I stumbled across this Open Access Day event in Limestone Canyon on Brian and Ashley’s hiking blog last week and I thought this would be something different and interesting to explore. Limestone Canyon is in Orange County near the suburbs of Irvine. It is open once a month to hikers, mountain bikers, equestrians, artists, bird watchers, in essence, to anyone. Registration is required. I had read that Limestone Canyon is like a mini Grand Canyon. So on Saturday my mom and I left San Diego around 7:30am and arrived to the Augustine Staging Area around 8:30am. A docent at the entrance to the parking lot directed cars and notified people where to sign in. Near the parking lot were tables with sign-in sheets, brochures about the park, trail maps, and bottled water. When you sign in, they give you a badge to wear and you return it once you leave the park. After using the restrooms and getting our stuff together, my mom and I hit the trail around 8:45am. It was still a bit cloudy, but I knew the sun would eventually come out. You start out on the Limestone Canyon Trail, which is a graveled trail and relatively flat.
Start of trail
I loved the greenery around us.
Lush vegetation
Eventually, you will come upon the sinks on your left hand side with a viewing area. It’s an interesting canyon, but it does not take your breath away like the Grand Canyon. We paused for a few minutes and then continued on.
The Sinks
I wanted to make a loop around the park so we headed towards the Loma Ridge Trail. We took a side trail, the Box Springs Trail which is a single track trail. We were going up when mountain bikers were coming down. Beware and always give them the right of way. Interestingly, they were very polite to us. The Loma Ridge Trail has great views of the green hills and valleys. Oh, and sadly enough you’ll get a view of the landfill.
Loma Ridge Trail
We reached the Hicks Haul Road, which is paved, and made our way back down to the parking lot. I was hoping for a +11 mile hike, but my GPS gave me a reading of 9.54 miles with an elevation gain of 1,075 ft. Anyway, it was something different to explore. If you like mountain biking, then I would highly recommend this place.
Thanks for the info on this hike. Like many hikers in Southern Cali, we’ve heard a great deal about “The Sinks” and have learned it’s not a simple matter to view them due to the limited number of times it’s open to the public. You also confirmed that hikers aren’t allow to enter the area, only view it from viewing stations.
I understand the desire to keep it as pristine as possible, but it is still a bit of a disappointment that “ya can look, but ya can’t touch” approach taken here. That being said, I look forward to the time when my schedule and the viewing schedule coincide.
Nice, post…thanks.
Thanks for the mention in your post on Limestone Canyon. Both Ashley and I agree with you that it is a bit hyperbole to compare the site to the Grand Canyon. Glad you got to enjoy the greenery in the area. You have a great blog and we look forward to coming back and reading about your future adventures. Would you be interested in trading links on each others site?
Hi! THANK YOU for all your interesting posts and information about events! Sure, I’d love to exchange links. Thanks!
We have added your blog to our Websites and Blogs section on the right side of our blog which is where our blogroll is. Thanks!
Beutiful places!
What gps are you using?I recommend the I use the Garmin Foretrex 401 for my hikes, never failed me.
Cheers!
Thanks, Dave. I use a Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx and so far it’s great!