Afoot and Afield: Orange County. Jerry Schad
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the preferred access at some point in the future.
As one of the richest wetland areas along the Southern California coast, the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary offers an uncommon opportunity to come into contact with a natural ecosystem in the midst of Orange County’s high-rise urban core. Amid willows, bulrushes, and mulefat, you can spy on ducks, geese, and shorebirds, listen to songbird serenades, and perhaps even observe a bobcat and her kitten. You can thrill to the graceful antics of herons and egrets and the soaring flights of hawks and falcons.
Make no mistake, though, the entire 300-acre wetland, in its present incarnation, is an urban park, planted densely with native trees and shrubs and irrigated with recycled water from the state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant. Starting in the early 1990s, the Irvine Ranch Water District, with the support of the Irvine Company and the Sea and Sage chapter of the Audubon Society, began an ambitious project to transform the former duck-hunting-club property into a naturalistic landscape typical of Orange County’s original lowland and upland habitats. That effort resulted in a dense system of more than 11 miles of wide, smooth, wheelchair-accessible trails, restrooms, resting benches galore, and, most importantly, first-class habitat for birds.
A nesting platform high on a pole in Pond 4 has attracted a pair of ospreys, which you may see diving for large fish in the ponds. Audubon volunteers have installed 100 nestboxes throughout the sanctuary to attract tree swallows, and they conduct a monthly bird census that has documented nearly 300 species of resident and migratory birds.
Start at the Audubon House nature center (open daily) by the parking lot, and pick up a free map. Naturalists offer regularly scheduled interpretive walks, and kids of all ages love the summer bat walks.
The most direct way to the heart of the sanctuary is to begin on Fledgling Loop, a broad dirt road starting by the parking area that leads between Ponds A–E. These ponds are used to hold treated water from the Michelson Wastewater Treatment Plant and act as emergency storage areas, but Ponds E and D are usually kept shallow to provide rare freshwater habitat for birds. These are favorite spots for bird photographers, especially in spring when shorebirds nest on the mudflat. (Note that visitors are required to stay on the established trails; don’t cut your own path down to the water.)
Watch for signs identifying the most common native plants along the trail, especially mulefat, California sagebrush, and coyote bush. Bladderpod and California wild rose are also plentiful. The three dominant trees in the sanctuary are willows (with long, skinny leaves), cottonwoods (with heart-shaped leaves), and sycamores (with white bark and hand-shaped leaves).
At a T-junction in 0.2 mile, turn right along Pond C, then veer left to follow a boardwalk through the wetlands. This is one of the more likely places to spot a resident bobcat. Lizards, butterflies, and dragonflies have the right-of-way here! Watch for splendid reflections of the willows in the placid waters.
Pond 1, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary
A web of trails continues from the end of the boardwalk. Following specific directions would be difficult, and there’s no need to take a particular route because all of the sanctuary is interesting. Plan your loop to include some of the large ponds (1–4) on the southwest side of the sanctuary, which attract white pelicans, great blue herons, and other large fish-eating birds. These ponds contain water pumped in from San Diego Creek and help filter excess nitrates before the water is pumped back into the creek, which empties at Newport Back Bay. The thousands of American crows you may see roosting in trees at dusk represent an explosion in population, thanks to the plentiful food that they forage in neighboring communities.
A typical loop will cover 2–4 miles. Although most junctions are signed, it’s very easy to get lost in the dense web of trails through tall native vegetation. Monitor your progress on your map, and be sure to carry some water if the day is warm.
trip 2.4 Buck Gully
Distance 5 miles (semiloop)
Hiking Time 2½ hours
Elevation Gain 600’
Difficulty Moderate
Trail Use Cyclists
Best Times All year
Agency City of Newport Beach
DIRECTIONS From the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) in Newport Beach, turn northeast onto Poppy Avenue. Proceed 0.3 mile, and park on the street before 5th Avenue.
Lined by multimillion-dollar mansions on the adjacent ridges, Buck Gully Reserve was acquired in 2005 to protect a slice of open space in the San Joaquin foothills. Most verdant in winter and spring, the canyon is pleasant any time of year. The trail system was improved in 2013 to protect the rich coastal sage scrub ecosystem. Beware of the extensive stands of poison oak found near the trail.
The gated and signed Buck Gully Trail begins on the east side of Poppy Avenue just north of 5th Avenue. Descend the paved road to a sign marking the start of the dirt trail along the canyon. In 1.2 miles, pass the Bobcat Trail on the left, by which you will return. In another 0.8 mile, stay left at a fork where another dirt road climbs to Newport Coast Drive. The Buck Gully Trail soon veers north to meet San Joaquin Hills Road in 0.5 mile at a signed trailhead with no street parking.
To make a loop, turn left and follow the sidewalk west along the road. In 0.7 mile, join a paved trail leading to a gazebo with a compass rose. Transmission lines partially obscure the views of the mansions across the canyon. Don’t be lured down the gated road toward one of the transmission line towers. Instead, continue west and rejoin the sidewalk before reaching the signed Bobcat Trail in 0.2 mile near Harbor Watch Park. Benches at the trailhead provide a good place to rest and take in views of the canyon, Newport Bay, and the ocean.
Descend the Bobcat Trail, initially a powerline service road. At a fork, stay right on a narrower trail. In 0.6 mile, cross a footbridge to the signed junction with the Buck Gully Trail. Turn right and retrace your steps to the trailhead.
Lemonade berry
chapter 3
Crystal Cove State Park
South of Newport Bay, the shoreline topography, so flat and uninspiring back along the north county coast, becomes bold and dramatic. Cliffs provide a backdrop for restless surf breaking upon smooth, sandy beaches and rocky reefs or surging into secluded coves. In the hills behind the wave-cut cliffs, you can see, imprinted on the slopes, a muted stairstep pattern of earlier cliffs that used to border the ocean long before this area was uplifted to its present height.
From Corona del Mar through the posh communities of Laguna Beach and Laguna Niguel to Dana Point, rustic cottages, opulent ocean-view homes, gated housing complexes, and swank hotels blanket most of the coastline. Interspersed within these thickly populated areas lie conspicuously blank areas on the street maps—sensuously curved hills and lush valleys that represent what nearly all of southern Orange County was like a century ago. Fortunately, some large pieces of the undeveloped land will never succumb to the ever-rising tide of suburbia. Over the past three decades, several large parcels of undeveloped land near Laguna Beach have passed into public ownership.
Searching for pirate treasure in Crystal Cove
Crystal Cove State Park was the first large parcel to be set aside. Besides a 3-mile stretch of bluffs and ocean front, the park reaches back into the San Joaquin Hills to encompass the entire watershed of El Moro Canyon—2,200 acres of natural ravines, ridges, and terrace formations. In the backcountry (El Moro Canyon)