Touring * Fitness * Slalom * Artistic *

From Interstate 5 in Mission Viejo, take the Crown Valley Parkway exit and proceed southwest for 1.5 miles. Turn left at Street of the Golden Lantern and drive another 1.5 miles to Chapparosa Park Road. Turn right and follow the lane down to Chapparosa Park. Parking is free. Map: Orange County Bikeway Map, available free by calling the County of Orange, EMA/Transportation Planning office at (714) 834-3111.

The untamed canyon of Salt Creek Regional Park will have expert hill skaters wondering if they've found heaven. A superb, smooth trail takes visitors over hills that are challenging, steep, curvy, long, fun, and difficult to ascend. And as icing on the cake, each passing mile on the way to the coast brings even better ocean views and canyon scenery. The asphalt path is only 10 feet across, the standard width. Still, this is a great place for skaters who like to use rubber-tipped ski poles, which really make climbing much easier. Expert ski skaters will find that using poles on the downhills is wonderfully akin to snow skiing (but considerably less expensive). Start from Chapparosa Park at the southwest end of the parking lot, where a sign marks the beginning of the Laguna Niguel Hike/Bike Nature Trail. The trail's mileage is painted on the pavement at every one-tenth mile. (Ignore the numbered posts, unless you have a copy of the nature trail brochure.) Enter the Salt Creek Canyon and follow it for the first mile between shrub-covered hills, until you pass through the tunnel under Niguel Road. Where the trail branches, take the right fork to begin a steep climb on the Salt Creek Trail. The trail follows the western edge of the deep canyon on the side of a high ridge. Succeed with the first climb and you will be rewarded with a wondrous view, including the first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. An attractive barrier borders the trail, offering some assurance that you won't drop over the edge should you lose control. Make it a point to prevent that possibility by applying your heel brake as necessary for speed control. After several curvy hills on the edge of the canyon, the path meets Camino Del Avion at the two-mile mark. This is the end of Salt Creek Regional Park but not the end of the trail. Go left to take the underpass to the other side and continue on a path through The Links, a ritzy neighborhood overlooking the Monarch Beach Golf Course. Now our canyon skate reveals a verdant scene of putting greens with the Pacific Ocean sparkling in the distance. As you pass the homes next to the trail, there may be mud slide damage that hasn't yet been repaired. Watch out for shifting asphalt patches covering the soft soil at the base of the hillside. The golf course gives way to marshy grasses and sand dunes just before the trail turns a sharp corner and enters the dark tunnel of the Coast Highway underpass. On the other side, follow the signs to the public access beach. At the top of the rise, the immense Pacific reveals itself in all its glory below the cliffs. Skate through exquisite Bluff Park, where sloping lawns and benches next to the trail invite you to rest awhile and take in the view. The trail ends at a steep drop down the entrance road to Salt Creek Beach Park.