February 16, 2010 - Explore the Natural Treasures of Orange County Parks

When tourists come to visit Orange County, some of the things that come to mind are Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm. When locals want to go outdoors, they usually head to one of the many beaches along the coast. What everyone ends up missing out on are over 40,000 acres of natural treasures at Orange County Parks.

The spectacular wildflower season is just around the corner, and the wilderness areas of OC Parks welcome nature-lovers of all ages to their trails. Springtime signals the start of wildflower season in Orange County. As you may remember, the area was devastated by major wildfires in 2007 that burned through more than 90% of Limestone Canyon and Whiting Ranch Wilderness and Santiago Oaks Regional parks. These areas still continue to recover, and visitors will be able to see wildflowers in full bloom during the entire month of March.

"While wildfire is damaging, it also helps clear some non-native plants and helps stimulate new wildflower growth," says Marisa O'Neil, Public Information Office for OC Parks. "The impact is lessened over time, but we still expect to see impressive blooms from some of our more recent burn areas."

The most dramatic wildflower population can be found at Caspers Wilderness Park, where fields full of California poppy, pristine chocolate lilies and towering lupine stems flourish starting in early March. Laguna Coast Wilderness Park experiences a later wildflower season. The peak season to see blooms such as daisy-like tidy tips, sweet baby blue eyes and brilliant violet Johnny jump-ups starts near the end of April. In May, visitors can find Mariposa lilies flourishing along the ridge of the James Dilley Preserve. Carbon Canyon, which burned in 2008, offers season-long blooms of fuchsia flowering gooseberry, delicate bush monkey, wild lilac, angelic bindweed, and Bermuda buttercup.

OC Parks also offers various programs for younger visitors eager to learn more about nature. Parents can take their kids to the Peter & Mary Muth Interpretive Center at Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve, the James & Rosemary Nix Center at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, and the OC Zoo in Orange. Both the Muth and Nix Centers feature hands-on interpretive displays for children ages 2 to 8. Kids ages 6 to 10 can even take a yoga class offered by the Laguna Canyon Foundation at the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.

Another unique feature of the OC Parks system is its own Park Ranger Academy. The first class of the OC Parks Ranger Academy graduated on December 16, 2009, and they have since been assigned to Caspers Wilderness Park, O'Neill Regional Park, Carbon Canyon Regional Park, Mile Square Regional Park, and Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park.

According to O'Neil, OC Parks felt the need to develop its own Park Ranger Academy to have better control over the content and help better prepare Park Rangers for what they will encounter in the field. "The job of Park Ranger requires knowledge in public safety, basic first aid, fire behavior and ecology, as well as office skills.

"Earlier training academies through the OC Sheriff's Department Academy addressed many of those components, but didn't address others, particularly the interpretive component. Park Rangers need to be trained in local flora, wildlife and other nature-related topics in order to pass that information on and help educate park visitors and craft educational programs."

If you are looking to visit OC Parks sometime soon, Annual Day Use Passes and Decals are available for purchase at an OC Parks facility. Both the Beach Parking and Regional and Wilderness Park Entry passes are available for $55 each and $35 for seniors. A Combination Pass for $80 ($50 for seniors) provides access to both OC Parks and beaches.

 For guided wildflower safaris, kids' activities, and more information on how to purchase annual day use passes, please visit http://www.ocparks.com