Happy Trails – Hiking with the Irvine Ranch Conservancy

Wow, this week I am just a walking fool! Yesterday morning I went on an Easy Morning Hike in an area called Agua Chinon, just outside of Irvine. It was quite lovely.

It was a guided hike provided by the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. They are one of several organizations that provide public programs throughout the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks, of which Agua Chinon was a part.

The awesome thing about these programs is that the vast majority of them are free and they occur almost every single day at all hours. Love it!

When I first went to the website, it was overwhelming as there was so much to choose from. There are hikes, kayak trips, equestrian activities, yoga, cardio program, children’s programs…the list goes on and on.

Since, I had no idea what to expect, I decided to start of slow and take the Easy Morning Hike. We met at 9am and were soon led into the wilds of Orange County. Now, I’m sure you think that doesn’t exist, but get this – we could not hear any traffic, just the birds, the bugs, and the breeze. As you know, in Southern California that is extremely rare.

The awesome thing about Agua Chinon and many areas in the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks is that it is only open to guided tours. Our group was the only group that would be traveling in that area that day. Pretty special, huh?

Our guide was super nice and informative. As it was an easy walk, we stopped several times and were taught about the various flora and fauna we witnessed. As it is the beginning of wildflower time there was much to see. We also saw several animal tracks and and a low flying red tailed hawk. That was super exciting, as I’ve loved hawks ever since I went to the “Hawk Talk” at the Wild Animal Park.

All in all, we walked for 2.5 hours and it never stopped being interesting. In fact, I liked it so much that I’ve already signed up for another hike!

So, check out the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks activities page and sign up!

For your viewing pleasure here are some photos I took. You may call them blurry, I call them painterly.