Our stunning wilderness parks and planned nature preserves take center stage for much of the nature-based activities found in Irvine. Hiking and biking are the most popular. Irvine has more green space than any city in Orange County.

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• Aliso & Wood Canyons

  	Irvine's system of planned nature preserves, wilderness parks and trails is 20 square miles. When fully implemented, it will be the largest publicly owned open space system of any city of comparable size in California. For more information on city parks, click here : www.ci.irvine.ca.us/depts/cs/commparks/default.asp

  Carbon Canyon

  	Carbon Canyon Regional Park consists of 124 acres. Sixty are developed and of the remaining acreage, a ten acre grove of Coastal Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) has been established. Throughout the developed park are Pepper trees, Sycamores, Eucalyptus and Pines.

  Irvine Regional

  Irvine Regional Park is nestled among a grove of heritage Oak and Sycamore trees. The rolling foothills surrounding the park are filled with a variety of wildlife. Trees, shaded turf areas provide a serene setting for leisure activities. Santiago Creek bisects the park and a pond with stone-work waterfall and foot bridge is located in the center of the park. The variety of landscape greatly enhances the park's beauty.

  Laguna Coast

  	Laguna Coast Wilderness Park lies within some of the last remaining coastal canyons in Southern California. The park ecosystem is primarily Coastal Sage Scrub, with Maritime Chaparral, Oak Woodlands, Riparian habitats, and the ONLY natural lakes in Orange County.

  Laguna Niguel

  	Laguna Niguel Regional Park's 80 acres of turf surround a 44 acre lake, which is regularly stocked with catfish, bass and blue gill and trout during the winter months only. A large assortment of trees dot the park's 236 acreage providing beauty and shade.

  
• Mile Square

  	Mile Square Regional Park is an urban park located in the City of Fountain Valley and totals 640 acres of land. Within the park's boundaries are three regulation golf courses, two regulation soccer fields, baseball & softball diamonds, an archery range and a wilderness area.

  O'Neill Regional

  	The Arroyo Trabuco addition to O'Neill Regional Park is 935 acres of relatively pristine land. Presently maintained as a wilderness preserve, the Arroyo Trabuco is exemplary as a natural area where the rancho days are not far gone and where Golden Eagles, Mule Deer and Mountain Lions still exist.

  Orange County Great Park

  The former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro is being transformed into the Orange County Great Park, the first great metropolitan park of the 21st Century. The Great Park is in the geographic center of Orange County, California, a diverse metropolitan community of three million located halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. The Great Park has direct freeway and rail access, making it easily accessible for more than 10,000,000 Southern California residents. Spanning more than 1,300 acres, the Great Park will be nearly twice the size of New York’s Central Park. The Great Park’s award-winning Master Plan features cutting edge environmental design features that will set a new standard for sustainable park design and urban planning. Orange County’s agricultural heritage will be preserved and the military history of the former air base will be honored. Sustainability, the wise and conservative use of energy, water, and other scarce resources, is central to the Park’s 21st Century design. Cutting-edge technologies will make the park sustainable, demonstrating eco-friendly design and construction techniques.

  Ralph B. Clark

  	Ralph B. Clark Regional Park is nestled at the foot of the Coyote Hills. The 105 acre property extends north and south of Rosecrans Avenue with the softball complex. The park lands range from large open grass areas, to gently rolling hills of native plants, to shear sandstone cliffs to the north.

  Ronald W. Caspers

  	Caspers Wilderness Park is an 8,000 acre protected wilderness preserve nestled among the river terraces and sandstone canyons of the western coastal Santa Ana Mountains. The park's many fertile valleys are overtly complemented by specimen groves of native Coastal Live Oak and magnificent stands of California Sycamore.

  
• Santiago Oaks

  This secluded refuge offers the natural charm of mountain vistas, an orange grove, native oak trees and a creek. Here hikers, naturalists and equestrians can enjoy the scenery as well as interpretive programs at the visitor center. On March 11, 2007, a vegetation fire started near the Windy Ridge Toll Plaza of the 241 Toll Road. Fueled by heavy winds and dry vegetation, the fire spread in a southwesterly direction, burning 2,036 acres. Nearly 90 percent of Santiago Oaks Regional Park was affected by the fire. However, the land is not dead! The Park Rangers, their staff and park volunteers have worked hard to protect the park’s fragile landscape. Most of the park’s trails have been re-opened with some areas currently being revegetated and/or assessed for future public use.

  Ted Craig

  Craig Regional Park, completed in 1974, is characterized by rolling hills, a large variety of mature trees, open space, a small pond, two year-round creeks and a rose garden. This unique landscape contributes to an overall sense of serenity and beauty. Walkways, picnic tables and park benches are scattered throughout the park's 124 acres providing abundant shade. The park is EXTREMELY busy on holidays.

  Thomas F. Riley

  	As a wildlife sanctuary, Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park is home to an abundant number of native plants and animal life. Old groves of Western Sycamores and Coast Live Oaks border the park's two seasonally flowing creeks. The remaining land features rolling hills and canyons of Coastal Sage Scrub and grasslands.

  Upper Newport Bay

  	Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve and Ecological Reserve represent approximately 1,000 acres of open space. Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve surrounds the Ecological Reserve. The park includes the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center. Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve totals approximately 140 acres.

  Whiting Ranch

  Whiting Ranch is located on Portola Rd near the intersection of Bake Pkwy in Foothill Ranch. The trailhead is adjacent to a shopping center but don't let that stop you. This park is a good example of how development can co-exist with natural preserved space. This park lies within a beautiful wooded canyon and is filled with all types of vegetation including majestic oaks and sycamores . Limestone Canyon & Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park encompasses approximately 4,300 acres of riparian and oak woodland canyons, rolling grassland hills and steep slopes of coastal sage scrub and chaparral. The park is highlighted by scenic rock formations, including the beautiful Red Rock Canyon. There are three intermittent streams: Borrego, Serrano and Aliso Creek meandering through the park, each hosting an abundance of wildlife. Remnants of the former cattle ranching days can be seen throughout the park. Though 90% of the park burned in the Santiago Fire of 2007, the land is in the recovery process. Please respect that process by staying on marked trails and following park rules.

  
• William R. Mason

  	William R. Mason Regional Park was the fourth park to open under the county master plan of regional parks. The park encompasses 345 acres of open spaces, grassy knolls, a 9 acre lake and natural areas. Generous plantings of trees offer shade and beauty throughout the park.

  Yorba

  A linear day use park over one mile long situated in the mouth of Santa Ana Canyon in the city of Anaheim. The linear environment of the park site recaptures the river setting of the adjacent Santa Ana River. Because the park is in a historic setting in an area where such names as Yorba, Peralta and Dominguez were common, the Orange County Board of Supervisors recognized the 1976 opening of the park site by designating Yorba Regional Park as the official Orange County bicentennial project.