4 /5 Bob Thompson: Anytime you can get out, into nature, with free parking available, as well as pretty scenery, Im 100% down with that.
Oak Riparian Park is another entry point, onto the walking trails which criss-cross the land, surrounding Lake Calavera, in Carlsbad, CA.
Parking here on a sunny day, can prove challenging, as this place is popular, plus the parking lot is not super big. My partner & I got lucky & nabbed the last available parking spot, on 1/1/24. Folks who park here, utilize both the green grassy park & playground area, as well as the walking trails, which begin from the south edge of this park. There are public restrooms here, on the uphill edge of this park.
After crossing a narrow wooden plank bridge, above tranquil flowing creekwater, youll then head uphill, a short distance, before approaching one of many raised synthetic wooden footbridges. These aid mightily in getting across land flooded in spots, due to creek fingers, which meander out from Lake Calavera. The beginning of this trail is pretty, with views of a lovely oak riparian area. Small birds, including Song Sparrows & Yellow-Rumped Warblers, spastically flit away from you, as you walk along the trail.
Follow the wooden signs, which will guide you to several trails here. Theres approximately 5 miles of trails in all. As we walked over one of the last footbridges in the lowland area, we followed the trail uphill, across a vast sloping grassland, with a large, brush-covered mountain rising up, in the distance.
There werent a lot of animals visible to us, near noon, during our January hike here. That said, this is a good bird habitat, so we came across several species of my feathered friends, on the trails here. California Scrub Jays were plentiful on this day, flying from tree to tree, & resting atop the power lines, which stand out so visibly in this nature area. We noticed several Western Kingbirds, hunting bugs from the tree tops, as well as a few extremely shy Spotted Towhees. Skittering along the dirt, & into some nearby bushes, were a pair of rust-colored, California Towhees. As I rounded a bush, I startled a speedy Cottontail rabbit into blurred motion.
Most of the trails here arent too menacing, with the exception of the Peak/Lake Trail, which forks uphill, toward the mountain, overlooking Lake Calavera. This trail was too much for me, with a steep, rain-rutted & treacherous trail, I refused to attempt. The Creek Crossing Trail is more tame, & crosses one more L-Shaped footbridge, above a large creek finger, before heading to the Tamarack Rd. side of Calavera Lake.
