Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center (main entrance) — Attraction in Newport Beach

The interpretive center was informative, and the man and woman at the front desk were friendly and helpful. Enjoyed the exhibits and wildlife inside and outside of the center!

As a first-time visitor, I parked in the upper lot and walked around till I found the center down below. Asked John about handicapped parking, which was closer to the center since my husband could not walk safely on uneven ground. John directed me to the entry gate and gave me the number to call once I got there.

Drove to the gate, called John, then saw an angry looking ranger walking to the gate. It appeared that maybe she didn't want to open the gate, or maybe she was having a bad day?

We drove in, parked, and husband mostly drank liquids and slept since he wasn't feeling well. I knew the center closed at 4, so I mentioned to John that I would let him know when we were leaving. He said that the gate would open automatically when we left, so that wasn't necessary.

Around 3:30, I told my husband we needed to leave soon. He said he needed to go to the bathroom one more time and started to leave the van from the side sliding door.

I was in the very back of the van when a female ranger ( same one as earlier? I dont know) began talking to my husband as he was exiting the van. I was dumbfounded to hear her identify herself as a ranger, then explain that the park was closing in an hour and a half ( which was longer than I thought) and that we couldn't stay. He shook his head.

What the ranger didn't know was that due to stroke, my husband has severe aphasia and has trouble with comprehension and speaking. His whole right side is affected, so he only has full use of one hand and one leg. Getting in and out of the van is challenging for him, but he wants to be independent and usually won't accept help.

SUGGESTION TO RANGERS AND ANYONE ELSE needing to talk to someone exiting a vehicle in a handicapped spot. Say hi or introduce yourself, but wait for them to get on solid ground before continuing the conversation. You don't know what their handicap is and if it's physical, you may be creating an unsafe situation.

These 2 negative interactions with a ranger caused the...

This used to be a great nature hiking area back 10-15 years ago but not any more. Too many people now and very poorly managed and over loved.

Sort of worthless as an interpretive center now, since they closed ALL water-side wetland trails down by the back bay because ebikes, mtn bikes, and horses keep destroying the narrow soft single track trails. The only people that now get to use the long lower waterside trails are the illegal homeless!(you can see their tents in Google Maps) 🙄.

The first problem, is they wasted ton$ of money on un-naturally cementing the parking lot in due to minor water damage. And yet they are doing NOTHING on building proper over fence access to the lower trails.(see photos) And nothing to keep bikes and horses out. Also, ZERO signage to keep unleashed dogs, bikes, and horses OFF the only walking trails/roads left! The newly added parking lot spaces are now WAY to small and basically only good for the smallest of cars and motorcycles. Hey city fools, try re-painting the car space lines for normal sized cars,🙄 or bring the natural crashed granite lot back. You park in here and you are guaranteed dents in your car from screaming unruly kids throwing car doors open into your nice expensive car. All the smart local people now park on the shaded street if they care about their cars.

Second, for years the management here have spent and wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to grow/add native plants in the fields. The problem is the potted roots would always dry out and EVERY SINGLE PLANT DIED. Basically, you CAN'T GROW TEMPER-MENTAL NATIVE PLANTS right out of the pot into an open hot and windy dry field that bakes in the midday sun. You are better off $pending one hundredth that money and seeding the fields with native annual seed. And seed the fields in the winter and spring months before big week long rain storms hit so the seeds will naturally get wet and germinate on their own! Let nature...

INFORMED STAFF ! My wife and I rode our eBikes to the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve on Wednesday. It was a warm sunny day but very windy. At around 3.30pm we decided to head here...restrooms open til 4pm. BALD EAGLES ! We knew that the resident Bald Eagles had produced an Eaglet but that was it. Apparently their nest at the top of a very tall tree is on private property so no one really has access to them. I popped inside to ask one of the staff what they knew about this situation. The lady sitting behind the counter said she did not think the Eaglet was mature enough to fly yet. OKAY ! My wife joined me at the service counter. I told the lady that we heard there is a Peregrine Falcon nest on a cliff face somewhere in the nature preserve and they have a little one. Trust me we have looked everywhere around the nature preserve and haven't found the nest yet. The center was closing in a few minutes so we headed back to our eBikes....