LAGUNA COAST WILDERNESS PARK Laguna Coast Wilderness...

LAGUNA COAST WILDERNESS PARK

Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, 20101 Laguna Canyon Road;

reservations and information, (949) 923-2235; o7www.ocparks.comf7.

Open weekends, 7 a.m. to sunset. Parking lot hours: 8 a.m. to 4

p.m.

Willow Canyon on Laguna Canyon Road, just south of the El Toro

Road intersection. Open to hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers on

specified trails; parking, $3.

* Tours led by Laguna Greenbelt Inc. at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 8

and 15. Laurel Loop hike, 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct.22.

* Wilderness Restoration project. Saturday, Oct. 15, and every

third Saturday of the month, 8 to 11 a.m. Volunteers receive free

T-shirt.

* Wilderness Access volunteer training. Sunday, Oct. 16, 9 to 11

a.m.

Dilley Preserve on Laguna Canyon Road is closed for at least six

months due to road construction.

Laguna Heights, the trailhead for West Ridge trail and routes into

Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, at Top of the World on Alta

Laguna Blvd., is open daily, 7 a.m. to sunset.

* Thursday, Oct. 20, 8 a.m., third Thursday mountain bike ride

with Nature Conservancy guide.

* Sunday, Oct. 23, 8 a.m., three-mile, three-hour hike in Laurel

Canyon with Nature Conservancy guide.

The Nature Conservancy leads a full schedule of hikes, mountain

bike tours and equestrian rides within Laguna Coast Wilderness Park

and the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve.

Information and reservations: (714) 832-7478 or e-mail

o7irvineranch@tnc.orgf7.

ALISO AND WOOD CANYONS

Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, 28373 Alicia Parkway, Laguna

Niguel; (949) 923-2200; o7www.ocparks.comf7: Open daily all year, 7

a.m. to sunset, for hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians; parking,

$3.

Orange County rangers and a groundskeeper staff the park daily;

free 30-minute ranger-led Discovery Hike offered each second and

fourth Saturday at noon. Orange County Natural History Museum, (949)

831-3287. Located at the park entrance; call before visiting to

confirm museum is open.

CRYSTAL COVE STATE PARK

Crystal Cove State Park, 8471 Pacific Coast Highway, Laguna Beach,

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 most Saturdays and Sundays at 9 a.m. Hikes

are three to five miles and last about two hours. All hikes meet at

the El Moro Visitor Center. For more information, call (949)

497-7647.

October events

* Sunday, Oct. 16, 3 p.m., Tide pool walk at low tide. A volunteer

will help search for animals found in the lowest zones, including sea

stars, octopuses, sea hares, and fish. Meet at Pelican Point parking

lot No. 2, at the top of the boardwalk (from Coast Highway, turn

coastward at Newport Coast stoplight, right at the kiosk and left

into the first lot.) $10 day-use parking fee.

o7For more Outdoor Calendar, visit www.coastlinepilot.com

f7