I had the opportunity to attend the Shoestring Trail Ribbon Cutting Ceremony today in Limestone Canyon Wilderness Park. Ashley was not able to join because she was participating in the Mud Run at Camp Pendleton.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was lead by Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell and other O.C. Park Officials and members of the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. There were a lot of people in attendance for the ribbon cutting ceremony and wilderness access day. The parking lot, at the trailhead, was full with cars. I didn't have a chance to to get an exact count of the number of people present during the actual ribbon cutting ceremony but there were probably around 75 people including park officials.
The new Shoestring Trail is a key link for the trail network in the Limestone Canyon Wilderness Park. The trail allows for several loops to be taken within the area and connects with the
neighboring Loma Ridge area. The completion of the trail allows for the possibility to do a 5 mile loop or a longer 12.5 mile loop through the Limestone Canyon Wilderness. The bottom line is that it gives hikers more options when hiking in the Limestone Canyon area.The Shoestring Trail is 0.58 miles long one way and offers sweeping views along much of the trail. Both Ashley and I would like to say thanks to those that were involved in the development of the trail.
I had the opportunity to do the 5 mile loop and a write-up will follow of the trail highlighting both the new 5 mile and new 12.5 mile loop in the Limestone Canyon area. It was a beautiful day for a hike and ribbon cutting ceremony. Here are some pictures from the ribbon cutting ceremony. For more pictures of the ribbon cutting ceremony and of the Shoestring Trail make sure to check out our Facebook Page.
It looks beautiful from the photo above, Brian. I'd been hoping to make it out there, but family stuff made the scheduling too tough. Where is the trailhead, exactly, and is that the same place where the parking is? Hoping to make it to the next public-access day--and that the perfect hiking weather holds into July.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the posting.
The trailhead is just around the corner from the Augustine Staging area, just off of Hicks Haul Road. I am with you in hoping that this perfect hiking weather stays into July.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. I am not intending to rain on your parade but why can't they open Limestone Canyon year-round like other Orange County parks instead of only having these occasional "public access" days that we're supposed to pay homage for? It's pretty lame if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your opinion on the matter. This land has just transfered hands from trust under the Irvine Company to Orange County. There is a debate about preservation of the natural resources of the land versus full open access to the public and what effects if any that would have on the area. This debate has been going on for a while and we see the arguments on both sides of the coin. I won't state either Ashley or I's personal views on the matter, but we both celebrate the improvement to the area in opening up a new trail that gives hikers more hiking options when hiking in that area.
ReplyDelete