7 min
Overview
UPDATE 8/15/2018: The trails on this route have been heavily impacted by the 2018 Holy Fire. It will be quite some time before the vegetation recovers, and it is currently unknown when the trails will re-open. Trabuco Canyon is one of Orange County’s great semi-hidden secrets. While a fair amount of hikers know about it thanks to its proximity with Santiago Peak and Holy Jim Falls, we suspect that most residents of the region are not aware that a beautiful canyon full of maples, bays, sycamores, and oaks lies hidden deep in the folds of the Santa Ana Mountains. This long loop built around the deeper parts of the canyon is also one of the most varied and interesting of the routes in the county. On this trip, you will visit the cool shade of the canyon along with its trickling seasonal creek before climbing up the Horsethief Trail to the main divide of the Santa Ana Mountains for panoramic coastal and interior views. You will plunge into a dense thicket of coulter pines and incense cedars before dropping back into Trabuco Canyon along cool north-facing slopes under the shade of bay trees and coast live oaks. The presence of bigleaf maples along watercourses also means that Trabuco Canyon is often Orange County’s best shot at a good fall color display. Looking southeast toward the Palomar Mountains This satisfying hike does come with a few cautions: The entirety of this hike occurs on Cleveland National Forest land, which means you will need to display and Adventure Pass at the Holy Jim Canyon trailhead. Despite this being Forest Service land, backpacking is not allowed on the Main Divide, nor throughout the reaches of Trabuco Canyon. Additionally, the road into Trabuco Canyon is rough and infrequently maintained, and it may not be passable for a low-clearance vehicle. Finally, despite a substantial portion of shade on this route, the summer months would be brutally hot times to attempt this hike. Therefore, your visit should be timed for a cool fall, winter, or spring day – preferably one with good visibility so
Trail Stats
17.6 km
899 m
1249 m
572 m
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