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

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trip 4.2 Laurel Canyon Loop

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Distance 3.5 miles (loop)

Hiking Time 2 hours

Elevation Gain 700’

Difficulty Moderate

Trail Use Good for kids

Best Times All year

Agency OC Parks: LCWP

Permit OC Parks parking fee required

DIRECTIONS Park at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park’s Willow Canyon staging area on the west side of Laguna Canyon Road, 3 miles north of Laguna Beach. This point is 5 miles south of the 405 Freeway, 0.7 mile south of the 73 Toll Road, and 0.2 mile south of the intersection of El Toro and Laguna Canyon Roads.

The best single hike within the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park is surely the secluded Laurel Canyon loop. Though it lies close to the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor tollway, that roadway and much of its associated urban development is hidden from both sight and sound along most of the route.

Volunteers frequently staff a booth at the Willow Canyon staging area, offering tips about the logistics of hiking in the park as well as the area’s natural history. Follow the fire road beyond—Willow Canyon Road, which gains nearly 600 feet of elevation in the next 1.5 miles. Springtime wildflowers bloom in profusion along this stretch, which cuts along east- and north-facing slopes smothered in thick chaparral.