Orange County’s Top 10 Hikes That Families Will Love

1. Reef Point and Crystal Cove Trail

Reef Point and Crystal Cove Trail is a 5 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Laguna Beach, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail is primarily used for running, nature trips, and bird watching and is best used from June until November.

Distance: 5 miles
Difficulty: Easy

2. Borrego Canyon to Red Rock Canyon

Borrego Canyon Trail to Red Rock Canyon is a 4.1 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Foothill Ranch, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Horses are also able to use this trail.

Parking Fee: $3. During the winter this park may close due to weather conditions. It may also close due to mountain lion activity. Please check with the park before visiting. 

Distance: 4.1 miles
Difficulty: Easy

3. Peters Canyon Lake View Trail

Peters Canyon Lake View Trail is a heavily trafficked loop trail located near Orange, California that features a lake and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from October until June. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

Peters Canyon Regional Park encompasses 340 acres of coastal sage scrub, riparian, freshwater marsh and grassland habitats. The 55-acre Upper Peters Canyon Reservoir is home to many resident and migrating waterfowl. black willows, sycamores and cottonwoods line the lake and Peters Canyon Creek which meanders through the canyon. Parking Fee is $3 daily.

Distance: 2.2 miles
Difficulty: Easy

4. Buck Gully Trail

Buck Gully Trail is a heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Newport Beach, California that features a river and is good for all skill levels. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, running, and mountain biking and is accessible year-round.

Note: this trail is periodically closed due to weather conditions. Please check park website for most up-to-date information on trail conditions. 

Distance: 4.4 miles
Difficulty: Easy

5. Mission Viejos Oso Creek Trail

Mission Viejo's Oso Creek Trail is a heavily trafficked loop trail located near Mission Viejo, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from March until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

Distance: 3.2 miles
Difficulty: Easy

6. Quail Loop Trail

Quail Loop Trail is a heavily trafficked loop trail located near Irvine, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

Distance: 1.8 miles
Difficulty: Easy

7. Aliso Summit Trail

Aliso Summit Trail is a 8.8 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Laguna Niguel, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, running, and mountain biking and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail.

This hike along the southern ridge of the Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park is fairly easy, with only a short moderate hill at the end. As you walk you'll find the park to your right and suburbs and homes to your left, so you don't really get an out in nature feel to the hike. At the end you get a really nice view of the ocean and Aliso Beach County Park.

Distance: 8.8 miles
Difficulty: Easy

8. Newport Beach Back Bay Trail

Newport Beach Back Bay Trail is a heavily trafficked loop trail located near Newport Beach, California that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

Sea breezes make this one of the few treeless trails that you can hike in summer in Southern California. Located far from the ridges, the flat expanses of the marsh do not, at first glance, seem like much of a place to commune with nature, but once you get up close you discover all kinds of wonders including waterfowl, insect life, peculiar vegetation, and fossils.

Distance: 10.1 miles
Difficulty: Easy

9. Fullerton Panorama Trail

Fullerton Panorama Trail is a heavily trafficked loop trail located near Fullerton, California that offers scenic views and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from April until September. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.

Distance: 2.8 miles
Difficulty: Easy

10. Sulphur Creek Reservoir Loop

Sulphur Creek Reservoir Loop is a heavily trafficked loop trail located near Laguna Niguel, California that features a lake and is good for all skill levels. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs and horses are also able to use this trail.

The lake at the heart of this Orange County regional park is a secondary attraction to the green lawns and trees of the adjacent picnic areas. Many walk this trail as an afterthought or prowl it in search of one of the many lakeside fishing spots at the bottom of a set of railroad-tie stairs.

Distance: 1.8 miles
Difficulty: Easy