Tucked away from traffic on newly divided Laguna Canyon Road, the James and Rosemary Nix Nature Center opened earlier this month as the headquarters for the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. It’s a gateway connecting trails in the James Dilley Preserve, Willow, Sycamore and Laurel canyons, Crystal Cove State Park and Irvine Open Space.
The center is the result of government spending and donations, launched with $500,000 seed money from Laguna Woods residents James and Rosemary Nix. Others people, companies, nonprofits and the county of Orange provided funding. The county of Orange Harbors, Beaches and Parks department oversees the center and the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.
Admission is free. Parking is $3.
The 2,000-square-foot center is an oasis of quiet in an increasingly urban part of Orange County. It allows outdoors-lovers to explore the varied features of south OC’s natural lands. A pedestrian undercrossing gives hikers easy access to Barbara’s Lake,the county’s only natural lake.
The well-thought-out center shows the natural features and history of the land. It has both child- and adult-friendly features. There’s the stellar 3-D “full-circle” mural designed by students at the Laguna College of Art & Design, picture windows that frame unique geographic features, animatronic bats hanging from a tree and interactive exhibits that allow visitors to dig for fossils (made from casts of whale fossils unearthed when Laguna Canyon Road was realigned). You can even grind your own corn. A Painters’ Pier juts out in the direction of the hills beloved by Plein Air and other artists.
A small meeting room is adorned with art by locals such as Jacobus and Ken Auster, who created the art for the park. A one-quarter mile easy path loops far enough into the park to give non-hikers a glimpse of the varied flora of the canyon.
The building may be small, but it provides a pleasant respite from the daily grind with plenty of educational opportunities and outdoor adventures for every age group and ability level. It’s a chance to remember where OC came from and the need to balance development with open space.
,Sandi Cain
