If the holidays treated you right this season, you’ve got a few extra holiday calories you can safely let go of. What better way to do that than with a First Day Hike in the most beautiful state in the nation: California, the Golden State! This year marks the 10th year California State Parks has participated in the America’s State Parks First Day Hikes program with docents, volunteers, and staff hosting hikes at state parks throughout California on January 1st, 2020.
Category Archives: Hikes
Press Release (USDA) – If you do plan to visit Whitney in the summer of 2016, please pack your patience and carefully plan your trip to avoid the construction delays and the parking problems.
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- Check the construction schedule before you head up to Whitney Portal (Twitter (@mtwhitneyinfo), at the Interagency Visitor Center (760-876-6222), on the web HERE. There may be times when delays and parking are little impacted. There may be periods with 30 minute delays, and two 3-hour delays per day in the peak of construction.
- Please be prepared that there may not be a parking space available for you.
- Consider carpooling, being dropped off by friends, or explore local shuttle services.
Significant Impacts to Access, Parking
Press Release (USDA) – The Whitney Portal Road Reconstruction is planned for the 2016 season under a funding request from Inyo County. The road will be re-paved and needs significant repairs for safety. The project begins just west of Lone Pine and ends just east of Whitney Portal.
Whitney Portal is the most popular trailhead on the forest; with hikers applying, by lottery, to ascend the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States. Mt Whitney is also the southern terminus of the John Muir Trail (JMT).
Located on the very eastern edge of the city of Orange, Santiago Oaks Regional Park runs alongside Santiago Creek, Orange County’s main tributary to the Santa Ana River.
This secluded 1,269 acre park – located close enough to most east Orange neighborhoods to walk to, including Orange Park Acres and Villa Park – offers family-friendly nature well within the reach of everyone. There is a mature forest, Santiago Creek, wildlife, and trails for virtually every level of hiker, mountain biker, and equestrian.
Unlike nearby Irvine Regional Park, Santiago Oaks is less of an ‘entertainment’ destination park; you won’t find a zoo, trains, or large open maintained grass areas for parties. It’s a wilderness park. Santiago Oaks calls to the adventurer’s spirit within; the park does offer a cozy amphitheater, BBQs, picnic tables, playgrounds, and an interpretive programs/nature center, but the draw – the beauty – of Santiago Creek are the trails. A vast interconnected series of trails stretch throughout the park offering technical trails for all skill levels, and rewarding the hiker, biker, or equestrian with inspiring views of Orange and the unspoiled foothills surrounding the city. The park trails also connect with the Anaheim Hills Trail System.
Quail Hill offers a few hiking, biking, and horse riding options from the Quail Hill Trailhead and Staging Area. The Trailhead is located on Shady Canyon Drive, just past Fossil Road on the right. To get there from the 405, take the Sand Canyon / Shady Canyon exit towards Shady Canyon Drive. Enter the traffic circle and take the first exit to the right onto Shady Canyon Drive. Turn into the first driveway on your right past Fossil.
I like the Quail Hill Loop for a few reasons, not the least of which is that it offers better views than you’ll find walking, jogging, or running around a high school athletic field.