Southern California > Orange County > Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve

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Bolsa Chica is the largest saltwater marsh between Monterey Bay and the Tijuana River Estuary. Within the 1,400-acre reserve are five plant communities: salt marsh, coastal strand, coastal sage scrub, freshwater wetlands, and riparian woodland. With 300 species of birds—including endangered clapper rails, peregrine falcons, and California least terns—it's a bird watcher's paradise. The best times for viewing...

Bolsa Chica is the largest saltwater marsh between Monterey Bay and the Tijuana River Estuary. Within the 1,400-acre reserve are five plant communities: salt marsh, coastal strand, coastal sage scrub, freshwater wetlands, and riparian woodland. With 300 species of birds—including endangered clapper rails, peregrine falcons, and California least terns—it's a bird watcher's paradise. The best times for viewing are morning and early evening. Five miles of hard-packed dirt trails wind through the preserve; most are rough riding for manual wheelchair riders, except for the Mesa Trail, which leaves from the visitor center, and a 400-foot boardwalk over Bolsa Chica Inner Bay at the southern entrance, where I saw a great blue heron wait patiently for a mid-morning snack, then snatch it with lightning speed.

Free public tours are offered the second Saturday of each month, 10 am-noon; meet at the reserve’s interpretive center.

Visitor center: The small but informative interpretive center, located at the north parking lot, has educational displays about the Bolsa Chica wetlands, nearby watersheds, and marine ecology. You will find several saltwater aquaria that change throughout the year, tanks with small reptiles, and many taxidermied small animals, birds, and waterfowl.