Join us for an evening learning about The Nature Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo! Find out how you can explore the lands and the trails that make up The Nature Reserve. Hear about The Nature Reserve’s role in local habitat conservation and how you can have a part in this effort.

• Get local wildlife and trail information
• Meet staff and volunteers
• Enjoy some hot coffee, tea, and desserts
• Ask all your Nature Reserve questions

Presentation from 7:15 pm – 7:45 pm. Stop by for short time or stay for the entire program. Staff are available for questions before and after the presentation. All ages welcome (presentation recommended for ages 10 and up)

This single track trail traverses hillsides of grasslands, coastal sage scrub and oak woodland. Enjoy this two mile hike out along North Ridge to Wilson's Camp and back along the Sycamore Loop Trail.

Interpretation Level: Low
Difficulty Level: Easy-moderate. 2 miles, loop.
Ages: 10 and up

Please note: participants must be registered or on the wait list by 4:00 pm on Friday, July 26.

Flowers depend upon friends like bees, butterflies, birds, and even you! "Bee" a flower friend and find out how you can help local wildflowers and their pollinator partners.

Registration not required, walk-ins welcome. The program is open house style with self-guided and naturalist-guided hands-on activities and crafts.  Please arrive within 30 minutes of program start time to enjoy all of the activities. Program activities will end promptly at the event end time.

This program is geared for children ages 4 and up. All children must be accompanied and supervised by an adult at all times.

This is a strenuous trail with hills that follow the ridgeline between Sendero and Esencia.

Interpretation Level: Low
Difficulty Level: Moderate - Strenuous
Trail Length: 2.2 miles (one way)
Ages: Recommended 10 and up

Open Access events are for Rancho Mission Viejo residents only

Help out your community by becoming a South Orange County Fire Watch volunteer!

Offered only once a year, this training is the first step to join our fire watch team. The session will focus on: understanding basic fire behavior, identifying signs of wildfire, dealing with suspect behavior, providing useful fire information, and contacting proper fire authorities. 

Ages: 18 and up

Please join us for Volunteer Orientation and Training!

This fun and informational orientation is the first step in joining us as an official Nature Reserve Volunteer. Learn about The Nature Reserve's history, philosophy and mission, as well as skills for working with the public. Meet other volunteers and learn how you can help preserve Nature Reserve lands through conservation and education.

 Ages: Adult, 18 and up

Thank you for expressing interest in volunteering for The Nature Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo.

Lizards are amazing creatures with wild tales of survival and strength! Take a family-friendly hike through Oak Canyon to look for lizards (no catching!) and hear stories of these savvy survivalists. Make your own lizard tail craft for a fun game of lizard tag on the grass!

Interpretation Level: Medium
Difficulty Level: Easy-Moderate (Must be able to walk the Oak Canyon trail. No strollers.)
Ages: All

Participants must be registered or on the wait list by 4:00 PM on Friday, August 2nd.

This is a strenuous trail with hills that follow the ridgeline between Sendero and Esencia.

Interpretation Level: Low
Difficulty Level: Moderate - Strenuous
Trail Length: 2.2 miles (one way)
Ages: Recommended 10 and up

Open Access events are for Rancho Mission Viejo residents only

Enjoy an evening outdoors, as you gaze into the night sky, learn the constellations, and peer through the telescopes of our guest astronomers. The Nature Reserve astronomers are all volunteers who enthusiastically share their telescopes and expert sky knowledge with you. (What to bring: warm clothing, flashlight with red cellophane/lens to reduce light pollution, binoculars, optional beach chair.)

Interpretation Level: High
Difficulty Level: Easy
Ages: 8 and up

Enjoy a western sunset hike dedicated to celebrating the heritage of Rancho Mission Viejo. As we walk the trail to Wilson's Camp, we'll travel back through the history of The Ranch. Along the way, Nature Reserve Naturalists will share legends and stories about the plants, animals and people who call The Ranch home. At Wilson's Camp, we'll watch the sun go down while visiting a monument dedicated to the "vaquero".

Interpretation Level: High
Difficulty Level: Moderate. 2 miles out and back.
Ages: 8 and up

Explore the beauty of summer on The Nature Reserve at your own pace! Participants explore by hiking or walking through designated trails available for self-guided access. Take time to view summer plants in bloom as well as butterflies and other pollinators along the Shady Canyon, Sycamore Loop, and North Ridge trails. These single track trails meander out to Wilson's Camp, where you can learn more about the historic Portola Ride and the legacy of the vaqueros.

Interpretation Level: Low
Difficulty Level: Easy-Moderate. You choose the route.
Ages: All. Recommended 6 and up

Please note: participants must be registered or on the wait list by 4:00 pm on Friday, August 23.

Please join us for Volunteer Orientation and Training!

This fun and informational orientation is the first step in joining us as an official Nature Reserve Volunteer. Learn about The Nature Reserve's history, philosophy and mission, as well as skills for working with the public. Meet other volunteers and learn how you can help preserve Nature Reserve lands through conservation and education.

 Ages: Adult, 18 and up

Thank you for expressing interest in volunteering for The Nature Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo.

Did you know that in the evenings, male tarantulas wander around in search of food and females? They only live for about 1 year. Female tarantulas dig deep burrows in the ground and remain there, waiting for crickets and other insects to walk by and become dinner. They live for 20 years! Their relatives, the trap-door spiders, live in burrows in the ground. Some species build a hinged door over their burrow, and spring up when an insect walks across it. Black widow spiders mostly come out at night. When an insect gets stuck in its web, the spider rolls it up in silk, waits for it to quiet down, then bites and injects its venom. Soon after, the spider feeds on its dinner.

Aren’t you glad that you are too big to become dinner for a spider?!

Join us with guest speaker, Bob Allen, for an evening of photographs, stories, and specimens of tarantulas, other spiders, and night-time insects of Orange County.

Ages: 8 and up

Participants must be registered or on the wait list by 4:00 pm, September 12.

Join guest leader, Bob Allen, to get up close and personal with tarantulas and other arthropods! We'll be on the lookout for male tarantulas making their annual late summer search for females.  We will also look for trap-door spiders and other critters of the evening.

This event will partially take place alongside a private road overlooking oak groves, grasslands and more. Participants will initially drive on the road from site to site to look for tarantulas and other  many-legged critters and later take a stroll on a trail to view them.

Interpretation Level: High
Difficulty Level: Low - Moderate
Ages: 8 and up

Join us at The Nature House at Ranch Camp in Rancho Mission Viejo for Hiking 101! We'll start by learning about the "Ten Essentials" you should have when hiking, trail tips, and make a minimalist first aid kit! Then head out on a guided hike along the trails around Ranch Camp, to learn more about the local plants and animals.

Interpretation Level: High | Difficulty Level: Easy - Moderate | Trail Length: 1.7 miles | Ages: 6 and up

Smell the flowers, hear the bees, feel the wind and see the trees! Engage your senses on a discovery walk around Ranch Camp and The Nature House. Meet a live animal to learn how animals use their senses in the wild. Remember to bring your most important sense...your sense of wonder!

Interpretation Level: Medium
Difficulty Level: Easy
Ages: Recommended 2-5 years

Participants must be registered or on the wait list by 4:00 pm on Friday, September 27th.

Children must be accompanied by a participating adult. However, please only register the participating child/ren.
This program is available to RMV Resident kids, including grandchildren of RMV Residents.