OC Parks: Quail Hill Loop Trail
Quail Hill Loop is a great trail for a quick hike, trail run, or even a bike ride.
It is very easy to access right off the 405 in Irvine. This does mean that it doesn’t really have that “out in the wilderness” feeling that you can sometimes find, even in Orange County, but it is still a great trail! It’s a 2-mile loop that circles a wide-open field of desert grasses and shrubs. One of the bonuses for dog owners is that dogs are allowed on this trail with a leash.
There’s a fairly large parking lot at the trailhead, but it does fill up frequently. Since the trail is a fairly short loop, it's easy to wait it out for an open spot. There are water fountains and bathrooms with running water at the trailhead.
Following the one-way directions, the trail starts out with a bit of a climb, but it’s the only real climb of this fairly flat loop. This takes you up to the “peak” where you can look out over the rest of the trail. On this specific visit, Andrea was looking for a Blue Grosbeak that was in the area for migration. We took the little spur trail out to the lookout and almost immediately spotted these beautiful birds! Here is the bright blue male and a lovely copper female:
From here the trail winds around gradually dropping from the “peak” and veering away from the highway. Like a lot of trails in Orange County, there is no shade on this trail. While it is only a couple miles, if you take it slow, or get easily distracted watching birds for chunks of time, make sure to wear a hat, sunscreen and plenty of water! It can get warm on this trail!
Here are two Red-tailed Hawks flying in a big circle over our heads, a Western Kingbird perched in a tree, a House Finch grabbing some snacks, and another Western Kingbird that was not too pleased about the Hawks in the area. We were surprised by another Red-tailed Hawk in a tree having a fluff!
Once you loop around the back, the trail winds down through those fields you were looking at from the “peak”. The trail is narrower here and mostly flat until you curve back around towards the trailhead and climb just a little bit to the end of the loop.
This is a great trail for a quick morning or evening hike, or a great loop to do a few times if you are trail running or desperate to get out on your mountain bike! It’s easy to access and provides a great amount of wildlife and wilderness in a fairly busy area.
