Laguna Ridge / Big Bend (dayhike)

Trip Date: 4/2/2014

Location: Laguna Coast Wilderness Park

Permit/Pass: Day use (weekday) - $3, (weekend) - $5, Annual Pass ($55 or $80)

Trails: New park map, Old park map

Directions: From Interstate 405 take CA Hwy 133 (aka Laguna Canyon Road) south. After you pass under Hwy 73 (toll road) the road narrows. Stay alert for a slight bend to the right in the road, after which there will be a gravel entrance to a parking lot for the park's Willow Staging area but don't turn here. Drive another 0.9 miles south on Laguna Canyon Road to the Big Bend Staging area on the right. Turn in at the gate with the park sign next to it and find a spot in the gravel lot. If you do not have an Orange County parks pass, be sure to pay at the machine.

Trail sequence: Stagecoach Springs south / Laurel Ridge / Bommer Ridge / Big Bend / Stagecoach Springs south

Type: Loop

Distance: 3.9 miles

Elevation: Min. - 18', Max. - 881'

Profile:

Rating: Moderate-Difficult (factors: heat, steep sections)

Synopsis: The beginning and end of this hike consist of hard climbing and steep descending. But the views of the ocean to the west and the Saddleback range to the east are worth the effort, even if you mostly get to enjoy them during the middle 1.5-2 miles of the trip along Bommer Ridge and the top part of Big Bend trail. Don't expect much solitude on weekends and holidays.

Track: Laguna Ridge / Big Bend - Laguna Coast WP

Turn by Turn:

  -- From the Big Bend staging area head south on Stagecoach Springs south trail. The path ascends a small hill where you come to a fork in the trail. A marker on the right directs one to take the right fork for Big Bend trail and the left for Laguna Ridge. Take the left fork.

  -- Laguna Ridge rises and falls several times as it works its way west along the road for about a half mile before climbing to the northwest.

  -- The trail continues ascending for a little under a mile before it dead-ends at the junction with Bommer Ridge trail. Turn right (north) on Bommer Ridge.

  -- Follow Bommer Ridge for about a mile as it meanders northeastward, at which point you come to a junction with Big Bend trail on the right. Turn right (east) onto Big Bend.

  -- Big bend drops, often quite steeply, down to the fork from the very beginning of the hike. Stay with the main trail as it merges back into Stagecoach South and turns back to the north along Laguna Canyon Rd., and then drops down to the parking lot.

 
Video: Youtube