OUTDOOR CALENDAR

Note: Wilderness parks are closed for 48 hours or more after significant rainfall. Call or visit websites for current conditions.

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LAGUNA COAST WILDERNESS PARK

Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, 20101 Laguna Canyon Road; reservations and information, (949) 923-2235; www.ocparks.com.

Rangers staff the park daily. Open daily, 7 a.m. to sunset, including holidays. Parking lot hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

To learn more about volunteering or helping Laguna Canyon Foundation to preserve, protect and enhance the South Coast Wilderness, visit www.lagunacanyon.org or call (949) 497-8324.

Willow Canyon on Laguna Canyon Road, just south of the El Toro Road intersection. Open to hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers on specified trails; open 7 a.m. to sunset, but parking lot is only open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., $3.

Dilley Preserve on Laguna Canyon Road, just north of the 73 Toll Road: Open daily 7 a.m. to sunset. Parking $3; lot open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Little Sycamore Canyon on Laguna Canyon Road, just south of the 405 Freeway interchange: The James and Rosemary Nix Nature Center hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; parking $3; lot open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Laguna Heights, the trail head for West Ridge trail and routes into Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, at Top of the World on Alta Laguna Boulevard, is open daily, 7 a.m. to sunset.

?Tot Walk: 9 to 10 a.m. today. Bring wee ones to explore our wild backyard on this easy walk with Laguna Canyon Foundation’s Education Director Kimberly Leeds and volunteer naturalists. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Willow Canyon Staging Area. Reservations required, call (949) 923-2235. Parking: $3.

?Keep It Wild Volunteer Day: 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday. Help Laguna Canyon Foundation and Orange County Parks staff with restoration projects. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Little Sycamore Canyon Staging Area/Nix Nature Center. Reservations required, call (949) 923-2235. Parking fee waived.

?Adapt or Die: 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Learn about the adaptations animals and plants of the Coastal Sage Scrub Community have developed to survive. Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalists Penny Lewis and Annie Stoeckmann will lead this moderate, but steep and rocky, 2.5-mile hike. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, James Dilley Preserve. Reservations required, call (949) 923-2235. Parking: $3.

?Reading the Landscape: 9 a.m. to noon Sunday. Learn to “read the land” and discover the mosaic of vegetation types in our diverse coastal canyons with Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalist Len Gardner on this moderate, but steep and rocky, 3.5-mile-hike. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Willow Canyon Staging Area. Reservations required, call (949) 923-2235. Parking: $3.

?Cultural Resource Hike: 8 to 10 a.m. Sunday. Discover how Native Americans used various plants on this rigorous, 2.8-mile hike (400-foot elevation gain) with Orange County Ranger Jacky Velasquez and Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalists. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Little Sycamore Canyon Staging Area/Nix Nature Center. Reservations required, call (949) 923-2235. Program: $2 per person. Parking: $3.

?Fitness Hike: 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday. Raise your heart rate and your spirits on this strenuous and fast-paced, 4.8-mile hike with Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer naturalists. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Little Sycamore Canyon Staging Area/Nix Nature Center. Reservations required, call (949) 923-2235.

Parking: $3.

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CRYSTAL COVE STATE PARK

Crystal Cove State Park, 8471 N. Coast Hwy, has 3.5 miles of beach and 2,000 acres of undeveloped woodland. $10 day-use parking fee.

The park is open 6 a.m. to sunset daily. Docent-led backcountry hikes are scheduled for 9 a.m. most Saturdays and Sundays. Hikes are three to five miles, and last about two hours.

Note: Hikes meet at one of these locations:

?Pelican Point Lot No. 2 “” From Coast Highway, turn coastward at Newport Coast.

For more information, call (949) 497-7647 or e-mail wbonnin@parks.ca.gov.

?Backcountry hikes: 9 a.m. Saturday, “All About Nature;” and Sunday, “Spring Wildflowers.” Meet at El Moro Visitor Center. $10 day-use parking fee.

?Geology tour: 9 a.m. Saturday. Visit several diverse and geologically outstanding sites which all display a story from a different geologic time. Meet at Los Trancos parking lot at the trailer.

$10 day-use fee.

?Earth Day work party and celebration: 9 am. to noon April 25. Many projects include planting native plants, weeding, installing symbolic fencing, painting and cleaning the beach. Meet at the Los Trancos parking lot at the trailer. For more information, e-mail wbonnin@parks.ca.gov