OC Parks stewards nearly 60,000 acres of County parks, beaches, and open spaces, protecting vibrant habitats for plants and wildlife while ensuring these special places can be enjoyed for generations to come. This stewardship focuses on balancing the protection and preservation of healthy, sustainable ecosystems while providing access for millions of visitors who explore these spaces each year.
Across the County’s parks and open spaces, hundreds of miles of official trails are offered for hikers, runners, bicyclists, and horseback riders to explore. These authorized trails are intended to provide safe, enjoyable access while protecting the natural environment. Despite OC Parks’ extensive trail systems, creation and use of unauthorized trails remains an ongoing challenge.
While unauthorized trails may seem harmless, their impacts can be serious and far-reaching. These trails often cut through preserved habitat and can damage sensitive vegetation, displace wildlife, introduce invasive species, increase erosion and fire risk. These impacts threaten ecological health and can jeopardize public access. In many cases, OC Parks does not have the ability to allow or disregard unauthorized trails due to existing conservation agreements with state and federal agencies and easement holders, which all aim to preserve the land.
Here are some of the top reasons to stay off unauthorized unmarked trails.
Protect your access!
Creating and using unauthorized trails can lead to loss of public access to parkland as multiple layers of restrictions legally protect and preserve most OC Parks facilities. Agreements with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allow for passive public recreation in these areas, only when not in conflict with habitat and resource protection. Continued unauthorized use can trigger enforcement actions such as trail closures, partial park closures, or potentially even engagement from regulatory agencies seeking to eliminate public access in order to ensure continued preservation and protection of the natural resources.
Authorized trails, as shown on official park maps and signage, have been designated through site-specific planning efforts, public and environmental review, and resource management considerations. In some parks, this is reflected in adopted General Development Plans or Resource Management Plans, developed after extensive research and surveys by biologists to identify trails and alignments that would have the least impact to natural resources. Other parks are guided by Interim Operations Plans or similar frameworks. OC Parks is obligated to manage the land in accordance with each park’s guiding document, as well as any overlaying regulatory conservation agreements. These documents outline which trails and areas the public may access, balancing public access with stewardship obligations.
Protect biodiversity!
While it may not be apparent to the untrained eye, many unauthorized trails cut through some of the most environmentally sensitive and fragile habitats, which are often home to threatened and endangered species. Even though some authorized trails may be wide, their environmental impact is often far less significant. This is because many follow historic ranch roads that have existed for over a hundred years. By intentionally using these alignments, the trail system takes advantage of areas that are already impacted rather than destroying intact native plant communities.
In contrast, unauthorized trails fragment habitat. Even narrow trails can create barriers that break large, connected ecosystems into smaller, disconnected patches. This makes it harder for animals to find food, water, shelter, and mates, and can increase stress, conflict, and population decline. Over time, fragmentation weakens the entire ecosystem, reducing its ability to stay healthy, resilient, and balanced.
These unplanned routes can also accelerate erosion, destabilize soil, and create pathways for invasive weeds to creep deeper into wilderness. Many of these fast-growing species are more flammable than native plants, increasing wildfire risk and degrading natural fire resilience.
Honor the past, present, and future of our wildlands!
Many of Orange County’s wildlands exist today only because of decades of conservation advocacy and public support. For example, Laguna Coast and Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Parks, were once slated for general development and homebuilding. Through years of activism, including a tax bond Laguna Beach voters passed to purchase the land, these parks are now protected in perpetuity. Similar stories can be found across the park system. OC Parks honors this legacy by preserving these lands in alignment with the public’s vision, supporting compatible recreation, and stewarding their health to keep them vibrant and sustained for generations of wildlife and park visitors to come.
Can there ever be new trails?
OC Parks works hard to balance resource protection with public recreation. The addition of new trails most often occurs when OC Parks opens a new facility, such as the recent opening of Saddleback, Gypsum, and Red Rock Wilderness facilities. In existing parks, new trails must be identified in the park’s guiding documents, which are reviewed by regulatory agencies and the public, and undergo careful planning. This often involves a give-and-take of one trail for another, an awareness of what areas have specific environmental and archeological sensitivities and protections, and what sections may be more appropriate for increased use. New trail additions aim to enhance park connectivity, improve visitor experience, and ensure that access remains sustainable and sensitive to natural resources over time.
How unauthorized trail are restored
When unauthorized trails are closed, the land sometimes recovers naturally, but often requires careful restoration. Restoration usually begins with decompacting the soil and creating depressions the length of the trail to capture native seeds and water. Native plantings, such as cactus, and supplemental local seed may then be added to the decommissioned tread to support regrowth. Finally, native brush gathered from routine trail maintenance is often used to cover the old trail alignment. This screens the trail, helps native plants germinate, and improves restoration success. Over time, these areas blend back into the landscape and regain ecological function.
How to help
Stay on official, designated trails.
Don’t create or modify trails.
Report trail cutting or new unauthorized trails to park staff.
Volunteer with OC Parks to help maintain our trails and restore our parks. Visit ocparks.com/volunteer to learn more.
With hundreds of miles of official trails across the OC Parks system, there are countless ways to explore and enjoy nature responsibly. By staying on authorized trails, you help keep these lands healthy, resilient, and open for everyone to experience, now and for generations to come.
We welcome constructive input. Email OCParks@ocparks.com to share ideas, observations, or questions.
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