Aliso Summit Trail

Nice scenic trail — not a lot of shade, but nice views and trail is good width at least for the first 1.5 miles (not sure about after that).

Aliso Summit Trail is a family friendly and dog friendly trail behind residential area. The trail is along a cliff behind the residential area. As you hike, you’ll see lots of nice landscape with fancy gazebos and luxurious backyards on one side; on the other side of the trail, you look over the Aliso Woods Canyon Park, which is quite lovely during spring and fall time.
Distance: ~ 6 miles roundtrip
Trailhead: Ridgeview and Highlands
Parking: free along residential street
Condition: flat, wide, and well maintained trail
Level: Easy
For more workout or adventure, you can continue onto Talavera to proceed to Seaview Park and take the Aliso Peak Trail (adding about 2 miles roundtrip) for closer ocean view, and then Valido down toward the beach (adding another mile or so roundtrip).

This trail has the best views! If you can make it to the peak you get the view of Laguna Beach and it is amazing. The hike starts out nice and easy, but half way through there are very steal hills. You definitely feel the burn!!! I would say it is absolutely worth it.

This hike is surprisingly one of my favorites in the south county area. After a long drive up the hill keep your eye out for sings saying «Aliso Creek Trail» not «Laguna Niguel Trails.» After coming up here twice I finally found this trail.
It starts in a residential neighborhood to the left of a gated community. Walk up the hill after parking (2 hour parking) and find a water fountain and a picnic table with a sign saying «Aliso Creek Trail» Laguna Niguel. Make a right and follow the trail towards the ocean views. Stay straight, then you’ll see a small opening at the first viewpoint. Take that narrow trail to the left as you look down at the gated community. It looks sorta sketchy but it’s very safe. Take it down till you see the next hill and viewpoint which is actually inside the gated community.
The views are great and it’s safe for families! It’s a short yet moderate hike if you make it to the last viewpoint. If you’re nervous about taking the narrow path you can continue straight till you hit the last picnic table and viewpoint.

We started the hike at Ridgeview & Highland (free street parking = positive). The first 1.5 miles or so stays right next to the houses (definite negative). We then had to walk on Pacific Island Dr. when the trail ended and go south to Talavera Dr. to reconnect to another trail that took us south to the summit vista of the Pacific. The view and the trail for the last mile or so is away from the houses and scenic (positive). The trail is not a loop so the trip back to where we parked included the same boring 1.5 miles (negative).
RT was 6.5 miles for us and just under 2.5 hrs.
FYI… the trail was rather busy and there were many dog owners with their dogs off leash which doesn’t bother me but might bother some people. All the people we encountered were polite.

I must say I truly enjoy this trail !! I have been on it now three times. Once just me and my music, once on my bike, and once with my dog :-) it’s a trail that I feel comfortable on being a solo adventurer. It’s paved throughout and the landscape is absolutely breathtaking !!

Beautiful trail. It’s a paved, so you’re able to bring your doggies/​kids along easily. You get to see astonishing views of the hills and the ocean. By far the prettiest-​easy trail around here! Street parking is available on the main road near the trail entrance sign. I didn’t complete the whole trail, but water and supplies are always a good idea to bring to any trail.

Great trail with easy access. In about a quarter mike you clear the house and find yourself high up in the hills over looking the valley far below. At a half mile you can see the ocean. Highly recommend.
Park in the residential area. It’s okay to do so.

The good: Great views.
The bad: No shade, no facilities, can be surprisingly crowded.
Great trail for running. Ok trail for hiking. Ridiculously bad trail for mountain biking (though I still see bikers here every time I go, despite this trail being right above some of the best biking trails in the county down in Aliso Creek/​Wood Canyon Park).
The tragedy of this trail is that it USED to be shaded. Then about December, 2012, someone somewhere decided they needed to remove all the trees. They went through and cut down ALL THE TREES on the trail — took them about 6 months of nothing but chainsaws and logs and branches — and they replaced all the trees with ground cover. I guess someone was worried about fires (?) You never know with Orange County — perhaps too many trees were blocking the view of nature (sarcasm)? At any rate this is now a dusty, dry, ugly gravel fire road with no cover for its entire length. Nice views, yes… but that is all. Such a shame; it used to be so nice when there was shade for half of its distance.

Spent a morning of our staycation hiking this lovely suburban trail. Got our heart rates up for that first mile uphill. Saw an actual roadrunner and hummingbird on the way up. Homes to the left, mountains and majestic scenery to the right. Easy access. Ideal 1.25 mile turn-​around at the top. Saw lots of hikers with big designer dogs. Overall a great spot.

Great trail to hike and beautiful view. Worth checking it out!

DISTANCE: Approx 7.5 miles w/​1,676′ climbing gain. Casual pace taking in all the fabulous views. Plan on 3 – 4 hours.
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This route is a wide dirt trail which follows Aliso Canyon’s eastern edge. The hiker only trail provides spectacular panoramic views of the ocean and Aliso & Woods Canyons. Most of its length borders residential communities to the East and natural open space to the West. We’ll jump onto a residential sidewalk to connect us up to Seaview Park which will be well worth the pavement. We’ll choose Aliso Peak trail taking in the great views. Expect some very steep climbs here.
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Overview: This hike along the southern ridge of the Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park is fairly easy, with only a short moderate hill at the end. As you walk you’ll find the park to your right and suburbs and homes to your left, so you don’t really get an out in nature feel to the hike.
Plenty of room for bikers, hikers, dog walkers and runners
At the end, you get a really nice view of the ocean and Aliso Beach County Park.
The trailhead is located in Laguna Niguel (near Mission Viejo) at the intersection of Highlands Avenue and Ridgeview Drive. To get there from I-​5 take exit 86 and head west on Crown Valley Parkway. After 3.3 miles turn right on Niguel Road. In one mile turn right on Highlands Ave. Ridgeview Dr is your first left in .2 miles.
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Bring sunscreen, head cover and water; there isn’t any shade along the trail.

This is a nice hike in a residential area next to a cliff. It’s a good place for an easy to medium hike with your dog. Even though there are homes on one side of you, there is a great view of the ocean and valley on the other side. We hiked this right before the sunset and it was gorgeous. It’s not a true hike since you have expensive houses all around, but you do get to commune with nature with a nice ocean breeze. The trail is not shaded so bring sunscreen and water. And don’t fall down the cliff side. Those cacti would break your fall on the way down, though! You can park in the neighborhood after you turn at Highlands Ave & Ridgeview Drive, there are plenty of spots even on the weekend. Happy trails.

This is a beautiful hike that really amplifies the views of orange county that you never knew existed. The deep canyons and peekaboo oceans are really spectacular and separate you from the city life! Went early on a saturday morning and started at highlands. To the end of aliso summit trail is about 3 hours. Pretty easy throughout except when you get to the picnic table with the blue fence which is a little steep and rocky. Wear good shoes! Lots of cool native plants like black sage on the way! Nice spot to have a lunch and hike to the beach. Dogs welcome on leash!!!

I enjoy running outside. I just need to make sure I am running somewhere with shade & on dirt rather than concrete surface. This is a decent trail but there are no bathrooms. The first 10 minutes are uphill, which is nice as a long walking warmup. Parking is free. Bathrooms & better shade would greatly improve the experience. Unfortunately it’s difficult to pee off the trail because it’s in a dense residential neighborhood and a cliff, and who wants to moon a nice family just sitting down to Sunday brunch. Or any other meal. I’m still searching for a good place to run in South OC.

Huge high five to Annika Jo L for her thorough details on the wheres and whats of this trail. Followed her review to a tee and never ended up in a bush or suburban backyard… I did, however, find a fantastic peak overlooking Laguna/​Newport from which to breathe in life and appreciate this absolutely majestic land we call home (Southern California). The trail is pretty flat and suburban until you get to the end and while it may not seem hard, lack of water or snacks on this trail (specifically on the way back) will make it seem like a never ending desert in the Sahara (but with really expensive homes of OC housewives as a backdrop).
We did run into some people at the bench portion (before the descend and then subsequent incline of the peak) and they mentioned something about margaritas at the bottom of the trail. I believe the golden rainbow to Margaritaville is to the left of the fork (when you’re about to peak it up), so bring money and reward yo’self before you have to head back to your car (heck, take a taxi back or park a car down there, I mean, you got your exercise in already!).
Highly recommend!

Love this trail — so scenic and peaceful. Great place to picnic if you go past the dirt trail and over to the cliff on the right that overlooks Laguna.

The Aliso Summit Trail is a beautiful trail that runs along the southern ridge of the Aliso and Wood Canyons Regional Park. The trail is wide and pretty easy in the beginning, with just a few inclines. The end of the trail gets a little steep and since it’s out and back, if it’s a steep uphill, going down may be dicey; so you may want to keep looking behind you as you go, just to make sure you’re physically able to make it back. It’s about 6.5 miles, out and back. The views are stunning and it’s a relatively quiet and empty trail (typically come across six other hikers during the week and double that on the weekends). The trail head is on Highlands Ave and Ridgeview Drive in Laguna Niguel. The first ¾ mi is uphill, then it levels out and is mostly flat for the next couple of miles. There’s an ocean view to the right and homes to the left. The trail looks like it ends when you reach Pacific Island Drive, but turn right at Pacific Island, walk up the hill a bit, then another right at the first street, Talavera. It’s a residential street with a small park overlooking the ocean to the right. Stay on the sidewalk and you’ll see where the trail starts up again down the road and to the right. Once you’re back on the trail, the views don’t stop and they get even better. Even on a day when the marine layer is thick, the views from this last half of the trail are great — you feel like you’re hovering over the ocean. The trail gets pretty wide here. You’ll see picnic tables and really beautiful trees and flowering native plants. You’ll see a picnic table with a light blue fence around it and you’ll think you’re at the end, but stay to the left and the trail continues. If you’ve got some little ones with you, you may want to consider heading back once you reach the blue fence. It starts getting steep as you go downhill and it also gets pretty narrow. As you go downhill, this is where you may want to start look behind you once in a while to make sure you’re able make it back up the hill. Keep heading down and you’ll end up across the street from three or four large homes. Stick to the trail and you’ll see more trail markers to the right. At this point, if you look ahead, you’ll see where the trail takes you further ahead. Keep straight and the you’ll be able to clearly identify the trail the heads up to the summit. As you get closer to the base of the summit, you’ll see a set of steps to the left, this is the Valido trail. It’s a short trail that leads down to a residential area in Laguna Beach. You’ll also see another trail that wraps around the summit — this is the Toovet trail. Haven’t been down this trail, but I believe it leads to another residential neighborhood in LB. Again, stick to the trail that goes straight up and this is the end of the Aliso Summit Trail. It gets pretty steep once you’re closer to the top, but there are some wooden steps. While the steps look like the ground around them is eroding, they’re fairly secure and will help you up to the top. Once you reach the top, there’s a park bench with great views of Aliso Beach, the Pacific and the turquoise water running alongside Laguna Beach. Hang out, have a picnic, take some pictures and head back the same way you came.
For a shorter walk that maximizes the views, drive up Pacific Island (from Alicia Pkwy), turn right on Talavera, drive down a bit and park alongside the street. If you’re coming from Crown Valley/​Camino del Avion, you’ll make a left on Talavera. You’ll see where the trail picks up. Start off here and start walking to the blue fence or keep going towards the summit.
All in all, this is a great trail and a great workout! I love hiking this trail during the summer months when the ocean breeze keeps you much cooler than you’d be on other inland hikes.