Orange County Accepted Gift of 20,000 Acres of Protected Open Space Land from The Irvine Company

20,000 acres of protected open space land was donated this summer to Orange County, CA, by The Irvine Company for preservation and guided recreation. 

Largest single donation of land to the County in history, this Irvine Ranch Open Space gift increases Orange County Parks land by 50 percent to 60,000 acres.

Conservation efforts on this land will continue, and Orange County residents and visitors can access it through a variety of programs and activities.

The gifted land includes a large part of the Historic Irvine Ranch, now designated a Natural Landmark by both the State of California and the U.S. Department of Interior.

In 1897, James Irvine donated 60 acres for California's first regional park, now known as Irvine Regional Park.

Through this recent donation, the people of County will have better opportunities to visit and enjoy rugged canyons and scenic vistas, which is some of the remaining wild lands in the county.

This gift includes 1,988 acres that will become Black Star Canyon Wilderness Park, Orange County's newest wilderness park.

The protected wildlands of the Irvine Ranch Open Space are available for passive recreation through scheduled programs, hiking, mountain biking, equestrian rides, naturalist-guided tours and managed wilderness access days.

This 20,000-acre Irvine Ranch Open Space includes: 

• Gypsum Canyon - Acres: 1,787 - Trail Mileage: 2.1 
• Weir Canyon - (near Irvine Regional Park) - Acres: 2,850 - Trail Mileage: 9.0 
• Fremont Canyon - Acres: 7,391 - Trail Mileage: 22.8 
• Black Star Canyon - Acres: 1,988 - Trail Mileage: 15.3 
• Loma Ridge - Acres: 560 - Trail Mileage: 3.4 
• Limestone Canyon (near Santiago Canyon Road) - Acres: 5,308 - Trail Mileage: 24.7 
• Limestone Canyon (near Laguna Canyon Road) - Acres: 172 - Trail Mileage: 1.0

For information about the Irvine Ranch Open space, tour schedules, public programs and activities, check out the Orange County Parks web site or www.irlandmarks.org.

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Harrison K. Long @ Live At Orange County
Business Solutions, REALTOR® and broker associate, Coldwell Banker Previews
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