The Wildlands Conservancy, Pt. 3: Oak Glen Preserve

Welcome to the latest installment of my series exploring the preserves of The Wildlands Conservancy. http://www.wildlandsconservancy.org/preserve_oakglen.html
Today features an apple farm rescued from becoming just another McMansion subdivision. Come with me to the Oak Glen Preserve.

Oak Glen, CA, once just a farming community specializing in apple orchards, has maintained relevance by becoming a tourist destination. It still boasts acres of gorgeous greenery, dotted with custom homes of stately proportions. However, the lust for development threatened a family ranch on the eastern tip of the valley. The Wildlands Conservancy stepped in and did what they do: preserved the natural beauty and the historical fruitfulness of land slated for destruction.

Wide, gracious gates welcome visitors to this most accessible Preserve.

Park in the first lot, and enter the Botanical Gardens.

Schoolchildren visit this preserve by the thousands, and they helped to plant Hummingbird Hill.

What a showpiece of beautiful blooming native plants of the foothill chapparal biome!

A brand new rock waterfall and pond have recently been added to this exhibit, and it is full of tadpoles.

May is a perfect month to see everything blooming in a riot of color. In fact, a huge meadow alongside the highway is seeded every year with innumerable annual wildflowers. The "Artist's Palette" explodes into glorious color from the end of April to the beginning of June.

Here is a close up:

Paths at Oak Glen Preserve are wide and accommodating to people of all physical ability. Bathrooms are large and clean.

There are plenty of picnic areas and pretty benches.

Each botanical garden in the Preserve features a particular environment noted by artistic iron signs.

The California Conifers exhibit welcomes us into deep, pine-scented shade with a John Muir quote carved in stone.

Exit the tall trees and discover Aquatic Environments at the pond.

There is a charming footbridge and a floating dock to view blooming water lilies, fish, frogs, and birds galore. Even bald eagles visit this place.

The shores are lined with cattails

and ferns.

Leaving the pond section, the trail enters a Deciduous Forest of mainly black oaks.

It's like walking in a tree tunnel.

The pond feeds a running stream and the path alongside it is probably my favorite part of Oak Glen Preserve.

I am a huge fan of birdsong, and this place always delivers. Like many Southern California mountain streams, this one is blanketed by a dense thicket of blackberry brambles. Huge oaks block the intense sun, making the area cool even during the dog days of summer.

Less protected (and less handicapped-accessible) is the Chapparal Trail. Prepare to work up a sweat on this short guided hike through manzanita, scrub oak, whitethorn, and chemise.

The Chapparal Trail terminates at another pond, loaded with tadpoles and tiny frogs. The algae scum may look gross, but it protects aquatic creatures from the brutal sun.

A little further, bright green reeds fill up a Sacred Spring.

I like how The Wildlands Conservancy appreciates the values of the First Nations people who used to populate this entire area. All of the placards include their uses for native plants, too.

At the bottom of Chapparal Trail lies another beautiful conifer forest with picnic tables.

But there is yet another trail ahead for the intrepid hiker: Preservation Point.

I am an avid hiker of the steep badlands, so I was not dissuaded by signs warning of a strenuous and hot climb. The signs did not lie. I gained over 1000 feet of elevation in just under a mile. This trail doesn't mess with lengthy switchbacks to reduce the grade. It simply marches straight up the ridgeline to its scenic vista of Mount San Jacinto

and the entire southern basin of Riverside County.

From this vantage, I noted the sublime economy of the Preserve's usage of space. Like a Japanese garden, parallel paths fold into themselves unnoticeably.

Coming down off the hilltop, I was thankful for the brakes built into my hiking shoes. That steep trail is slippery. I wandered back to the entrance via the wetlands boardwalk.

What a beautiful Craftsman-style feature, including rustic benches to soak up the meadow view.

Back at the parking lot, I decided to walk on down to Oak Knoll picnic area. Large parties can gather here under the gracious oaks.

Adjacent is the Childrens Forest, a grove of many pine trees planted by schoolchildren almost 15 years ago.

My dog and I were tired and hot, so we headed back up the driveway to visit the apple rancher's cafe and shop.

Very picturesque!

I am so happy that The Wildlands Conservancy gave these ranchers a new lease on life. Their orchards are a critical piece of California beauty and history in the Oak Glen vicinity. It is fun to sip a sample of cider knowing I just walked past the trees that gave it to me.

The Oak Glen Preserve is a wonderful place to spend the day. Children and dogs are welcome, and entry is free (as it is at all TWC preserves). People of every ability level can enjoy the commodious paths and facilities.

I learn something new about my local plants every time I visit. For example, on this occasion, I learned that black oaks and live oaks can create hybrid offspring: Oracle Oaks. These are particularly lovely with bright green leaves and bizarre bulbous trunks.

On this trip, I made a donation of $20 and received this wonderful book.
https://www.amazon.com/Behold-Beauty-Wildlands-Conservancy/dp/0988819708
Since I intend to visit every Preserve in TWC system, it is a valuable prelude to adventures yet to come.

Check out Parts 1 and 2 of this series!
https://steemit.com/photography/@creationofcare/the-wildlands-conservancy-pt-1-bluff-lake-reserve

https://steemit.com/photography/@creationofcare/the-wildlands-conservancy-pt-2-whitewater-preserve

Thanks.
Love,Cat