Peters Canyon Regional Park
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| Upper Peters Canyon Reservoir |
This park is located in Orange, CA and borders Tustin, CA. We started the hike at the reservoir parking lot and began on the East Ridge View Trail. The East Ridge Trail is a 5.7 mile loop that runs along the border of the park. The park is narrow except at the northern section were the reservoir/lake is located. There is no swimming, fishing, or touching the lake allowed. But views of lake are very nice. All along the East Ridge Trail there are cut offs to make the loop as short as you would like. Walking clock-wise along East Ridge Trail you will find a junction of Lake View Trail. Just after this junction there is a large hill that has a pretty steep grade. This is the most difficult section of the trail and I was glad that is was in the beginning. Continue moving south on East Ridge and you will pass several cut offs until you get to the southernmost point. There are nice house all along the edge of the park so you will of course have to see the sprawl. The terrain and elevation change significantly at junction of Eucalyptus Trail. You will go downhill until meeting Lower Peters Canyon Trail. This section of the trail runs along a creek in the low lands. Continue North until you come back to the junction of Lake View and East Ridge. Start heading West on Lake View and you will find some more difficult elevation changes and small switch backs but the view of the lake on top is well worth the extra effort. During this last leg of the trip you have the option to go closer to the lake using Cactus Point Loop and Skylark Loop. Just a little further and you will have completed the full trail. This is a popular location in highly populated area. Overall it’s good for a day hike and an excuse to get outside.
Thank You,
Chris Clark
