Places to Visit
In 1988, the citizens of Irvine passed a landmark initiative to preserve Irvine’s Open Space. After many years of planning, the City of Irvine received its first parcel of land on May 14th, 2002. This 2,144 acre parcel contains Bommer Canyon, part of the original Irvine Ranch Cattle Camp, and a portion of Shady Canyon. Under the terms of a 1988 Memorandum of Understanding with The Irvine Company, additional portions of open space lands will be dedicated to the City of Irvine as phased development occurs. Over the next few years, the open space preserve will grow to over 4,000 acres. At completion, over 12,000 acres of Irvine’s open space will be preserved, creating the largest city open space preserve in Orange County. Over 1/3 of the city will be dedicated for permanent open space and recreational uses, more than any other city in Orange County. MANAGED ACCESS To sign up for managed access activities and programs, please click here for the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. •BOMMER CANYON - Traveling south on Culver Drive, turn onto Shady Canyon Road. Drive 1.2 miles until you reach Bommer Canyon Road. Turn right; speed limit is 16 mph. Follow 0.8 of a mile until you reach the buildings. Park on the left, away from the picnic area. •HICKS CANYON STAGING AREA - Follow Jeffrey Road north. As you pass Portola, look for a fenced lot on the left (northwest) corner. Signs will direct you to the parking area.
•PORTOLA STAGING AREA - Follow Jeffrey Road north, to Portola Parkway, turn right on Portola Parkway, follow Portola parkway approximately 3.5 miles to 241 Toll Road, cross over Toll Road and enter gate on Portola Parkway (there are signs that say road is a dead end, continue through the gate anyway, the Portola Staging Area is on the left.
DAILY TRAIL ACCESS
•QUAIL HILL TRAILHEAD - Traveling south on Sand Canyon, proceed through the round-about and continue on the Shady Canyon leg. The parking lot is on the right, just past the fire station, across from the athletic fields.
•SHADY CANYON TRAIL - Traveling south on Sand Canyon, proceed through the round-about and continue on the Shady Canyon leg. The trail can be accessed from the Turtle Rock Nature Center or Quail Hill Trailhead.
•JEFFREY OPEN SPACE TRAIL - Traveling north on Jeffrey, the completed section is on Jeffrey from Trabuco to Irvine Blvd.
NATURE CENTER
To sign up for City Activities and programs, click here.
Traveling south on Culver Drive, turn onto Shady Canyon Road. Drive 1.5 miles until you reach Sunnyhill Drive. Turn left ontoSunnyhill and make the first left into the parking lot in Turtle Rock Community Park. The Nature Center is the small building on the right.
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