O'Neill Regional Park — Attraction in Rancho Santa Margarita

Nice park for an after dinner stroll. But dangerous place on holidays and after dark. None of the Rangers are armed and there is never a law enforcement presence. Crime goes unchallenged. Camped here several times in group area when we lived in OC. Used to have a pass and came here many times to picnic and walk the dog. First time camping here on our own. Pretty park but that is where it ends. Park is mostly clean though there was trash in our site on arrival. The bathrooms were clean and surprisingly free of graffiti. But of the 3 showers in our bathroom building only 1 worked, the other two shower heads were clogged with hard water deposits. Unlike a lot of campgrounds it looks like they have someone who works here who knows how to do maintenance, mostly. Roads are asphalt, sites are gravel. Staff were all in uniform, pants pulled up. Though the rangers here are unarmed and thus useless. They don't even patrol the campground and never issue tickets. There are a couple of day use areas with hikes. Lots of stuff here is new or refurbished including signs, amphitheater, nature trail, nice playground, and a new nature center which is only open weekends right now so we missed it. There is a seasonal creek that runs through the park, when it is flowing more than a few inches you can't get to the south side of the park because it can wash away cars. We started in site 46 but barely got any solar and would not have made it 5 days so we moved to site 60 which was much more open and sunny. There are a couple of sites on the south edge of the campground that get all day sun. Cell service is slow to non-existent, we used Starlink. Park is very unsafe, no police presence or enforcement rangers. Guy at the gate lied to me and said the Sheriff's patrol the park. I've camped here several times, and was here 5 days straight this time. Not ONCE did the Sheriff's come through the park. Just a few miles from a biker bar where there have been shootings. Last year there was a mass shooting with 3 killed. There used to be an electric gate arm that kept cars out of the campground that weren't authorized but they've taken the arm down. Gate gets left open 24/7 and anyone can drive into campground any time during the night. Day users and homeless come into campground to shower. Rangers are off duty at 5pm and there is no staff here until morning. Camp host site was empty. We were here Sun-Fri, but if you come on a weekend note that it is just a weekend party spot. Like many urban campgrounds it is just a place where locals come to get loud and drunk, despite the prohibition on alcohol in the entire park. The campground is in a canyon sandwiched in between the canyon road and the creek, only a couple thousand feet wide. So there is some road noise. Not too noticeable except during rush hour or when some guy vroom vroom's races down the canyon making up for some deficiency...

I visited O'Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon the other day, to attend a Birthday Party/Campfire family get-together.

Rangers at the gate directed us to the group campsite rented by my daughter & her family. It was located in the Sycamore C Campground. First impressions of the campground were:

It was well laid-out, with nicely-maintained, paved roads winding by all the easily visible, numbered campsites.

There was lots of room in each campsite, with large stately Sycamore trees, shorter, more sturdy Oak trees & shrub hedges providing nice privacy and plenty of nature at each site.

Well appointed campsites- Each site had a very large stone fire pit, 2-3 large concrete picnic tables, & its own metal trash can. Group restrooms are centrally located, a short distance from most sites, & looked fairly clean. This park had a nice vibe too, as groups of all ages were enjoying the outdoors here.

I saw jack rabbits, as well as plenty of ground squirrels, racing about the large boulders that loosely encircle each campsite. Colorful parrots, with rapidly beating wings, flew low over us, squawking as only they're able to do. I heard the noisy chatter of woodpeckers, high up in the Sycamore branches, but couldn't see them.

In front of our campsite, was a dry wash, bordered on the far side by large trees, bushes, meadow grass, poison oak, lichen-covered rocks & a steep hillside. I scared a jack rabbit away from its secluded hiding spot, in this area. It was so captivating, & serene: this natural oasis, not far at all from our campsite. Civilization felt so distant at that moment, during my solo jaunt through this pristine hide-away. It was relaxing & fun hanging out at...

And dogs can only go on the Mesa Trail or the paw foot trail. it was a nice easy hike.the trail is actually a paved dirt road so I guess that's why you can bring your dog because they're less likely to get startled by something in the underbrush. we didnt come across any mountain lions or Bobcats but I did see a sign that said that there have been sightings, so I would not recommend this trail for little kids. I might not go back again. It just depends,I do know mountain lions only hunt in the evening and in the early morning when deer come out. Nothing happened, but I don't know I didn't finish the trail cuz I was like, by myself with a twelve lb. Dog.But it's a beautiful view up in the mountains, up in Trabuco, and the walk up to the Mesa Trail was really peaceful. Tthere's nothing but Greenery, and a little creek too. A good hike up to the trail, and there's no way to drive upto the trail, and there's nowhere to park once you do get to the entrance of the trail. The trail is mostly flat and straight and it goes for more than 2 miles which is another reason I didn't finish it, since I went late afternoon. but I mean if you're brave do it. Just bring something to protect yourself with. It's worth it to just to go...