Sunset on the Palos Verdes Peninsula from the trail head
Heading into Wood Canyon
Text and photography copyright 2010 by David W. Lockeretz, all rights reserved. Information and opinions provided are kept current to the best of the author’s ability. All readers hike at their own risk, and should be aware of the possible dangers of hiking, walking and other outdoor activities. The author does not take any responsibility for injuries sustained during hikes or walks on the routes described here. Check the informational links provided for up to date trail condition information.
Rock It Loop in Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park
- Location: Hills north of Laguna Beach in south Orange County. From I-405, take the highway 133 exit south for 8.5 miles. Turn left on Forest, which becomes 3rd St, and after 0.3 miles total take a left onto Park Ave. Go 1.8 miles on Park to its terminus in Alta Laguna Drive, and head left, and park at the end of the street.
- Agency: Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park
- Distance: 7.6 miles
- Elevation gain: 850 feet
- Difficulty Rating: PG-13 (Distance)
- Suggested time: 3.5 hours
- Best season: October – June
- USGS topo maps: “San Juan Capistrano”; “Laguna Beach”
- More information: here; park map here.
- Rating: 7
South Orange County’s Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park may best be known for Dripping Cave, but there’s a lot of other stuff to see throughout the park’s 4,200 acres. This trip visits the canyons from a lesser-used entrance on the west side of the park. If you have the time and energy, you can make a side-trip (about a mile each way) to the cave.
From the trail head, follow the West Ridge fire road downhill, north, into the park. To the left, you can see the interesting sandstone formations of Laguna Coast Wilderness Park; straight ahead, Modjeska and Santiago Peaks and other other Santa Ana summits loom, and to the right, you can see the expanse of Aliso & Wood. After a mile and a half, look for the Rock It Trail, which descends steeply into the canyon. The noise from nearby highway 133 quickly vanishes.
At the bottom of the hill, head left on the Wood Canyon trail, which parallels one of the two canyons that gives the park its name. The trail passes through some peaceful groves of oaks before rising into an open area that borders a housing tract. Here, the Wood Canyon trail becomes the Cholla Trail, which climbs up the north edge of the park to rejoin the West Ridge Trail. Turn left (south) and follow the West Ridge Trail back to Alta Laguna Blvd. If you time it right, you can return to the trail head in time to watch a great sunset over the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
