Notes about your surroundings Holiday hikes--Burning up...

Notes about your surroundings Holiday hikes--Burning up with cabin fever? There’s no better place to air out than Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in South County.

Self-guided tours and hikes are available on a daily basis but interpretive hikes led by park rangers take place on Saturdays at 9 a.m. The trail meanders through oak woodlands, grassy hills and rock formations.

The tour begins at Red Rock Trail, which is a 1.5-mile hike from the park entrance on Portola Parkway. Don’t let the sight of the shopping center across from the trail head get you down. Once your feet are moving, the thick trees and wildlife will verify that you’re not in South Coast Plaza anymore.

For those who prefer to explore on two wheels or four legs, Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park offers graded roads and trails for mountain bikes and equestrians. Motorized vehicles are prohibited.

First-timers to the area and inexperienced hikers will want to explore three popular trails. Each starts from the Portola Parkway trail head.

* Vista Point Trail: Four miles round-trip. Great views.

* Red Rock Trail: Four miles round-trip. Explores rugged rock formations sometimes described as a small Grand Canyon.

* Borrego Trail-Mustard Trail-Whiting Road Loop: Six-mile route. Climbs through Borrego Canyon to a mesa-like top called Four Corners.

To get there:

From Interstate 5 in the El Toro area, exit on Lake Forest Drive and proceed east 4.8 miles to Portola Parkway. Turn left and drive half a mile to the entrance and parking lot of Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park.

For more information, or to sign up for the naturalist-led hikes, call Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park at (714) 589-4729.

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Date of count: Dec. 6-7

Level contrasts current count with standard for this time of year.

Trend indicates change from last pollen count (n/c indicates no change). vl,2 Source: Los Angeles Chapter, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

howdeep -------------------------------------------------- Current depth, including heads, is 11.041 inches or 66p5 --------------------------------------------------