Several members of the community joined City Council members, commissioners and staff on a tour of Oso Creek Trail Monday.
Mayor Dave Leckness organized the tour, which was an official public meeting, to focus on opportunities to improve access to it and encourage more residents, particularly those who live along its path, to take advantage of all this pristine trail offers.
Consisting of 5.5 miles of trails, the Oso Creek Trail is the chief passageway in Mission Viejo. It is the backbone of the City’s trail system and started in 1997 as a community collaboration where volunteers would gather in the late spring to celebrate the earth and rich arts of the City.
The trail is nestled along the corridor of the Oso Creek Valley and conveniently connects residences to City facilities, the commercial core and surrounding neighborhoods. Monday’s tour focused on ways to include easier access from areas such as Casta del Sol and other residential areas along the trail.
During the tour, many embraced the picturesque collection of natural and cultural attractions along the trail’s banks, which include a meadow, butterfly garden and plant maze along with a special peace obelisk in honor of the victims of 9/11. Trail amenities also include the mosaic history walls in the character garden, the wave wall on Upper Oso Creek Trail and the community murals surrounding the Village Green.
Throughout the years, more than 130,000 plants have been planted on the trail by community volunteers.
For more information about the Oso Creek Trail, visit the City’s website at www.cityofmissionviejo.org.
The Oso Creek Trail is a wonderful asset for the City. But I had to laugh when I saw the photos of the “dignitaries” in the golf carts. I realize that probably they all can’t walk the length of the trail and therefore some needed transportation. Or possibly, it was to expedite the tour. But if these people are members of the council and/or commissioners, I’m disappointed that they were not already familiar with the amenities of the trail.
My husband and I have walked and loved this trail since the beginning. We watched excitedly when we saw the trail was being expanded years ago. My son helped with planting of the hillsides. I worked on the tile wall. We feel this is “our” trail.
We feel very proud that our city has made this park a priority and have shown it off to many visitors.
We would love to see it expanded under the bridge toward the mountains. Any chance of this