New "No Trespassing" Signs at the South End of Ladera Ranch

I've also attempted the Sendero East/West, and will likely never again. Down the East was an exercise in avoiding brake lock-up while trying to stay under 30mph, and up the West is nothing but a Sisyphean pushing of a bike up a long hill. Even a horse ride on those trails would feel sketchy as heck.

I'll try to make it to the LRCC meeting on Monday, too. The SMWD building is the one just south of Oso, right?

 

Not all fire access is meant for trucks many are just fire breaks that start getting used by hikers and such. Some of the smaller crew trucks have 4-whel drive and go pretty good getting up stuff.

Dean

 

FYI, the trail (it's actually a doubletrack road) that has been declared off limits is on the official Ladera Ranch trail map that has existed for 10 years and is still on the Ladera Life Web site. It's official name is "Ladera Ranch Trail" which incorporates West Ridge, the fire road that skirts Covenant Hills, some sidewalks, Ladera Ridge, Firehose, more sidewalk, and the Blufftop Trail. I'm trying to overlay it on a google maps capture, but am having some difficulty because I'm working on a small laptop instead of my usual computer that's in for repair.

But the upshot is that the doubletrack road descending from West Ridge is on the Ladera Ranch trail map, and has been for 10 years or more. That's a pretty good argument for continued access.

 

Can any of you who were able to attend the 1/19 meeting give a brief update?

 

I did not attend the meeting, but understand that LARMAC is supposedly sending out an email blast to all residents soon re: the trail closures. They better be standing up for us! I believe there is an Board meeting in February.

 

I wonder if they'll be putting up video cameras too like RMJ did over below the ridgeline above Tesoro HS.

 

This is our 3rd year renting in Ladera, and we've been very serious about buying a home here to start a family. I make no exaggeration when I say that I'm watching how this develops to decide whether I want to live here long-term.

I have very little tolerance for senseless power-tripping by cities and developers. Other areas with more respect for residents are starting to look mighty good compared to Ladera lately.

 

I couldn't make it to the meeting either due to a late work commitment. Would love to hear about what was said and the supposed LARMAC e-mail. I'm about to go on the warpath with this thing.

The signs are looking more official now. They've also added "Utility access only." In other words, trucks driving these roads are perfectly fine, but hikers and bikers might damage the fragile ecosystem.

 

This just in...

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[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD="bgcolor: #EAE4D9, align: center"]Community Updates
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Recent Trail Closures: There is a small section of a trail
south of Horno Basin and Covenant Hills that was recently closed by RMV. This
section is not part of the Ladera Trail System, rather, it is on RMV Preserve
property. For liability reasons, RMV closed off this trail and is working with
LARMAC on incorporating this into the Ladera Trail System, which has been
approved by the LARMAC Board. A Maintenance Easement Agreement is being
finalized, which will then allow LARMAC to open this trail up to the community.
Click here to view a map of this area.

Additionally, early in 2014, OC Parks installed fencing and signage at two illegal trails as
noted here. The trails were illegally created through O'Neill Park
property and the mountain bike community is using these trails to illegally
access Rancho Mission Viejo property. These trails are not part of the Ladera
trail system.
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
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So, apparently good news that re-opening that portion of the trail is in the works--hopefully, those awful yellow signs will be history. Bad news is that there does not seem to be much hope for those two Ladera Ridge access points.

 

those darned mountain bikers!!! i wave a stick at thee!

 

Those <backspace><backspace>... ahem... fine people appear to have missed where they intended to put at least one of their signs. See on the map where it says "Lookout (south end)"? There's another no trespassing sign right under the "d" on the word "end." That cuts out that bright green route back down from the west ridge on that fork running south and east. Rassin' frassin'...

And as far as it being "not part of the Ladera Trail System," this exact stretch of trail is on the, as BigTex said, "official Ladera Ranch trail map that has existed for 10 years and is still on the Ladera Life Web site. Its official name is "Ladera Ranch Trail"".

Cheese and crackers, this bureaucratic stupidity gives me a headache... where's the Tylenol?

 

Update:

Trail Easement Agreement: We are pleased to announce that a Trail Easement Agreement has been approved by LARMAC and RMV, which will allow LARMAC to open the small section of the ridge trail south of Horno Basin and Covenant Hills that was recently closed by RMV. This section of trail was not part of the Ladera Trail System, rather, it crosses over RMV Reserve property. Upon the agreement being recorded with the County of Orange, the trail will open up.

 

Nice to see LARMAC stepped up and acquired this land. Not sure we can do anything about the trail starting at Oso, but they surely are not patrolling it....

Happy riding fellas! I'll try to make one of the Wed night Ladera rides soon.

 

Yay!

 

I'll have to see the map to know exactly what section of trail they're talking about... but this really disturbs me that they keep insisting the closed trails were not part of the Ladera Trail System. They've been on the Ladera Trail System map for years. Anyone who looks at the map would know this, so why are they lying about it? I hope that the signs come down, but I'm not holding my breath. It wouldn't surprise me a bit to see the agreement "fall through." Or for the signs to go away only to come back at a later date.

RMV needs to keep creating artificial "Reserve" land to build more houses. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if they've done a secret deal with Orange County to take back the O'Neill wilderness and make it a "Reserve." This is the tradeoff the environmentalists have brought us, by the way. Just let people build on their land; don't require them to take other land away from public use to do so (Chiquita Ridge, anyone?).

 

I guess it could be possible that they've just been mistaken all these years. Maybe since the recent development someone looked at some old records and determined that that section was technically under Rancho's purview.

 

Well, signs at the top of the long, fast descent (gate was open as well) and at the top of the climb behind Covenant are gone. I guess we are good to go?

 

I would assume so Lubo. But, it's not like the signs have been stopping anyone anyway right? And they certainly are not patrolling it. Screw RMV and ride!

 

Now if we can just somehow figure out how to stop the flooding and get rid of the mud hole at Waterworks.
If flooding will continue, then I'd like to help put down some more pallets to create a "bridge" after the drop in.

 

I hit Waterworks this past week; the flooding seems to be forming a more or less perpetual bog on that corner. I wonder if a combination of pallets and gravel (or something of the sort) could keep it drained enough to make it rideable again...

I also noticed that Firehose is in serious need of repair. The washed-out ruts are getting to the point of being dangerous. The swamp at the entrance to the trail behind the apartments never seems to dry up, either. Is there any real upkeep on these trails (again, part of the "official" Ladera trail system), or has it just been left up to residents to maintain the trails we're paying for?