Orange County Coastkeeper Gardens

Located behind Santiago Canyon College near Jamboree and Santiago Canyon Road is a fantastic little place called the Coastkeeper Gardens. Opened in the late Spring of 2013, the demonstration garden displays a selection of vignettes featuring native, drought tolerant plants and irrigation applications. The Coastkeeper Garden was developed with the hope that visitors will become educated about ways to landscape their own homes with the intent to preserve the native plant species and wildlife of Orange County, reduce urban runoff, and conserve water with drought-tolerant plants.

In addition to the beautifully displayed vignettes, there is a natural playground area for kids. You'll find archways with treestump paths, (currently dry) river beds, bridges, a tube that tunnels through the hillside, a "mountain climbing" area with large rocks to navigate through, old fallen tree trunks to climb and so much more. When we visited we had the place to ourselves, and both my 2-year old girl and 5-year old boy got sweaty and dirty exploring all the nooks and crannies of this adventure-inspiring environment. There is so much fun to be had in nature and the Coastkeeper Gardens do a fantastic job of proving that. Every neighborhood should have a location like this!

Some of the children's play area is rocky and rough, but there is a packed-dirt pedestrian path that is easily walkable, and stroller and wheelchair accessible. There was one port-a-potty near the greenhouse, but no other restrooms were available. If you live in the Orange County area this is a great location to take advantage of. Parking and entry is free but there is a donation box on the shed near the entrance for visitors - please make a contribution to help keep this fantastic park open to the public.

The Coastkeeper Garden is open Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The entrance is a small driveway near the corner of Jamboree and Santiago Canyon Road. The driveway is under construction and is marked by a banner on the fence pointing to the garden. I did not find any parking available on the college campus that conveniently accesses the garden.

The Coastkeeper Garden is in need of volunteers so please contact them if you are interested!

For more information, visit their website or call 714-850-1965.