General Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park is easily accessible for people who love the outdoors, because it is only minutes away from the hustle and bustle of Orange County's urban centers. The park's 475 acres feature rolling hills and canyons boasting a host of plant communities including. Its fertile valleys, home to an assortment of plant and animal species are peppered with groves of native Western Sycamore trees and Coastal Live Oak, some of them hundreds of years old. The stately Live Oak makes up about 90 percent of the trees in Riley Wilderness Park. The park's trails promise enjoyment for hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers alike. From Skink and Horned Toad vista points, visitors can marvel at breathtaking scenic views of open canyons and Oak groves.
Visitors can see the park's richness in the numerous plant species that grow throughout its landscape: grassland, coastal sage scrub and oak woodland, prickly pear cactus, California buckwheat, black sage, and monkey flower just to name a few. Those who visit early in the morning can take in the sweet aromas of various plants, still moist with droplets of morning dew. In the springtime, visitors can enjoy the color of wildflowers in full bloom. These plant communities support an abundant wildlife population of rodents, reptiles, mammals, birds, woodpeckers, raccoons, gray fox, mule deer, bobcats, coyotes, hawks and owls. The large stands of oak trees and open grasslands provide ideal habitat and hunting territory for the park's predatory birds including red-shouldered and red-tailed hawks, black-shouldered kites, kestrels and great horned and barn owls. Wildlife sightings by park rangers and visitors are common.
The park currently has 7 trails for a total of 4.6 trail miles.
The park opened for public use December 10, 1994.
The history of General Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park is as rich as its native flora and fauna. In 1769, the first Spanish presence was felt when Captain Gaspar de Portola, 63 men and two priests made their way into the area. Wagon Wheel Canyon once was part of the original 47,432 acres of land granted by Mexico to prominent English tracer John Foster in the 1820's. He married the Mexican governor's sister, and eventually changed his name to Don Juan Forster. His heirs, faced with financial difficulties, were forced to sell the land to Irish cattleman Richard O'Neill, who had immigrated to California during the gold rush. He purchased most of the ranch for a quarter of a million dollars.
Part of the land eventually became Orange County's largest wheat field, and much of the acreage were home to cattle. In 1983, the 475 acres of Wagon Wheel Canyon was dedicated to the County of Orange from the land owner, Coto de Caza Corporation, to be designated as a wilderness park. The park officially opened on December 10, 1994 as General Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park in honor of the former United States Marine Corps General and twenty year Fifth District representative on the Board of Supervisors, whose dedicated efforts secured this park and several thousand acres of preserved park and open space land in south Orange County. Supervisor Riley retired from the Board of Supervisors in January 1995.
All pets are prohibited (except horses).
Open daily from 7:00 a.m. to sunset.