Background: Lizard, in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, is used by many and loved by all. This popular but unauthorized trail provides a loop between Bommer Ridge and Laurel Spur, and is known for its tight single track and varied terrain.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of OC Parks, Lizard is the first trail to be added to the authorized trail system since Laguna Coast Wilderness Park opened in 1993. Laguna Canyon Foundation’s trail team has been hard at work to make Lizard sustainable before it’s open to the public. We installed grade reversals and drain dips to get water off the trail and limit erosion. We banked and bermed turns to help keep bikes on the trail bed, and we armored the steeper sections to prevent erosion. We also aggressively planted the sides of the trail to help preserve the wilderness feel of this single-track.
As part of the process to add this trail to the authorized system, it needs to be approved by the regulatory agencies that monitor wildlife and wilderness parks. And unfortunately, because this is the first time a trail has ever been added to an existing wilderness trail system in Orange County, we’ve needed to be extra careful to make sure we are going through every step possible to ensure the habitat is protected.
We anticipate that Lizard will open in the Spring of 2015.