SA Report: Picture Perfect
Trip Date: 11/23/2013
Location: Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park
Permit/Pass: Day use ($5), O.C. Parks Annual Pass ($55)
Trails: OC Park map, GTN Mileage Map
Directions: From Interstate 5 in San Juan Capistrano take the Ortega Hwy (CA 74) exit east. Drive just under eight miles to the park entrance on the left (north) side of the road. After passing through the entrance follow the street past several side roads before coming to the turnoff for the San Juan Meadow group area on the right (if you get to a stop sign you've gone too far). Turn right and follow the gravel road all the way to the end where you'll find a parking and the trailhead.
Trail sequence: San Juan Meadow Rd./ Connector to East Flats / East Flats / East Ridge / Cougar Pass / Oso / San Juan Creek / Juaneno
Type: Loop
Distance: 12 miles
Elevation: Min. - 324', Max. - 1590'
Profile:
Rating: Difficult (factors: length, steep sections, heat, sandy and rocky creek sections)
Synopsis: Take this hike, which leads you on a tour to some of the less traveled and more scenic parts of the park, only on a day that is not particularly hot. There is a nice place for lunch, plenty of excellent views and about a mile of noisy, but mostly level, hiking along a busy road. If you've got the stamina, this is a terrific circuit of the park.
Gazebo Loop - Oso - Caspers WP
Turn by Turn:
-- This hike begins at the Juaneno trailhead but doesn't begin on the Juaneno trail. After parking, turn away from the trail and walk west, then southwest, along the gravel road.
-- Follow the road around the meadow, passing a covered picnic table structure, and keep an eye out for a barely discernable trail heading off into the trees. This little use trail connects to East Flats trail just a few yards into the trees. (If you miss the connector, just continue on to the main road, turn right, then pick up the East Flats trail at the trailhead next to the stop sign.)
-- Turn right (north) on East Flats. A couple hundred yards of easy climbing brings you to East Ridge trail. Turn right (northeast) on East Ridge.
-- Follow East Ridge for around two miles before it abruptly turns to the left (west) and leaves the ridge to descend quickly to meet Cougar Pass. Turn right (northwest) on Cougar Pass.
-- After only a few tenths of a mile Cougar Pass dead-ends at Oso trail. Turn right (northeast) onto Oso.
-- Oso ascends, steeply for a while, but for most of the almost mile and a half before reaching a junction with Badger Pass trail, at which spot you'll find the Gazebo. This is a great place to take a break.
-- Continue on Oso to the northeast and follow it as it heads up, then begins a long descent, turning back to the south, the winding down some switchbacks, then heading south again.
-- After about three mile Oso ends at a junction with San Juan Creek trail, right next to Ortega Highway. Turn right (southwest) on San Juan Creek.
-- A little under a mile from the turn you come to a junction where San Juan Creek trail dips down to the creek bed itself, which has just exited from under Ortega Highway. Just before the trail dips, there is a single-track path leading off to the right (west). This is Juaneno trail.
-- Turn right on Juaneno trail and follow it for a little over three miles as it leads you through oak and sycamore woodlands, and sandy creek bed habitat. Eventually you cross a park access dirt road and push up a rise before dropping down to the trailhead and your car.
Photo gallery: Flickr