Southern California Hiking: Santa Rosa Plateau

Southern California hiking trails are among the most beautiful in the world with terrain spanning from the ocean to the desert. Nestled in the rolling hills overlooking the Temecula Valley, you'll find one of southern California's prettiest hiking areas: Santa Rosa Plateau. Consisting of over 8,000 acres, this ecological reserve features woodlands, wetlands, chaparral, oak trees, wildflowers, and seasonal vernal pools - and those are just the beginning. You'll also find a visitor's center, equestrian and mountain biking trails, historic adobe buildings, wildlife, and views that will take your breath away.

Start by visiting the plateau's visitor's center. At just $2 per adult and $1 per child, these southern California hiking trails are a bargain. The visitor's center features several hands-on exhibits that are perfect for introducing children to the area's charm. Especially popular is the hands-on display of "scat." Children can touch the fake poop and learn how to identify animals based on the scat they leave behind.

After checking in at the visitor's center, it's time to hit those gorgeous California hiking trails. The Santa Rosa Plateau offers easy-to-moderate trails including the one-mile Granite Loop Trail located near the visitor's center as well as longer trails traversing the preserve. One of the more popular trails, especially in spring, is the Vernal Pool Trail. This trail takes you alongside several vernal pools.

After a wet winter, these pools, which are among the last in southern California, teem with life. Tiny fairy shrimp, frogs, and snakes all make their homes in and around these seasonal pools. A boardwalk over the vernal pools once provided hikers with a relaxing place to stop and get a closer look at the pools. However, the boardwalk has been closed due to concerns about debris falling from shoes into the fragile ecosystem below.

Springtime is also wildflower time at the Santa Rosa Plateau. From California poppies to the unusual and enchanting "chocolate lily," you're sure to be delighted when you visit the plateau from March through May.

Santa Rosa Plateau is split into two sections with the road acting as a divider. On side of the road opposite the visitor's center, you'll find the area known as Sylvan Meadows. The scenic California hiking trails in the Sylvan Meadows section are also open to horseback riders and mountain bikers.

The Santa Rosa Plateau is home to wildlife including coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats, snakes, raccoons, and other critters. Because many of these animals are dangerous, read all posted signs and heed any warnings. Rangers and volunteers are often stationed at the main trailhead areas and happy to discuss what to do if you encounter a wild animal on the hiking trails.

Santa Rosa Plateau is a vast open preserve filled with nature's bounties. If you enjoy hiking in southern California, the trails here are scenic. Though the preserve overlooks the suburban communities of Temecula and Murrieta, you'll feel as though you're miles away.