Catch the Winds!

Proof that you don’t always have to go to the mountains to enjoy the mountains? Five Winds Trail in El Dorado Ranch Park, located at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains, with an expansive view of Mount Baldy and the San Gabriels.

Do a 2.7-mile lollipop loop that’s a panorama of mountain scenery. The start of the trail features a monument dedicated to the people who made this open space possible, a dedicated nature conservation effort that houses the alluvial scrub, a threatened plant in the Inland Empire.

The hike dips into a gorge and up again before leading into an open plain with a mountain backdrop. Descend into the plain and at 0.7 mile make a left at the fork. (This is where the loop in this lollipop loop begins.)

Follow the trail heading toward the mountain and at just over a mile you take another left to continue on the loop. Buckwheat lines the trailside along with scrub oaks and the occasional sycamore riparians.

Red-tailed hawks are common sightings. Take another left when you reach a gated area and hike a few more undulations before taking another left to close out the loop. Five Winds at your back.

From the I-10 take the exit for Oak Glen Rd. in Yucaipa and head north for 6.8 miles. El Dorado Ranch Park will be on the left. The trailhead is to the left of the bathrooms at the parking lot and is signaled by railing on both sides. Dog-friendly.