (Those feeling patriotic will appreciate the shining sea and purple mountains’ majesty.) Beef up your appetite, then indulge it at Trabuco Oaks Steakhouse--but don’t dress for dinner.

AFTERNOON, 1

A creek inside O’Neill Regional Park parallels Live Oak Canyon Road and a paved road that begins just to the right and behind the park entrance. Follow the road north to its end and park. Don’t worry, the latest mountain lion sighting occurred in February.

Continue north on a trail beneath shady groves that include at least one palm tree. Watch for the Vista Trail sign and head west. Nearby is another sign, just like on highways: “This trail has been adopted by the Saddleback Canyon Riders.”

The trail heads out from under the trees; expect a rivulet crossing after rains. The hills are vibrant with wildflowers. Smells open up, and sounds, which (except for helicopters on a recent outing) are usually those of silence.

And solitude:

“A person!” I exclaimed when an encounter turned out to be human.

“A rare sighting this time of day,” my fellow hiker noted, not breaking stride.

Higher up, the trail is a tad overgrown in spots. (Where are those Saddleback Riders when you need them?) At trail-side are cactus patches in bloom with spectacular deep peach-colored flowers. Continue past a lookout bench, and up.

At the top are picnic tables, a triangular cell-phone antenna structure with a blinking red light, and a metal ridgeline map, a Boy Scout project showing the area’s ridges, creeks and peaks, with a skyline view of Santiago and Modjeska peaks for easy identification.

Not that you could miss them: They’re the big ones, at 5,687 and 5,496 feet, but from this vantage you can actually look down on their lower flanks. The ocean vista includes Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands. Developers who hike have the bonus of regarding their handiwork in several directions.

Return the way you came or, better yet, continue south along the ridgeline and down on Live Oak Trail. Another possibility is a trail marked Raccoon Ridge on the sign and Upper Coyote Canyon on the map. (Hey, what are maps for?) Either way, cut north on the Hoffman Homestead Trail et voila, you’re back at the car. The Live Oak loop is about 3 1/2 miles; allow 90 minutes if you’re boogieing, more if you plan to linger along the way.

Near the park entrance is a nature center and a modest playground for the little ones. The nature center is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends; even if it’s closed you can look in on the stuffed bobcats and mountain lion through the windows. Spring programs (through July 4) include wildflower hikes with the ranger at 9 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays and a “critter talk,” about native animals, Saturdays at 2 p.m.

DINNER, 2

Those on a morning or midday hike can pick up picnic supplies at quirky Trabuco General Store (corner of Trabuco Canyon Road and Trabuco Oaks Drive), where the decor includes a model bomber overhead and a barber’s chair.

For dinner, it’s hard to beat the Trabuco Oaks Steakhouse. Just inside is a bathtub full of plants and a display of barbed wire; farther along is a fascinating collection of ceramic Jim Beam whisky bottles. The restaurant has held fast to a no-tie policy for 30 years, which means there’s no holding fast enough to yours to keep it from joining the 7,500 other ties hanging from the rafters.

Steaks start at $14.50. Specialties include a two-pound cowboy steak ($34 for one or two people) and a “hot cherry gizmo,” a cherry-filled, deep-fried flour tortilla topped with ice cream, hot cherry sauce and whipped cream ($3.50).

You’ll find it listed under “end of the trail.”

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1) O’Neill Regional Park

30892 Trabuco Canyon Road, (949) 858-9365

7 a.m.-sunset daily

2) Trabuco Oaks Steakhouse

20782 Trabuco Oaks Drive, (949) 586-0722

5-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 5-9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday

Parking: At O’Neill Regional Park, day-use permits are $2 per vehicle per entry Monday-Friday, $4 per vehicle per entry Saturday-Sunday. There is free parking in a lot at Trabuco Oaks Steakhouse.

Buses: There is no OCTA bus service to Trabuco Canyon. (Bus No. 54 stops at Santa Margarita Parkway and Avenida de los Fundadores in Rancho Santa Margarita, which abuts O’Neill Regional Park but is not near the entrance.)