8 Parks And Trails To Enjoy In Mission Viejo This Summer

MISSION VIEJO, CA — Orange County is lush with places to get a breath of fresh air and reap the benefits of nature with its swaths of green parks, beaches, trails, lagoons, farms and lakes.

Whether you love swimming, hiking, horseback riding or setting up a picnic — there’s a place for it in this eco-friendly corner of Southern California. In and around Mission Viejo, there are a handful of dog and family-friendly parks and hiking trails that are just a short drive away. Some offer areas for boating and horseback riding.

The City of Mission Viejo and OC Parks help maintain dozens of parks and trails in the area.

According to research from the University of Tokyo published this month, the connection between human well-being and nature is much stronger than the academic community previously thought.

"Aside from clean water, food and useful raw materials, nature provides many other benefits that we might overlook or find it hard to grasp and quantify," according to a news release from the university.

The research, published Friday, demonstrates that spending time in nature can be vital to a person's mental and physical health.

Here are 5 parks and beaches to soak up all that nature has to offer in and around Mission Viejo this summer.

1. Oso Creek Trail

2. Crucero Park

3. Jeronimo Greenbelt

4. Eastbrook Park

5. Sycamore Park

6. Arroyo Trabuco Loop/Curtis Park

7. Trabuco Creek Loop

8. Colinas Open Space Trail