As part of the Laguna Coast
Wilderness Park, the Dilley Preserve is open to the public daily from 7 a.m.
- sunset and the parking lot is open 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. (parking costs $3). Access at other times is prohibited.
Mountain biking is prohibited.
Distance: 4-mile loop Elevation gain: 150 ft. Difficulty: Easy to moderate When to go: Year round Location: Laguna Beach, near the intersection of Laguna Canyon Road
and Route 73 (the toll road). Phone: (949) 923-2235 Dogs: Not allowed Directions: From Route 73, exit north on Laguna Canyon Road and look
for dirt parking lot on the right. From Interstate 405, go south on Laguna
Canyon Road and look for the parking lot on the left before reaching Route
73.
Trail Information
Remarks: This pristine, flower festooned path is guaranteed to please
your senses. I chose to walk up the canyon trail, which is called the
Whittlesey trail in honor of one of the many people who made this preserve
possible.
James Dilley, the recognized father of the Laguna Greenbelt movement, was an
admired college geography instructor who insisted that the Laguna Beach City
Council consider his dream of a greenbelt that totally surrounds Laguna
Beach. The groundswell of support kept growing over four decades, enlisting
the support of many people from different walks of life. Today, a permanent
greenbelt protects and separates Laguna Beach from all other cities of the
county, which seem to mesh almost seamlessly together like one metropolis.
The James Dilley Preserve (owned by the city and managed by County Harbors,
Beaches & Parks) is ironically like an island. Roads surround it on two
sides and the Laguna Woods housing tract on another. I remember attending
the 1970 Christmas "Love In" concert in the area.
The Scent of Maple Syrup Was Everywhere
As I wandered past a number of Western Sycamores, I chose to hike the canyon
trail, offering quiet from the hum of tires in the distance. A scent of
maple syrup was everywhere as I passed through fields of 'pearly
everlasting.' The trail was fun to follow as it twisted and turned through
the coastal sage scrub and past some beautiful Coast Live Oaks. At one
point, I stepped off the path and entered a room-like canopy of oaks that
had been there before I was born.
The trail offers a self-guided habitat tour (pick up map in parking lot)
featuring hundreds of various plants: white sage, Toyon, Mexican Elderberry,
Fucshia-Flowered Gooseberry and, of course, cactus.
The Only Natural Lakes in OC
An easy series of switchbacks leads up a hill, offering a panoramic view of
the picturesque valley below. I'll bet you wont be able to detect the
underground reservoir carefully buried on one ridge. Climbing higher you'll
see more ridge tops until you reach a gravel road. Bear left toward the
lakes, the only "natural lakes" in Orange County.
Positioned above the largest lake — called Barbara's Lake for Barbara
Stewart — just up the hill from the water district pump station, you'll see
why so many people have worked so hard to save this area.
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If
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