Families, hikers and cyclists gathered under sunny skies at Quail Hill Trailhead on April 19 to celebrate Irvine’s expansive network of parks and open space — a cornerstone of the city’s master-planned design.

The annual event, hosted by the city and Irvine Company, featured a free pancake breakfast, guided hike and a chance for residents to meet the Irvine Police Department’s Mounted Unit. Families stopped for photos with the horses, while kids, including 7-year-old Cayden Chen, munched on pancakes before heading off on the trail.

“When I hike, it makes me feel healthy,” said Cayden, a Laguna Altura resident wearing his Paris Saint-Germain soccer jersey. Cayden, who plays for a local soccer club, said he also enjoys the challenge of climbing trees and rocks along the trail.

For Cayden’s parents, Candace Xu and Anthony Chen, Irvine’s open space was one of the biggest reasons they moved to the city from the East Coast.

“Here, Cayden can get soccer training every day,” Candace said. “On the East Coast, you only get one-third of the year to do that.”

They often hike as a family and said the city’s trail network makes it easy to explore. “It’s very convenient,” Candace said. “Everything is connected — the parks, playgrounds, trails and even the shopping centers. You can walk from place to place.”

Cypress Village resident Yen Nguyen said she fell in love with Irvine the first time she visited — after a trip to the Irvine Spectrum Center.

“I looked around and thought, ‘How come I didn’t know about this beautiful city?’” she recalled.

She moved from Santa Ana to Irvine a decade ago. Now, she walks twice a day, every day — often along the Jeffrey Open Space Trail or through her own neighborhood parks.

“Before, I had to drive to the park,” she said. “Now, I just walk outside. The open space and fresh air keep me healthy.”

That kind of everyday access is exactly what the city and its partners had in mind, said Mike O’Connell, president and CEO of the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, which manages the city’s open space.

The city, conservancy and Irvine Company have worked together to preserve more than one-third of the city as open space and parks. 

“I hope today you appreciate just how important it is for us, generation after generation, to see to it that that legacy is preserved intact,” Mayor Larry Agran said.

O’Connell also emphasized the global significance of Irvine’s natural environment, noting that it lies within a rare Mediterranean climate zone — one of only five such regions on Earth. Though these zones make up just 2% of the planet’s land area, they support an estimated 20% of all known plant species.

“We are in the botanical equivalent of a rainforest or a coral reef,” O’Connell said.

The event concluded with a guided hike led by conservancy staff and the Mounted Unit, with dozens of residents setting off along the scenic Quail Hill Loop Trail.

Rancho San Joaquin resident Grace Kim said she hikes Quail Hill four times a week with friends. 

“It’s very safe,” she said. “It adds so much to our quality of life.”