Right before Christmas, I got “lost” on my way to Target and found myself at the end of Antonio Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita. At the end of the road is a wonderful paved bike path that appears to loop into a possible wilderness area. Today was the first opportunity to take my bike out to see where the path went.
After riding about 0.5 miles on the paved path, I found a walk-through entrance into O’Neill Regional Park. The highlight of the trip was biking down a single-track path through the live oaks into Trabuco Canyon. Granted, the switchbacks were more fun going down than up!
I went through the Nature Center and, if you are a fan of dioramas, the center has several in situ ‘scenes’ complete with a rather threadbare opossum and a lively nature soundtrack. There is also a touch center where you can feel rattlesnake skin and a bird’s wing. Tot’s Trail is behind the center and is dotted with interpretive plaques to teach about the wildlife you may run across in the park as well as recognizing their prints and scat.
In addition to the paved trails winding beneath the canopies of the oak trees, I noticed that there is a number of biking and hiking trails in the park that I will need to explore. It was a gorgeous day to be out and about! I can’t wait to come back although next time I am hoping to have about 3 more gears on my bike to take the mountains.
After riding about 0.5 miles on the paved path, I found a walk-through entrance into O’Neill Regional Park. The highlight of the trip was biking down a single-track path through the live oaks into Trabuco Canyon. Granted, the switchbacks were more fun going down than up!
I went through the Nature Center and, if you are a fan of dioramas, the center has several in situ ‘scenes’ complete with a rather threadbare opossum and a lively nature soundtrack. There is also a touch center where you can feel rattlesnake skin and a bird’s wing. Tot’s Trail is behind the center and is dotted with interpretive plaques to teach about the wildlife you may run across in the park as well as recognizing their prints and scat.
In addition to the paved trails winding beneath the canopies of the oak trees, I noticed that there is a number of biking and hiking trails in the park that I will need to explore. It was a gorgeous day to be out and about! I can’t wait to come back although next time I am hoping to have about 3 more gears on my bike to take the mountains.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment