Best Hike in Caspers Wilderness Park: "Nature Trail - Loskorn-West Ridge-Star Rise-Oak" Loop

My favorite hikes are not always long hikes. In fact, being a man of a certain age and fitness level, after about 12 miles, there better be something interesting to look at or some other payoff at mile 12.1 or I’m no longer a happy hiker. I suppose for me any hike longer than 15 miles moves the whole thing from being a “day hike” to either an overnight backpacking trip (nice) or a forced death march (not nice). Mostly, I like nice day hikes.

I’m also picky in choosing my favorite or repeated hikes. If I have a bad experience (didn’t bring enough water, trail was not maintained) or failed to see anything of even passing visual interest (long stretches of narrow trail through claustrophobic thickets) I’ll not give the trail another chance. One strike and you’re out, Mr. Hiking Trail.  So many hikes, so few days, etc.

So when I tell you that I’ve done this hike like five times in three years, you can trust that it’s a pretty nice trail. In fact, at Caspers Wilderness Park near San Juan Capistrano, it’s probably the nicest hike in the place.

As mentioned in an earlier post, Caspers is an 8,000 acre patch of Santa Ana Mountain wilderness that could be considered one of a handful of gems in the Orange County Parks crown. The park follows along the north-south bearing Bell and San Juan canyons and is bordered on the east by the Ortega Highway (CA 74) and to the west by the aptly named West Ridge. Okay, it’s probably got an official name, but I don’t know what it is and the park rangers knew what I was talking about when I mentioned it.

Today’s hike is one of my favorites as it provides a nice sampler of all the natural gifts that Caspers lists on its wilderness menu. It’s not got a proper name, but I call it the “3.5 Mile Nature Trail-West Ridge-Star Rise-Oak Trail Loop,” for obvious reasons. 

The park is about seven miles east of San Juan Capistrano, on the west side of CA 74. After pulling into the park, pay your entry fee to the lucky ranger working at the front gate, grab a map head up to the visitor’s center. Use the bathroom there and go inside to say hello to the nice volunteers working inside. Check out the exhibits and then be a mensch and buy something or leave a donation. Such parks are being negatively impacted by community financial shortfalls. Gate entry fees and the small portion given to parks via tax revenues barely keep the lights on.

From there, head back to the main park road and travel north to the parking lot across from the picturesque windmill and horse corral. Head north past the corral and adjoining equestrian facilities to find the Nature Trail. Continue northerly, crossing a cobble filled creek bed towards the oak and sycamore groves the park is known for. At the Dick Loskorn trail junction, turn left and begin the mild but heavy breathing inducing climb for almost a mile.

This portion of the hike is particularly beautiful as it hugs the ridge contours passing through pure white sandstone and white kaolin clay deposits. The white bluffs may remind you of formations found in more well known parks but on a much larger scale. The single track trail is narrow in places with steep drop offs, so pay attention and stop staring at the white bluffs so much.

The trail continues climbing until you reach the West Ridge trail. Turn right, (north) and follow the undulating wide fire road along the ridge catching superb views on either side. After about ¾ of a mile make a right (east) turn at the Star Rise trail junction. The trail is pretty steep as it descends into Bell Canyon and is notorious for being washed out after heavy rains. Like the West Ridge trail, there isn’t much shade and on warm sunny days, so be sure to wear a hat and bring plenty of water.

In about ½ mile you’ll make a right (south) turn onto the Oak trail. This incredibly beautiful section of the hike brings you under the cooling shade of ancient, twisted oaks and expansive sycamores. Do yourself a favor and stop for a short rest under any of these beauties to take in how magnificent they are. If you brought a snack, enjoy it here. Experiencing such trees is one of the joys of the natural world so take some time to mentally record it all.

Once you’ve emerged from this state of oneness with the oaks and you’ve picked up some of the trash left by less conscientious hikers, continue south towards the parking area, following any number of paths you’ll find as you leave the oak and sycamore forest. If you feel like taking in another mile or two, bear south to find the Pinhead Peak trail. It’s an up-and-back 1.5 mile walk to the summit of a 662’ elevation viewpoint that gives a nice panorama of coastal canyons, chaparral and alluvial plains. If you ignore the smattering of structures and roads seen in the distance, you might be able to glimpse what California looked like 100 years ago, especially if you squint a little.

Caspers offers many other hiking options, all of them having a particular charm or quality that makes them worth the sweat. But if you've never been before, when you visit the park don't miss this moderately easy loop hike. And hug an oak while you're there.  They appreciate the love.

For more information:

OC Parks: Caspers

Caspers WP Brochure

Caspers Trail Map

Caspers Photo Set

Best Day Hike in Lower Sequoia NP: Marble Falls Trail

Sequoia National Park is more than just big, fat trees. For certain, those fatties are worth seeing, touching and loving anytime and often, but winter visits are sometimes made a bit more difficult with closed highways and neck deep snow covered trails. Fortunately, Sequoia offers diverse environments allowing treks year round.

Approaching the park from the south via Hwy 198 through Visalia and Three Rivers, the “Ash Mountain and Foothills” portion of Sequoia is often well below the snow line while still providing inspiring waterfalls, roaring rivers, oak and laurel shaded paths and encounters with wildlife regardless of the season.

One of the more popular trails there is the 8 mile round trip hike to Marble Falls.  The trail is a moderately difficult hike with a 2,000 foot elevation change.  To access the trailhead, enter the park from the southern gate, (Ash Mountain) driving north-easterly on the park’s Generals Highway to the Potwisha campground, elevation 2,100 feet.

Entering the campground, continue along its roadway to the upper, northern end (near campgrounds 14 and 16) where a narrow access road leads to a small parking area.  Since bears frequent the area, a metal “bear box” is available at the trailhead to safely store any coolers, food and toiletries carried in your car. 

Though you may not actually see a bear, it is highly likely you’ll see evidence of their presence in the form of scattered trash, fecal matter, scarred tree trunks and other signs.  Be smart and use the bear box.

The trail parallels a concrete aqueduct and the Marble Fork of the Kaweah river for .2 miles before it begins a quick, switched-back climb on the east side of the river gorge. New trail signs indicate that from this point, the falls are 3.9 miles up canyon, and I believe it.

Oaks, laurels and yucca dominate the chaparral plant life that is accented in the spring with wide swatches of wildflowers. The trail continues to climb as it follows the contours of the river gorge. This is my favorite type of hike since the trail alternates between climbing and leveling off. This allows you to rest while moving to the next uphill section of the hike.


As the trail climbs, the terrain and plants change to more alpine-like with occasional bare rock outcroppings that provide a particular drama to the often narrow, steep drop-off single-track trail. During the wetter months and the spring thaw, you will need to cross any number of hillside creeks that exist in draws. The trail is also alternatively shady and sun drenched as it moves in and out of these foliage and even moss-dense sections of trail.


At about 2.5 miles you will be afforded a distant, but good view of the falls, actually a series of cascades of varying heights, at the bottom of the narrow gorge. You will definitely hear the river and the falls before you see them and the roar only grows more powerful as you near the end of the trail.

When you reach the place where the trail meets the river, you’ll be treated to up close views of the largest cascades as they wash over broad slabs of white marbleized quartz. Looking up at the west side of the gorge, you’ll witness a massive deposit of this quartz, the outcropping as tall as the mountain containing it, looming over the river. Though you might be tempted, it is not recommended to venture any further up river. The rocks are slick, the river powerful and any missteps, unforgiving.

After absorbing a bit of the energy echoing from every surface, return the way you came. During the spring and summer months, be sure to check yourself for ticks that like to hang out on shrubs and low laying flora. Keep an eye for passive, fearless mule deer and furtive rattlesnakes along the way.  Both are numerous at times. 

There are many online trail guides for Marble Falls if you need additional information. The park rangers at the Foothills Visitor Center can also provide you with the latest trail conditions.  Though it's an easy hike to find and follow, here's a map that may be useful: Sequoia NP Foothills Area. Other helpful maps can be found on this site as well.

It is important to mention that during the summer months, the foothills area of Sequoia can get quite warm so bring plenty of water, and wear a hat!

Johnson Ranch: San Luis Obispo

Johnson Ranch is the newest addition to San Luis Obispo's open space park inventory. It's not a large park, the main trail only offering about 4 miles of easy going, single track hiking, but it is a beautiful park, maybe even strikingly so at certain times of the year.

I was fortunate enough to happen upon it on a recent business trip to the San Luis Obispo area. Heading towards a more familiar trail at the end of the day, I spied the parking lot and trailhead from the highway as I was nearing my hotel. After a quick U-turn, I found a handful of friendly local hikers and moutain bikers who were making the best of the fading light and expansive green hillsides decorated with a narrow brown ribbon of trail threaded along the undulating glades.

The new park has gained more than a few online fans who speak of the history of the ranch and its environs. In the spring, the park's hills can be verdant, lush. During the summer months, the dry grasses give the landscape a soft, satisfying and warm glow, accented with deep green oaks offering welcome shade.

The trail is supplemented with a number of wooden bridges that help you to navigate across ravines and a year round stream, the habitat of a small number of steelhead trout. As such, a good portion of the park, while open to view and enjoy from a distance, is so sensitive that hikers are not allowed.

Unfortunately, a growing number of feral pigs haven't been told of the sensitive nature of the area and have made themselves a bit of a nuisance. In addition to tearing up some countryside, they've been stirring up sediments in the stream making life for the rare steelheads a bit tougher. Some hikers have reported confronting the pigs, but no injuries have resulted from the encounters.

Johnson Ranch is certainly not a destination hike, but if you find yourself in the San Luis Obispo area for any reason, do take some time to check this place out. There is a remarkable, sprawling oak tree that spreads up, back into the ground and then out again that makes the trip worth it. The trail travels beneath this wonderful tree, so you can't miss it.

The link below will lead you SLO's Park and Recreation website. Other Open Space Parks are listed, including the Irish Hills Natural Reserve, which has some very sweet trails that I will describe later.

SLO Open Space Parks