Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park terrain varies from canyon bottoms to peaks over 1,700 feet in elevation totaling 1,500 acres. The park features three creeks: Borrego, Serrano and Aliso. Plant communities within the park include riparian, grassland, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and oak woodland. A reminent pond from the ranching days, provides seasonal water for wildlife. Park wildlife is as diverse as the park's habitats from small mammals to bobcats, mule deer and an occasional mountain lion. The park's varied plant communities and terrain provide ideal habitats for predatory birds. Red-tailed and Red-shouldered hawks are common as the great horned and barn owls. The park is also home for the protected cactus wren and endangered gnat-catcher birds. Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park currently has 14 trails for a total of 15 trail miles.
The properties now known as Foothill Ranch and Whiting Ranch has associations with several pioneer Orange County families.10,668 acres of land was granted to Jose Serrano in 1842, known as Rancho Canada de los Alisos. Serrano and his sons raised crops for sale such as corn, beans and watermelons. However, their principle industry was cattle, from which hides and tallow were sold. Unfortunately, the drought of 1863 and 1864 caused the death of Serrano's herds, forcing foreclosure of the ranch to Los Angeles banker J.S. Slauson and Associates. Slauson divided the rancho into ten parcels, the largest being 10,000 acres. The property was then sold to Dwight Whiting in 1885. Whiting encouraged the development of El Toro by subdividing level land, bringing the railroad and by planting olive trees, grape vineyards and some 400 acres of eucalyptus trees, now Lake Forest. But due to arid climate and poor soil, agricultural use was unsuccessful. In 1959 the Whiting properties were sold to V.P. Baker and Associates, and residential development has since enused. In July of 1988, approximately 1,200 acres were dedicated to the County of Orange to be preserved as an open space wilderness park. Since then additional acquisitions have enlarged the park to approximately 1,500 acres, as well as an 87 acre parcel adjacent El Toro road just south of Cook's Corner. Here the park's office and interpretive center are housed in the McFadden Ranch House. The house was built in 1915 by James McFadden for two purposes, one to provide housing for the ranch foreman and family, and the other to utilize the ranch more fully for farming and livestock pasture.
The park opened for public use in December 1991.
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Open daily from 7:00 a.m. to Sunset.