Less heralded California State Parks offers beauty and fewer crowds.
While the beaches and mountains of Southern California seem to get all of the fanfare, they're often filled with crowds and challenging to access due to traffic. Nestled in between Orange County and the Inland Empire, Chino Hills State Park provides a viable alternative for exploring the outdoors.
Admittedly, I had driven by the park many times without giving it a second thought, but on a recent Saturday decided to pop in.
Little did I know how vast the park was. I thought I could rip out a hike in a few hours and be on my way, but upon entering I found that the park had over 60 miles of trails!
I really didn't know where to begin and the day was quickly drawing to a close, so I thought I'd just freestyle the trails in hopes of getting a feel for the park.
I started on the Bane Canyon trail, which was lightly populated because most visitors appeared to be driving deeper into the park. I couldn't believe how lush the trail was, with many parks of it overgrown in places.
From there, I connected to the Sidewinder Trail. With no destination in mind, I simply hiked along taking in the sights and sounds of the park. Eventually, I came across a water crossing and then began a steep ascent up a large hill. As I continued to hike, the wildflowers became more condensed, with large patches of colors on the hillside. I spent over an hour photographing them in relative solidarity with nothing but the sounds of the birds and the wind in my ear.
As the sun was beginning to set, I made my way back to the trailhead. In the spring-time, the rolling green hills are just breath-taking. While I only conquered about 6-8 miles of trails, I will certainly come back to explore more of this park
Know Before You Go
This park is vast so have an idea of which hike you would like to do before visiting.
There are very few trees here that offer shade, so be sure to bring sunblock, water, and headwear.
Trails can be steep in some places, so ensure that you have appropriate footwear.
There is a fee to access parts of the park, please see the resources below for up-to-date fee schedule.
Resources
Video
The video below shows several parts of the Bane Trail and Sidewinder Trail as I hiked through Chino Hills State Park during a spring superbloom.
Location
The park sits in between Chino and Yorba Linda, with the main park entrance being to the Chino side. While you can access the park on foot via several path, I accessed the park by vehicle on Soquel Canyon Parkway.
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