Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Outdoor Adventures: Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve

Destination: Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve, Newport Beach

The price: $0

The Journey
: 4.5

From where I live (lest we forget, this travel guide is about me)
, piece of cake. A few minutes on the freeway, a few minutes on a quickly moving street, turn right, park on the side of the road, ba-da-bing. Less than 10 minutes.

The Hike
:
3.5

Like Bolsa Chica, no trees. BUT the path was paved, so the stroller was a viable option.

Side note: stroller accessibility is not necessarily required for these "hikes." I just expect that if the book says I can use it, that it won't be a lie.

The trail is 4 1/2 miles round trip, but you can turn around at any time. We did about half of it. And we turned around at a look-out point with a parking lot, so maybe next time we'll do the second half. Flat, easy...but shade would have been a bonus. It was a good workout, though.

The View: 4.0

The Back Bay is pretty (well, the part this trail circles anyway...the other side of Back Bay isn't quite as attractive.). There are a lot of birds, and because the trail is in a kind of valley you're isolated from civilization, which, to me, is important in a hike.


The Extras: 0

No extras. But that was fine, because sometimes you just need a good place to take a walk. The Upper Newport Ecological Reserve is great for that purpose.


Overall Rating: 4.0

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