Those looking to get a few more steps in during their weekend workouts while adding some new hiking trails to their repertoire are in luck this winter, as California State Parks is leading a series of walks around the San Onofre and San Clemente State Parks.
Led by Heather Rice, a California State Park naturalist and senior park aide, these Saturday morning hikes through the Panhe canyon, San Onofre backcountry and San Clemente State Beach allow participants to experience some nature trails they may not have known were available.
“I hope that they understand how special having this resource in their backyard is,” Rice said, adding: “Trestles is one of the best surf spots in the world, and we get millions of visitors for Trestles Beach, but a lot of people don’t know about the camp trail.”
Along the hikes, which rotate from week to week and vary in difficulty, Rice takes the opportunity to highlight the various plants spotted throughout the trails and points out the area’s cultural significance to the Acjachemen people who developed their Panhe Village.
The 3-mile, out-and-back walk along the Panhe Nature Trail is Rice’s favorite hike, as it’s a sacred village site where she’s able to show how the Acjachemen people utilized the land, particularly the flowing creek that empties out into the ocean.
“Following the way they would go fishing along the creek and the boats they would make, reenacting that in a way, there’s something special in that,” Rice said.
After hosting these hikes during the other seasons throughout the past year, Rice can tell which plants are blooming.
When San Clemente Times joined Rice and other hikers on the Panhe Nature Trail walk on Jan. 21, she was excited to show the group the coyote brush, which disperses its seeds in the wind.
“My favorite thing to do when I go on hikes is I like to see which plant during the season is really ‘showing off,’ ” Rice explained to the group. “So, coyote brush right now is our ‘show off’ plant—one of them—and it’s a great plant for many animals to hide under.”
“It’s also called a pioneer plant, because after fires, this is one of the first plants that shows up,” she continued. “So, it helps with erosion. It has good root structure to really help make sure erosion is less (impactful).”
The Panhe Nature Trail starts from the San Mateo campground and loosely follows the San Mateo Creek toward Trestles Beach. Leading up to the Jan. 21 walk, California had been battered with strong rainstorms, allowing the creek to flow freely.
“What’s especially cool right now is the hike we’re doing this Saturday, the creek is flowing,” Rice told SC Times before the hike. She added that “it hasn’t been flowing in years, so the creek is flowing out to the ocean. It’s such a great vantage point of walking along the trail and observing the flowing creek bed.”
As a fitting end to the Panhe canyon hike, Rice said, some would get to Trestles Beach, take their shoes and socks off, and dip their feet into the ocean.
“It’s super special that way,” she said, “and then we just trek on back afterward.”
Rice will lead the Panhe Nature Trail walk—what she considered as an intermediate hike—on Saturday, Feb. 11, and again on March 18 from 9-11 a.m. On Feb. 25, from 9-10 a.m., she’ll take participants through a child-friendly, 1-mile hike around San Clemente State Beach.
“It’s a loop trail that’s really great for kids,” she said, adding that she’ll usually conduct a scavenger hunt on which they will look for pine cones.
On March 4, from 8-11 a.m., Rice will guide participants through the 4-mile San Onofre Backcountry Hike, which starts near San Clemente’s Baron Von Willard Memorial Dog Park, located at 301 Avenida La Pata.
Rice said anyone looking to join a hike should be prepared with good hiking shoes, water, sunscreen, and a hat, as well as snacks such as a granola bar. She also recommended packing binoculars for those interested in bird watching.
Usually, she said, about five to 10 people participate in the hikes. The hikes, she added, depend on the weather, so rainy days would prompt her to cancel the walk. She also noted that day-use fees into the state parks apply.
Asked what she hopes groups get out of her hikes, Rice said that it would encourage them to think more consciously about protecting and preserving resources, whether that’s picking up trash or just enjoying the outdoors.
“Enjoy your environment and where you’re living,” she said.
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