Trabuco Canyon / Holy Jim Trail

 If you favor the beautiful falls at the end of Holy Jim Canyon,  Canopies of the tallest oaks, sycamores and pines that I have seen in OC vault from the forest floor; If you seek solitude, a respite from civilization, and cool green woods filled with songbirds, reptiles, and wildflowers, Trabuco Canyon offers you everything you could desire.

 

Deep wooded canyon, lovely 80 foot sycamores and oaks, mountain views through dense woods and open chaparral. As you make the gentle ascent, you will see relics of human occupation including an abandoned car and a gold mine, flooded and crawling with salamanders. On hot days, you can rest in the cool tunnel. A landslide precedes the cave entrance.
Trail weaves in and out of the bottomland forest until you reach the last stretch before the junction with the West Horsethief Trail. Enjoy Los Pinos Peak and the huge trees in the canyon below before turning back.

Canyon Trail has a total elevation difference of 2,187 feet which is about average. There are so many wilderness hiking trails in this area. This area does get very dry sometimes, so don’t forget to check for any current fire restrictions before you go. And keep in mind that there could be temporary safety restrictions in place. With its 6.8 miles of walking distance it's an average length wilderness trail.

 

Each hiking trail in California is worth backcountry hiking. For the period of the warm days of summer highs here at Trabuco Canyon Trail reach the 90's, and during summer nights temperatures are in the 50's. For the period of the wintertime the highs are commonly in the 60's, and after the sun is down during the wintertime temperatures at Trabuco Canyon Trail sink into the 30's. Around Trabuco Canyon Trail you don’t get a lot of rainfall; the wettest month of the year is frequently February, that's the one that rains the most while July is frequently the driest month.

It's a long tour from Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana to Trabuco Canyon Trail, but it is an amusing place to backcountry walk. This trek shouldn't take more than 6 hours, but you never know stuff could go wrong and you could get stuck so be prepared for that. This is a long backpacking trail, so don't forget to pack enough supplies. Some parts of this wilderness trail are much higher up than other parts of the wilderness trail which of course means you need to be prepared for different conditions on different parts of the wilderness trail.

Trabuco Canyon Trail has only one trailhead, so you're looking at an in and out backcountry trek. As long as you like the great outdoors you will like California. Trabuco Canyon Trail is a normal length backpacking and hiking trail having an average number of uphill miles which makes this a very tough wilderness hiking trail for advanced backcountry hikers looking for a fine challenge.

  Directions:                             

From Interstate 5, get off at El Toro Road. Head north on El Toro to the point where the road forks at Cook's Corner. Take the right fork (Live Oak Canyon Road) past O'Neill Park. A quarter mile past Trabuco School, you will pass over Trabuco Creek. Turn left onto the dirt road. Some people park here and hike in: this adds 4.45 miles and 840 feet to your hike. Most continue on the road for another 4.45 miles and park in the Holy Jim lot. Though washboarded in parts, the road is usually passable for most passenger cars. The trail continues directly after the parking lot.