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Where can you go for a loop hike in a wilderness area in Orange County? Why, Weir Canyon of course. Weir Canyon Trail provides a 3.8-mile loop over undulating terrain on the side of Weir Canyon in the Anaheim Hills below the Santa Ana Mountains. There is 350 feet of elevation between the high and low points of the loop, but all the ups and downs along the trail make it feel more like a hike with a thousand feet of elevation gain. ...Read more.

Newport Bay is a vital stopover for birds migrating across Southern California. Hikers can explore the estuary too, on trails in Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve, a 142-acre coastal habitat managed by the Orange County Parks Department. The preserve's West Bluff has a few trails (some open to equestrians and bikers) that provide easy hikes of a mile or more, including the 2. ...Read more.

Peters Canyon Regional Park is an Orange County Park preserving 354 acres of open space including the 55-acre Peters Canyon Reservoir. A gradual 2.7-mile loop around the reservoir is popular trail with joggers and dog walkers. Other trails in the park allow visitors to hike even farther. The 5.7-mile East Ridge Loop is an expansion of the Lake View Loop that delivers a grand tour of the park. ...Read more.

This five-mile loop combines four trails to visit two canyons in the mountains between Laguna Beach and Irvine. Little Sycamore Canyon is framed by a big wall of pocketed sandstone that makes it an interesting destination. The high end of the hike along Serrano Ridge Trail offers broad inland views toward the Santa Ana Mountains. Hiking the loop over Little Sycamore Canyon Trail, Serrano Ridge Trail, Camarillo Canyon Road, and Stagecoach South Trail offers a great taste of the sagebrush terrain in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, a 7,000-acre section of the South Coast Wilderness Area. ...Read more.

Everyone knows that Northern California is the place to go to see groves of giant redwoods, but few people know that you can get a taste of the redwoods in Southern California. Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea has a 10-acre grove of coastal redwoods, the largest grove of these trees in Southern California. Even through the could-be giants are relatively young and not really suited for the climate in Orange County, the 2. ...Read more.