View of Upper Peters Canyon Reservoir from the picnic area, 4/29/12

Peters Canyon Regional Park is part of the Mountains to Sea Trail, located in the City of Orange off Jamboree Blvd. ¼ mile from Chapman Ave. just before Chapman turns into Santiago Canyon Road (S18).  The park is lined by residential on one side of the park and open hills on the other.  A variety of habitats are found here ranging from grasslands to freshwater marsh, coastal sage scrub and riparian.  The park includes the 55 acre Upper Peters Canyon Reservoir, attracting a number of migrating birds.  Other wildlife (to name a few) includes deer, bobcats, coyotes, rattlesnakes and occasionally a mountain lion.  A small seasonal creek meanders through the canyon.  Trails vary in difficulty level:  Peters Canyon Trail, parts of LakeView Loop Trail, Willow Trail are fairly easy.  Other trails vary from moderate to difficult.  Activities include day picnicking, hiking, mountain biking and equestrian use (bring your own horse).  The park is open 7 days a week, 7am to sunset but will close around rain storms and other hazardous conditions.  Check the official park webpage for more information and any special alerts or park status:  http://www.ocparks.com/peterscanyon/default.asp?Show=Introduction A trail map can be found at:  http://www.ocparks.com/uploadgraphics/lbpetersv8.pdf  Peters Canyon picnic area The pictures below were taken around the parking and picnic areas, Lake View Trail to Peters Canyon Trail passing Willow Trail, East Ridge Trail and Gnatcatcher Trail along the way.  Willow trail passes through a dense riparian forest but is often closed to protect the endangered bird Least Bell’s Vireo.  Click any picture on this page to enlarge.

Upper Peters Canyon Reservoir	Willow Trail at Lake View Trail (looking over the gate, trail is closed)	Willow Trail (at Peters Canyon Trail)
Peters Canyon Trail (near Willow Trail), through the riparian habitat	Peters Canyon Trail, near the reservior	Coastal sage scrub habitat on Peters Canyon Trail, near the reservoir
View of Upper Peters Canyon Reservior from Peters Canyon Trail	East Ridge View Trail (near Peters Canyon Trail), one of the more challenging	Rest area on East Ridge View Trail, just before the big incline

Click to Enlarge--Peters Canyon Reservoir facts, used to be displayed near the parking lot Peter's Canyon Regional Park, pic from 3/1/08, taken at same spot as the page intro pic

Park location:  8548 E. Canyon View Ave., Orange, CA Trail Map from goodtime.net, includes detailed trail descriptions and trail lengths, click on the underlined text for details: http://www.goodtime.net/tus/lotus027.htm Mountains to Sea Trail, 22 miles long from Weir Canyon to Upper Newport Bay, which Peters Canyon Trail is one segment of this route.  See the links below for more info: http://www.irvinecompany.com/Our-Legacy/forever-wild/mountains-to-sea-trail.aspx Map: http://www.irlandmarks.org/assets/pdfs/MountainsToSeaMap.pdf http://hike-this-way.com/2011/03/mountains-to-sea-trail/

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Places nearby: San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary (also a segment of the Mountains to Sea Trail) Irvine Regional Park (photo gallery on CA Openspace's Facebook page) Santiago Oaks Regional Park Other blog pages on Peters Canyon: Brian and Ashley's Hiking Blog! http://abhiking.blogspot.com/2011/04/peters-canyon-regional-park.html Nobody Hikes in LA: http://nobodyhikesinla.com/tag/peters-canyon/ Greene Adventures, date 2010: http://www.greeneadventures.com/2011/06/25/peters-canyon-east-ridge-view-trail-to-peters-canyon-trail-loop-a-bit-of-nature-on-the-edge-of-town/