Читать книгу Afoot & Afield: Orange County. A Comprehensive Hiking Guide онлайн

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Surrounding Crystal Cove State Park, several large parcels of undeveloped land in the San Joaquin Hills, owned for many decades by the Irvine Company, have passed into public ownership. These parcels, now incorporated into units called Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, and Irvine Open Space Preserve, are covered in ssss1, ssss1, and ssss1. This 20,000-acre area, collectively known as the South Coast Wilderness, is one of the treasures of Orange County.

Crystal Cove State Park is open for day use from dawn to dusk. You can park along the beach and enjoy some tidepooling or beach-walking. Or you can drive up to the parking area adjoining the visitor center just east of the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1), and start your exploration of the backcountry sector of the park from there. Mountain biking is both permitted and popular in Crystal Cove’s backcountry section, not only on fire roads and former fire roads, but also on the narrow, singletrack trails. This situation is unusual for state parks, which often reserve the narrow trails for hiking use only.