Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks Activity Guide

About the Program

Category: Parks and Recreation (Best in Category)

Year: 2013

In 2010, the people of Orange County, California received a unique and unprecedented gift: 20,000 acres of rugged, permanently preserved open space. The single gift increased this urban county’s park acreage by more than 50%. To manage and provide public access to this enormous new resource, OC Parks partnered with the non-profit Irvine Ranch Conservancy, whose mission is to encourage the highest standards of stewardship and public enjoyment of the protected lands on the historic Irvine Ranch. Together, the agencies created public trails and scheduled programs for access to these sensitive and protected open spaces. To communicate to the public about the land and the recreation opportunities available, the Irvine Ranch Conservancy worked with OC Parks to create the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks Activity Guide, an expansive guide to not only the activities in the OC Parks open space, but a guide to all of the activities in the historic Irvine Ranch. By partnering with agencies such as City of Irvine, California State Parks, City of Newport Beach, California Department of Fish and Game, and several non-profit support organizations, a comprehensive activity guide was created. From 2010 to 2011, participation in these programs had increased by 66%.