Our hiking group has been wandering this corner of California for almost 30 years. We thought we knew all the trails…until we stumbled onto the Chino Creek Wetlands Education and Pipe Park.
When we finally found it, we were surprised by a fascinating combination of ponds, birds and pipe art!
A green heron, a black crowned heron and more pipe art! A photographer we met on the trail reported a pair of nesting owls had been seen in the park. (This winter their nest was blown away in a windstorm.)
And photo-ops galore:
The trails we found are officially in the Chino Creek Wetlands and Educational Pipe Garden on the grounds of the IEUA (Inland Empire Utilities Agency.) You can get to the park from an adjacent parking lot. Why? Because the address given on the website of the Chino Creek Wetlands park is incorrect.
The IEUA is at 6075 Kimball Avenue in Chino. We drove into the IEUA, then wound through their parking lot to the open lot at the end. There were NO visible signs for the park…we found it because of a friendly security guard. But once we found it, we discovered a treasure trove of signage and much information about water conservation. And many beautiful birds.
Pictures contributed by the Saturday Hikers of the La Verne Trail Trekkers.