AIAP's March hike will be at Santa Rosa Plateau in Murrieta
AIAP members have rated this hike as the best of the year!
Since the 3rd Sunday of the month coincides with Nowruz, this month’s hike is re-scheduled for Saturday March 26th.
When: Saturday, March 26, 2022
Time to Meet: We will meet at 7:15 AM in North County Shopping Mall (In front of Macy's) and will carpool to Santa Rosa at 7:30 AM.
Directions to North County Mall: Take I-15 North, exit on Via Rancho Parkway, Go straight to the parking lot.
The Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve is located at the southern end of the Santa Ana Mountains in southwest Riverside County, near the city of Murrieta. The Reserve consists of 9000 acres. The land has been set aside to protect unique ecosystems like Engelmann oak woodlands, riparian wetlands, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, bunchgrass prairie, vernal pools and more than 200 species of native birds and 49 endangered, threatened or rare animal and plant species, including mule deer, mountain lions, badgers, bobcats, western pond turtles, white-tailed kites and fairy shrimp.
It is an approximate 45 minutes drive from North County Mall. The hike is about 7-miles round trip, easy-moderate level, and takes nearly 3.5 hours. Optionally, we can extend the hike via Punta Mesa Trail and Monument Hill Road. This adds about 3.0 miles to the hike.
If you would like to drive to Santa Rosa, the address is: 39400 Clinton Keith Road, Murrieta, CA 92562. Please pass the visitor center, stay on Clinton Keith Rd (then Tenaja Rd) to see the parking lot on your left side. We’ll start hiking from the parking lot at the Hidden Valley Trail Head, not from the visitor center.
Please bring water, a snack, and hiking shoes. Contact hike@aiap.org with questions.
Note: AIAP does not assume any responsibility for the safety and security of hikers, and shall not be held liable for any accident, injury, loss of property or damages as a result of joining the hiking event set up by AIAP. All hikers join the hiking events at their free will and assume all the accidental dangers of a hiking event, and shall not hold AIAP liable for any bodily, financial, or property damages.
