Oops my secret is out! This is probably one of my most favorite spot to go for a walk or a mini hike! Even better, if you're there when it's sunny because the ocean views are breathtaking!! This is also dog friendly since there are poop bags provided at intermittent part of the trail. Please keep in mind that this is in a neighborhood so there will be houses really close to the trail (almost like we're in their backyard) and private property that you can't enter. There are signs to guide you so just stick to the signs and you'll be ok. read more

Badlands Park - Hiking on one of the trails - Parks Near Me - Laguna Niguel, California

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Hidden gem in LN. Quick hike around the area to the park area to see the interesting geology/history. Hike also wraps around the mountain side, giving you a view of the ocean. read more

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Beautiful quiet trail with a gorgeous view of laguna beach below. It's in a beautiful quiet neighborhood so you have to park outside unless you can get through the gate. I went with a few friends and just enjoyed the beautiful view of the mountains and the beach below. read more

Badlands Park - Parks Near Me - Laguna Niguel, California

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Plenty of street parking. No restrooms so go before going up. You enter from the middle at guard gate. No option to start on either end unless you live on property. Right has the better ocean views. Left has more interesting trail options. Lots of overcast unfortunately I think is the norm. Theres a dog waste bag station at entrance. Also saw a dog water fountain to the left. Overall a pretty short hike. Probably wouldn't go out of my way to see it again unless I was in the area. read more

Stunning views of the coast and cities! Free street parking! Once you head into the park, turn left and follow that trail to the end. I also walked the trail to the right but didn't think it was worth hiking that side. The trail is basically a dirt / sand road adjacent to a rich neighborhood. If you plan to walk both sides.. it should take about 1 hour. Round trip was about ~2 miles total. read more

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I love this trail!! Hidden in a Laguna Niguel neighborhood, it does not get really crowded. It is a trail behind the beautiful luxurious homes in Laguna Niguel. I love that it has history and who does not love a great view? Great to visit any time of the day. It has a sand/dirt narrow trail so be careful when you bring your kids. Short, easy walk but it is not flat so needs a little bit of effort on our part to walk the trail. Best part is the great view overlooking Laguna Beach! read more

Badlands Park - Badland Park Sign - Parks Near Me - Laguna Niguel, California

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This is a super chill and gorgeous hiking spot. The entire loop is about 2.3 miles. This park is located in a neighborhood so street parking is required. There's tons of biodiversity and lush greenery. You get a great view of the city and the ocean! Overall, this is a great hike for hikers of all levels! read more

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Came here for the first time and we just loved it! The views are beautiful. We walked from one end to the right and then to the other end to the left of the trail head until we could not go any further and back to the car and it was about a 2 mile hike. A very enjoyable walk on a beautiful day. It was such a clear day today we could see Catalina Island ! Note: If your afraid of heights, which surprisingly, I discovered I am, there are parts of the trail with what I feel are steep drops and somewhat narrowed trails with no guard rails when you walk to left from the trail head. I know most people would disagree with me but some people may be scared of the heights. Definitely a great and easy hike to take when you just want to enjoy the California weather. read more

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This is a hidden gem. I didn't know about this place until my husband took me here today on Father's Day! Our kid and dog came along too for a nice hike through the trails and saw all the different rock formations and grand ocean views. We spent a good 1 hour or so here, and didn't even finish the entire trail. This means we should come back again for another visit in the future! So cool, free parking along the street. read more

Badlands Park - Grand ocean views - Parks Near Me - Laguna Niguel, California

It has a nice trail and a beautiful scenic view. If you are ever in Laguna Nigel, this is a nice spot to visit.

Great view and easy hike. Plus it's dog friendly. In addition it's pretty clean compared to other hikes. Free neighborhood parking after 7 am. In order to get to the hike, go up the stairs which are located on the right side after parking. read more

Badlands Park - Koda enjoyed the hike. - Parks Near Me - Laguna Niguel, California

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I would call this more of a nice nature walk rather than a hike. But it's beautiful and if you take the paths down the stairs you can hear the ocean my dogs enjoyed the hike, and there are public drinking fountains with bowls for the pups also. I would do it again, but if you're looking for a more strenuous work out, this wouldn't be it. read more

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Ok this has to be one of the best hikes in Orange County!! Though not strenuous or lengthy, you're afforded some of the most incredible views of Laguna Beach Montage down past Dana Point, Strands Beach to the south. After parking(free), continue to trailhead, left yielding a drop down with incredible vistas. If you go right you follow the homes across the hill's ridge opening up to incredible views, making for one serene outlook point on multiple occasions. Though we pre-gamed a beach day with this first hike here, I can only but imagine what a romantic sunset hike this location would make!! read more

Absolutely stunning and spectacular view This is a gem hiking place I absolutely love it I feel alive when I do the walking It's on my top 5 hiking trails I m going there tmw n can't wait to see the view Stunning view fir walking read more

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The Badlands Park is a wonderful, easy trail. It is wide and has gravel on the path. You can go right or left upon arrival. Going right gives you a gorgeous panoramic view of the ocean. Great for sending photos back home and breathtaking to see. Going left takes you to a mini "badlands" looking area that is fun to walk through. This is mostly residential so no public restrooms. Trail is less than a mile. read more

Badlands Park - Badlands Park 31671 Isla Vista, Laguna Niguel, CA. - Parks Near Me - Laguna Niguel, California

Great walking area with great views!! I love coming here :) They are also dog friendly which is a bonus!

BEAUTIFUL! I love that you can basically see the ocean at any part of the trail. With the perfect weather and a nice wind, it can be a great way to spend some time. But, once it gets deeper into the day, it can get very hot, and there is no shade. Would suggest coming here early in the morning or closer to the evening. Thank you, Yelpers, for posting about this place! Hubby and I took our pup here. We were able to park in the street in front of the park and then walk up the stairs into the park. Once you're into the park, you'll see the trail, where you're at a fork to either go left or right. The trail itself is fairly clean, but I did see some littering. -_- Clean up after yourself, people! Doggy poop bags are available on certain parts of the trail, and there are trashcans in the actual park. There were a number of dogs that we saw, as it is a dog friendly trail, but it bugged me that a number of them were not leashed. The trails are wide enough at times where you can pass by with a pup without getting too close to another incoming trailblazer, but we had to backtrack at times to make sure our pup wouldn't react to new people/dogs heading straight towards her. Parts of the trail can be steep. Sadly, hubby sprained his ankle when we decided to walk in the residential area for a little bit. Hobbling back to the car through the dirt trails was not fun. -_- Make sure you're careful while hiking! read more

Giving this trail 3 stars. Easy paths (maybe too easy, there were strollers & kids running around) There were some nice views read more

Badlands Park - Path overlooking the coast - Parks Near Me - Laguna Niguel, California

Dog friendly! Parking is free on the street, before a gated complex cul-de-sac. I went on Memorial Day morning and there was plenty of space. As far as working out, it's relatively flat, but if you go to one end of the trail (ends at residential, dirt path turns to concrete) there's a section at the end with a killer hill. I like the fact that most of this trail is dirt, and if you go down the stairs, even some sand. Walking around the whole area is about a mile, at least where the interesting parts are anyway, but you can keep walking around the residential areas if you so choose. The trail is between hills/ocean scenery and expensive housing, so the views aren't bad at all, but you definitely won't get that "walking in wilderness" feeling. My only complaint is while they had a lot of poop bag dispensers, the only trash cans on the whole trail were by the entrance to the park. Would have been nice if more were spaced throughout. read more

Badlands Park - Parks Near Me - Laguna Niguel, California

I love, love, love this park!! It is one of my favorite places to go hiking/walking. I found it by accident one day when I just went for a drive. I am so glad that I came upon this park. PARKING: You park along a street. It is in a residential area, but the street you park on does not have any houses. It is a street you take to go into a gated community. TRAILS: Once you park, you walk towards the gated community and you will come upon some stairs. Take those stairs and you will come to the trail. You can go left or right with the trail. Going right (or North) takes you pretty far, but not as far as the trail going left (south). I would say to check out both ways, but going to the left is my favorite. The trails take you along the backside of the houses - gorgeous houses may I add. If you go left, you will eventual come upon a deviation when you come to the drinking fountain (this fountain also has a doggy drinking fountain/bowl). You will go down some stairs to a sandy area. Then you will eventual go back to the standard trail along the houses. There is a point that you will come to where you can see south and north. On a really clear day I've been able to see as far south as La Jolla and as far north as Malibu. No joke, I really saw that far haha. Such a gorgeous place. Absolutely breathtaking view. read more

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If you go on a walk here, you'll be treated to a beautiful view of the ocean. My friend recommended this park as it is one of her favorites. Lots of people come here to watch sunsets. I would recommend checking this park out. This is not one of the longest walks, but it's decent. It took me about 30 minutes to go around the park. When I went, there were very few walkers on the trail. Dogs are allowed here. Come here for a gorgeous view of the ocean. read more

This was a really nice walk. I would come here for a very short walk and/or to sit and read a book with the beautiful view. It is perfect for that. I would definitely not classify this as a hike or anything close to that. read more

Love this trail, I live in Laguna Niguel in 10 years don't even know until my neighbor show me here first time and will come back to watch sunset from here read more

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Loved this trail. Views were absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking. I definitely recommend. The trail wasn't too tough, but it was still a good workout. read more

This is a great area to hike around, especially at sunset. The view is amazing from the main entrance of the trail, which splits into a Y. If you go to your left you can take a long hike towards the south with a twisty, fun trail. If you go to your right you can take a gentler trail that is just a short hike. Either way you go you have amazing ocean views. There is always plenty of parking along the curb, some picnic park benches, water, and doggy bags. There are no restrooms. read more

Badlands Park - View from Badlands Park trail at sunset Dec. 24, 2010 - Parks Near Me - Laguna Niguel, California

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Perfect place to hike with ocean views, sunsets and dog trails. It is a local hidden treasure.

If you're looking for a beautiful and easy hike or walk that you can do without the need to wear supportive shoes (I usually do it wearing Rainbow Sandals), you should check out Badlands Park, which really shouldn't be considered a Park at all (except for the fact that the County has placed a couple of picnic tables and some drinking fountains in the "Park"). The County's own signs indicate that Badlands is a "Trail" so it is a bit misleading to call it a park. Just know if you're going there, that it isn't a "park" in the traditional sense, but it is a location where you will find absolutely beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean and the Coastline along with native plant life and really outrageous sandstone features. If you stay along the top of the trail, it's a bit difficult to get into the nature aspect of the beauty you are experiencing because you can hear all of the sounds emanating from the very large neighborhood right next door (literally part of the path is in the backyard of some of the homes). However, once you take the steps down the trail and move toward the cliffs and into the actual "badlands" where the sandstone features are located you forget that you've driven along a road toward a gated community (or that you've walked out of it if you live in the area) and you can bask in the beauty of the Pacific Coastline and all it has to offer. For a terrific review of the ins and outs of navigating the park and the trails, check out the review by Alex Weihsien W. http://www.yelp.com/biz/badlands-park-laguna-niguel?hrid=2SFkBHCs5pMs13m71TU2ew read more

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It's a great spot to take you and your dog's for a real scenic view of South County and the view of the Ocean is spectacular. I enjoy it because it's not jammed packed with people. read more

Amazing trails!! The trails lead all the way down to Laguna Beach if you can find the path. Once you go down the steps the trail looks like it stops but we kept going and ended all the way to beach! The most amazing views! read more

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Very beautiful park, with great views however very short hike! Can be done in about 20 minutes. No steep inclines, not amazing for workouts, but great for photographers. read more

Found this place by accident. Hidden gem amongst multi mill homes. Tiny park of sandy paths with beautiful flora nestled smack dab between private homes way on top of a hill, overlooking southern Laguna Beach. Stunning view, easy 15 minute hike, dogs allowed. I could not see a trial down to the PCH, but a nice little place to take photos on your way to Laguna read more

This is a beautiful hike or walk! It's on top of the mountain with Panoramic views of laguna beach and the beautiful Pacific Ocean! This is a great walk with the dog! The sunset is amazing since part of the trail overlooks laguna beach direction where the sun sets. If you like nature. Or you like mini hikes. Beautiful views. And a nice walk. This is an AMAZING trail and you should check it out!! read more

This is a very nice little trail. Great for warming up and then heading down the beach. Amazing views. Don't expect it to be your regular hiking trail. read more

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I love the badlands!! this view is one of the best (if not THE best) in the area. I discovered this spot in 2014 and have been coming ever since!!!! The view of the sunset at the end is UNBELIEVABLE. absolutely stunning! the trail walks along the spine of laguna beach, and if you take the marked trail heading left, go down the stairs, and follow the narrow path (keeping to the left) and follow the trail, it will take you to a beautiful vista where you can see everywhere from oceanside to DT LA (on a clear day 180° view of beach cities and ocean). This hike is very easy, convenient, and parking is easy! however the public parking closes at 10pm so this is not a good location for a late night city view. The vista is almost never crowded at sunset, usually we are the only ones there. Take advantage of the local beauty and give the badlands a visit! read more

I love this place. A beautiful quiet area with a fantastic view of the ocean. Great to watch a sunset from.

LOVE this park. Always take out of towners here to show off the view. It's perfect at sunset and a great place to play with little ones also. read more

Great hike, but some areas are pretty narrow, so you have to be very careful when passing others, especially people riding bikes. Views are breathtaking! read more

Beautiful stroll on the top. The views are to die for! If you attempt to hike down further to Laguna area be prepared for STEEP STEEP STEEP .. it was a challenge but loved the entire experience. read more

The view is amazing but I hate the trail. I am a trail runner and through the trail They had rubber blocks sticking out of the ground, this makes it hard to run and bike. It's is also right behind houses that distracts from the amazing view. I was to focused of feet placement to enjoy the view. There is also no shade and without the view the trail would be a 1 star. -A salty runner Lol, I was hungry, still don't like it. read more

This park is definitely one of a kind with spectacular views. The hike is easy and perfect to take the dogs . read more

Badlands Park - Parks Near Me - Laguna Niguel, California

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