Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park features 3,879 acres of scenic canyons, rock formations, oak woodlands, fresh water marsh and tranquil creekside riparian communities. The park's terrain includes canyon bottoms and coastal ridges rising to 700 feet in elevation. This semi wilderness park provides trail use for hikers, bicyclists, and equestrians. Other popular activities include bird watching, nature study and photography. A wide variety of native wildlife and plants inhabit the park including some 91 species of birds. The park features four native plant communities including coastal sage scrub, oak woodland, grassland and riparian. These communities support a large assortment of wildlife including coyote, bobcat, mule deer, reptile species and a variety of land and aquatic birds.
Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park features many interesting geological formations, and is a storehouse for both archaeological and paleontological sites. Perhaps the best example of marine fossils in south Orange County is within the northeastern section of the park.
Aliso Creek formed the boundary line between two modem day Indian tribes, the Juaneno and the Gabrieleno. Since the time of the Portola Expedition, this land, originally part of the 1842 Rancho Niguel Mexican Land Grant, served as a sheep and cattle ranch. Lewis F. Moulton came into possession of Don Juan Avila's 13,000 acres.
By the turn of the century he and his partner Jean Pierre Daguerre added another dimension to their holdings, leasing thousands of acres for raising barley and beans. The death of Daguerre in 1911 and Moulton in 1938 led to the management of the rancho by their wives and heirs of these pioneer families.
Portions of the ranch were sold in the 1960's which are now Leisure World, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo. In April of 1979 the Mission Viejo Company made an offer of dedication of 3,400 acres to the County of Orange in keeping with the County's Master Plan of preserving open space, now "Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park".
Other major dedications were made by AVCO Community Developers 493 acres, Shapell Industries 25 acres, Laguna Sur 147 acres. In addition the County of Orange purchased other parcels of land including the 90 acre Hobert McCaslin acquisition. The City of Laguna Beach purchased 727 acres in upper Wood Canyon and the Moulton Meadows area.
Vehicles and equestrian trailer parking are provided at the park entrance parking lot at Alicia Parkway.
Facilities include: parking for seventy-five vehicles and ten horse trailers, a horse trough, two portable restrooms, public information kiosk and picnic tables. The park's ranger station (trailer) and portable restrooms are located at the south entrance (gate #2) of Wood Canyon.
Please:
Open daily from 7:00 a.m. to sunset.