Botanical Exploration of Eslinger Ridge, Orange County

Field trip in association with the Southern California Botanists to the south end of Temple Hill, Laguna Beach. The trip will focus on Eslinger Ridge, a rocky ridge rising steeply some 800 feet between Aliso and Woods Canyon Wilderness Park and the Pacific Ocean. Eslinger Ridge hosts one of the higher diversities of rare plants in Orange County. The underlying rock is San Onofre Breccia and the vegetation is more typical of Diegan coastal sage scrub and southern maritime chaparral. Among the plants seen will include species more typically seen in coastal San Diego County, including spiny red berry (Rhamnus crocea), bush rue (Cneoridium dumosum), San Diego chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum subsp. obtusifolium), and summer holly (Comarostaphylos diversifolia).

Leader: Fred Roberts, who grew up in Dana Point, is a consulting botanist, author, and artist, that has been active in Orange County his entire career. He serves on the OCCNPS Rare Plant Committee and is a coeditor of Crossosoma, the Journal of the Southern California Botanists. He is especially interested in the flora of Orange County, oaks, lilies, and rare plants of Southern California. He has collected over 9,000 plant specimens (most of them from Orange County). He is a co-author for the Wildflowers of Orange County with Bob Allen and several other local identification/floristic books.

Meet Time: 8:30 am, Sunday April 12, 2026.

Meet Location: Moulton Meadows Park, parking along Balboa Ave., Laguna Beach
Time: Approx. 3 hours.

Physical Difficulty: Moderate (some uneven ground with ruts)

Bring: Hat, sunscreen, camera, wildflower book/notepad, water, hiking shoes/boots; lunch if interested, at end of hike we will likely return to the park and eat there.

Facilities: Drinking fountains and restrooms at park.

Plant Intensity: Moderate to high.

Leader: Fred Roberts

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