One of the challenges of winter is that during the week, it’s already dark outside when I leave the office. I don’t mind hiking in the dark, but many people aren’t comfortable hiking in the wilderness at night, and most of the regional trails are officially closed from sundown to sunrise.
Time: ~2 hours
Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
Elevation gain: 500 ft
Dogs: OK
When to go: Year-round
The trail begins at the end of the sports park parking lot on Chapparosa. You follow the paved trail as it parallels Salt Creek. Keep your eyes open for rabbits and the occasional snake, and listen for the croaking frogs.
There are three major arteries that the trail passes under, Niguel Road, Camino del Avion and Pacific Coast Highway. There are tunnels under all three, and the trails can get a little confusing as you get intersecting paths from those streets joining the main trail. Remember to head down and through the tunnel, then keep paralleling the creek through the valley.
When you pass under Pacific Coast Highway, you’ll see the golf course and homes for a short distance before you reach the beach. As you can see in this photo, there are several paths that seem to merge together. The main trail is marked with a dashed yellow divider line — a reminder to keep to the right as this trail is shared by road bikers.
Once you reach the beach, you can stop and enjoy the views, or extend your hike with a beach walk. Your best bet is to head south, and you can walk all the way to the Dana Point.
When you’re ready to head back, retrace your steps back to your car.
Even though this trail is suburban and paved, it has beautiful scenery and doesn’t feel like you’re walking through a park. The creek is left in a natural state to support the native wildlife.
Trailhead
Parking is at the end of Chapparosa off Golden Lantern. Follow Chaparossa all the way to the sports park at the end, and park as far into the park as you can. The trail begins at the far southwest end of the parking lot.
Trail Map and Elevation Profile
Photo Gallery
Additional Salt Creek Trail Resources and Tips
- City of Laguna Niguel’s trail description
- There is ample free parking at trailhead, but avoid parking near the baseball field in season, or risk a dent from a stray fly ball!
- There are restroom facilities both at the trailhead and Salt Creek beach.
- Keep to the right. This paved trail is wide, but shared by road bikers and runners.
- This is a family-friendly hike. You can easily bring a stroller (with big wheels, hopefully) or modify the length to suit your child’s endurance.
What a beautiful beach – despite being close to the burbs it looks pretty secluded from the pics.
It is a pretty secluded beach. There are homes lining the bluff, but the beach is broad. It’s a bit of an effort to get to, and that dissuades many people.
Suburban hiking! Quite an interesting concept. At least for me. Anyway, I think it’s a real neat alternative to a wilderness hike when the shadows set in. =)
Yes, we take our “wilderness” where we can find it. During the weeknights, hikes like this help fill the gap, while still providing fresh air and that “attitude adjustment” that a good hike gives.
Agreed. It’s always amazing what just a few miles can do to your stress level. Like hitting the Reset button.
The OC Hiking Club does a weekly hike on this path from the fall to the spring. The hike is generally on Tuesday evenings at 6:00. http://oc-hiking.com.
David, you know I don’t see it on their calendar. Maybe they discontinued it?
We do it in the winter on Tuesday evening. I took over organizing the hike in November. We’ll run it until some time in April, and switch over to Colinas Bluff for our Tuesday evening hike in the summer.
So. Cal hiking rocks. Spencer Maughan is the owner of of ruggedhiker.com where we specialize in affordable hiking backpacks.
is that 6.8 miles one way? or there and back
Freddy, that’s 6.8 miles total (out AND back), at least based on my GPS recording.