Colinas Bluff Trail

6 mile loop with a nice scenery. We had a 10 year old and she did just fine.
No shade.
Moderate incline with enough decline for resting.
Dogs are allowed.
Not too many people.
Visited March and May 2016.

Love running here! Early morning runs to the beach and back. Epic way to start the day

At the intersection of Golden Lantern and Marina Hills in Laguna Niguel is the trailhead; directly across the street from Starbucks.
The trail starts off fairly easy. Slight inclines. Once you are on the backside of the houses the view opens up. Beautiful view of Saddleback Valley. After a couple more miles and a very steep hill you are rewarded with an amazing 360 degree view. We were lucky enough to have gone in a very clear day.
This hike can be intense. Bring lots of water and sunscreen.

Took this «hike» yesterday. I say hike in quotes because quite a lot of this trail is behind residential areas which makes me feel less like an authentic hike. I would consider this to be more of a trail where you can get a great cardio workout. I took my pup and we ended up going 5 miles. I burned over 900 calories. I’d recommend this trail if you want a local hike with good hills and a pretty cool view of the surrounding area!

Pretty cool & safe trail
First timer. It has residential homes all around and is overlooking the freeway by San Juan Capistrano & Mission Viejo. The trail starts right across from the Albertsons plaza on Golden Lantern. There is a sign there so just look for it!

This trail is easily accessible but the signage could use some work. We parked at the shopping center across the street from the trailhead (ample parking!), crossed the street and started the hike. The trail has some nice inclines and passes behind a few residential neighborhoods so it felt like more of an urban hike. There were a few places where the path split but we weren’t sure which way to go. We hiked 4.75 miles round trip so we didn’t do the full trail, partially because we weren’t sure we were going the right way!

Great neighborhood trail. Clean trails, nice up and down hills that evens out your hike. For residents only :)

My friends and I parked in the Marina Hills Shopping Center across the street from the trail head and started our hike from there. The trail starts across from Starbucks and the full hike is roughly 6 – 7 miles. Because it isalong a ridge, there are a lot of inclines and can be a challenge for a beginner hiker. The hike had some traffic near the beginning because the trail is a part-​suburban part-​nature hike which caters to the nearby residents and also because there are different trails that cross Colinas Bluff. This trail is also an equestrian trail and although we didn’t see any horses, we knew of their presence every now and then.
This hike gave us awesome views of the Pacific and kept us guessing as to whether we were in San Juan Capistrano or Laguna Niguel. For a part suburban hike, the trail was not labeled well. Thus my friends and I got lost and instead of making it to the Mercedes Benz dealership where the trail supposedly ends, we ended up walking around the Bear Brand mansions (not that it was a bad thing) before finding our way back.