Open Space

For more than 40 years, preserving open spaces and providing a rich menu of recreational opportunities has been a core philosophy of The Irvine Ranch® Master Plan. As planning on The Ranch evolved through the decades, greater emphasis was placed on open space preservation, due to heightened environmental concerns, the ecological diversity and importance of the land, and prevalence of the recreational lifestyle. Many of the large preserved open spaces are linked through a series of trails, paseos, commons, courtyards, streets and parks, all of which connect villages on The Ranch to the natural surroundings.

The original Master Plan called for 10,400 acres—or roughly 11 percent of the 93,000-acre ranch—to be set aside as parks and open space. On Nov. 28, 2001, Irvine Company Chairman Donald Bren announced a major conservation milestone: More than half of the entire Irvine Ranch – more than 50,000 acres – had been permanently preserved as parks, trails and natural open space. Prized for their scientific importance, much of the lands have been designed Natural Landmarks by both the federal government and State of California.

The Ranch’s open space legacy began in 1897, when the Irvine Company donated to the people of Orange County the beautiful land that today is Irvine Regional Park. That legacy continues to this day. Several years ago, the Irvine Company donated land near Irvine Regional Park to the County of Orange to lease to the Boy Scouts of America to operate a major outdoor education center for youths. The Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center, which opened in 2009, is the culmination of 12 years of planning and two years of construction. The $30 million, 210-acre eco-friendly center teaches children ages 8-17, who come from a wide array of youth organizations, about leadership, conservationism and environmentalism through outdoor adventures at its astronomy, ranch and mining themed-camp programs.