New Trail Into Northwest Open Space Set to Debut This Weekend

An "absolutely beautiful" trail that will guide bikers, equestrians and walkers into the Northwest Open Space from Trabuco Creek is set to open this weekend.

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The trailhead is located near the entrance to . From there, it skirts the edge of campus as it continues north, wrapping around the football field, then under a railroad crossing and into the open space at 30261 Camino Capistrano.

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On Monday night, the city's Open Space, Trails and Equestrian Commission oohed and ahhed at pictures of the trail, with one commissioner suggesting the panel open a bottle of champagne to celebrate and another calling the impending opening "great news."

"It's absolutely beautiful," said Judy Smoke, who keeps two horses at the nearby . "It's very well done."

Smoke recently rode the trail before there was mulch on it, encountering one problem she said is too dangerous to ignore: Horses can't cross the creek underneath the railroad overpass. There's a blind drop-off at the edge that horses can't navigate, and she suggested filling it in with large rocks.

The city required Saddleback to build the trail before it begins construction of The City Council recently extended the deadline by which the school must obtain building permits and complete construction on the 21,050-square-foot classroom building. The new deadline is December 2012.

And the school isn't totally off the hook on trail.

To acquire permits for the gym, the school must spell out where it will build a permanent trail into the Northwest Open Space. The current path is just an interim trail, said Grant Taylor, San Juan Capistrano's development director.

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Saddleback said it intends to eventually build a permanent trail on the bench of, where an existing interim trail collapsed in last winter's heavy rains. But the Planning Commission is skeptical the plan will ever come to fruition, as it would require permits from the state Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Barring problems during a city inspection Friday, the new interim trail will open to the public this weekend, Taylor said.