Hiking Trail Guide: Pectin Reef Loop, Aliso & Wood RW

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Pectin Reef Loop, Aliso & Wood RW

Distance
3.1 miles

Elevation
120 feet gain

Difficulty
3/10

City
Aliso Viejo ,CA (92656) 41.45 miles from you Weather Map

Trailhead
From Interstate 5: Take the Alicia exit in Mission Viejo. Head south towards Laguna Niguel/Aliso Viejo. Approximately four miles south, turn right on Pacific Park Drive. Cross the bridge and turn right on Woodfield which leads down to Woodfield Park. Park in the first lot on your right. The trail leads directly out of the parking area. You can either turn left to proceed down the bikeway or turn right to catch the dirt trailhead about fifty yards down the bikeway on your left.

You can make this longer by starting at the Aliso & Wood Canyon visitor center. (See Dripping Cave.)

Note: Signs and many web sites call this "Pectin Reef". The official park map and proper usage call it "Pecten Reef".

There is little shade on this route. Bring water, sunscreen, and a hat.

Description

his little hiked portion of the extensive Aliso & Wood Canyons Wilderness Park features a fossil reef from which Miocene Era dolphins, whales, and other creatures have been recovered. The beds themselves aren't quite worth the trip and the scenery, though locally interesting, largely consists of overgrazed hillsides and bottomlands where alien bamboo fight it out with the native mulefat and bay laurels. Part of the trail is a dirt sidewalk running along Alicia Parkway.

The best rocks from the Pectin Reef are at the Aliso and Wood Canyons Museum where you can also see the skeleton of a dolphin and Waldo, a ground sloth who was uncovered during the construction of the toll road you'll pass under.

If you do visit, pick a cool day when you can linger over the fossil beds and locate a few finds. Leave what you discover at the site for others to enjoy.

Map / Directions: