Beautiful Open space for biking, running, hiking, lounging etc. If U make it to the Marina side U can rent Kayaks and Paddle boards as well. Just an all around awesome, tranquil space right in the middle of the city. I have explored quite a few sides of it and each section has something a lil different. Look at your Map to pinpoint the different jump of spots. Primary area is off of University/Irvine but there are other trail heads all around.

I enjoyed seeing the bay at low tide yesterday afternoon when so much was revealed. I went again at high tide this morning The water had covered things up again and everything was calm and placid. A metaphor for life? You decide

Right now many of us know that being cooped up inside fearful of the pandemic situation outside your door is not healthy. Well, Im here to show you one of the many places among the Orange County area that are awesome to experience!! Even better, its FREE!! So, as youll notice that in these pictures most people are observing social distancing as well as face masks. But that aside, talk about beautiful, open space where you can take your best friend or your kids and the family dog and just walk, explore, and enjoy the trails. Granted there are rules posted and strict hours to adhere to. Theres a locked gate so, you definitely dont want to get caught behind that after closing. In a couple of my pictures you can see I was so bold as to picnic on my hood. There are benches and observation areas with some seating and even a few picnic tables. Please be so kind as to observe the rules and keep trash where it belongs. You can clearly see in the pictures that the park is in an incredible state of beauty and cleanliness. The little fowl and critters are quite happy and do thrive. That being said, as we head into winter, you wont have to worry about experiencing any unwanted reptiles as the weather is cooling off. But, peak summer hours or very hot days and you will be following the guidelines for making any encounter a peaceful and smooth resolution. I want to also take a moment to say thank you to my pals at Nice Guy Vegan on 19th Street in Costa Mesa, across from the DMV. If you go over on the Google maps and punch them in, I have a review there for their amazing vegan burgers, fries, chicken nuggets, tater tots, and other delicious, cruelty free, vegan food. I always enjoy my day better when I take time to unwind here in this park and today of ALL days, I felt I should make it an extra special occasion by enjoying a Cali Burger and some tots with ranch dressing!! They make all of their dipping sauces daily and they are always on point and really YUMMY!! Enjoy!!

Walked the loop. Was a nice trail with moderate traffic. There is free parking on University and plenty of spots even at 10am. Nice walk if theres a breeze, but not much shade if its really hot.Enjoyable!

Beautiful place to walk. But it is very busy and I would say 90% are not wearing masks.

Its very relaxing and beautiful. The huge rocks make good resting places.

Parking: 5/5Medium carpark with street parking. My friends and I were able to find parking straight away when we went around 10.Trails: 4/5There are dirt trails and paved trails, both usable by pedestrians with no shade. The trail goes along the river and its fairly easy since theres not much elevation change. Its heavily trafficked with pedestrians, dogs, cyclists and greenery!

Great place for a quick walk or a long ride. There are dirt trails to walk on and a 10 mile paved trail that circles the entire bay.

Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve – or “The Back Bay,” as it’s known locally – is a 1,000-acre estuary and the largest wetland region in southern California.The preserve is a significant stopover point for more than 35,000 migrating birds, making it a popular destination for bird-watchers.Biking, hiking, and horseback riding are some of the other outdoor activities you can participate in. An interpretive Center where you can learn about the history of the estuary and a butterfly garden are also on site.

So pretty! We went around 5 PM in the summer and it was windy and not too warm. There are hiking, biking and horse trails, but do not offer rentals. It’s dog friendly. The interpretive center opens 10 AM-4 PM while the bathrooms are open 6 AM-4 PM. You can spot many birds, sometimes in flocks, but the only place you can get up close to the river and the greens is by the interpretive center. There are long trails for you to walk which are easy, regularly-used and wide. The view is very worth it! There are many different areas where you can stand on a rock and look at the views while you’re hiking. We also saw fish jumping out of the river!

It is perfect to walk and bike riding place.Be careful many bugs.No special parking lots.

Great trail I go everyday almost. Go opposite of landslide for now. To many bicycles and people sharing that road. Rollerbladers and bicycles always think they own road. We all share road and should be respectful to one another. To many bicyclers think space only applies to them and they sneak up behind you.

The path goes all the way to the back bay dunes parking lot. Its all paved so sneakers are fine. Lots of bikers and pedestrians. Great for birding!

Great jog/walk... 3 miles out, 3 mile back, great 6 miles to end the night. Highly recommend going with others to be safe.

Great place to run whether if you plan to go on a short distance or long distance this place is great.

Beautiful and easy. You can take your family of all ages and look at the great views.

Upper Newport bay is a beautiful for walking, cycling and enjoy the beautiful view. It is so good specially evening when the sun going down. You need to see it and I know you will enjoy.

Great place for a scenic stroll. Easy walk, no steep climbs.

I love this area. Great for jogging, walking, cycling, photos and so much more.

Lovely to enjoy the calming and birds chirping . Best for the moderate hike and beginners to have a quite flat stretch . Enjoyed the hike after long time on fathers day here in 2020.

Upper newport bay is one of prettiest places in Southern California. Great hikes, beautiful birds, neat bugs and the estuary.

Great hike but highly populated if you are interested in staying away from people right now

Epic views & so many paths! Easy parking in the lot on University. Get your nature in, eh?

GREAT walk, beautiful nature, live animals; rabbits squirrels lizards snakes

Love it, I come here so frequently.

Love walking here. Miles of trails. Wife and I walk here at least four times a week

The trail goes longer but at around the horses near Galaxy View Park I think at around there i circled back. On the way back I took the the top dirt trail. I tend to walk most of the time and sprint uphill action 20-30% of the time so this was great. You also get a better view of the valley and the nature preserve. I wish I would of took the uphill rugged route instead cause theres not as much people, bikes. You gotta be carefull with other runners with headphones  bikes, etc. sometimes. If you’re listening to music make sure you’re not blasting cause bikers will often give you a heads up when they’re approaching behind you. Great place to bring the whole family, for sure.

It was a beautiful day. Watching the birds and walking through the trails. There are several stations where they talk about the different birds and show pics of them. Nice

Clean road. Perfect for roller skating with no setbacks.

If you are in Newport Beach and love nature, this is a great place to visit.This is one of the last few preserved natural locations in the area and it is great for getting away from the city buzz for a little while.This area is a bird sanctuary and the bird watching is excellent.There are two very nice biking, walking, jogging trails that follow the sides of the bay that offer some great views.One side of the bay has a driving trail, as well.Photographers will find many excellent opportunities for nature or wildlife photography here.You can also rent kayaks, paddle boats or paddle boards here to take out on the bay.The Dunes resort off of Jamboree road offers a very nice boat launch.I always make time to visit when I am in that part of town.

A nice little hike by the water, with biking path and walking path. By the road so not quiet, but it is still pretty peaceful, not by a major road. If your looking for an easy and nice hike by the water, flowers and bushes(no trees) then this is a nice spot

Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve is my favorite place to walk and bike ride. I just wish bike riders would be more considerate and not drive so fast- I am always afraid they are going to lose their balance and crash into someone... )-: Other than that, beautiful, peaceful place to walk.

Great place to walk and look at nature, especially birds. Most people had masks and observed social distancing.

Great trails for families. Good place for a run through the paved paths or dirt trails. Great scenery!

Fresh air.. views of the Back Bay..a variety of walking and biking trails..

Well kept and beautiful. Perfect place for running.

Peaceful area but no enough parking around.

Great place for walking with a beautiful view

Just walked around. Good weather today

I love running here... Always have! Its good a cool history and locals have worked hard to preserve this place a best they can. On some days its really beautiful, especially in early Spring! I feel grateful that I love so close to this area.

The most wonderful spot in Orange County! Miles of trails and so beautiful!

Great place to go for a walk theres currently construction about 2.5 miles in but overall it is very clean and friendly people walking.

Beautiful location and a good mix of dirt and paved trails. And less crowded than Bolsa Chica.

Beautiful pristine estuary in the heart of suburbia.

Rode my bike here from Tustin. It’s a beautiful place to hike and ride. Highly recommend

Ive been going to this trail for the past 10 years its beautiful so many places to hike as well as bicycle ride the scenic route is all the way through while recommend this trail

Really good place. I love this place. Beautiful view.

Awesome place. The people complaining about masks AND staying 6 ft. apart are probably the same people that swear masks in their car and watch CNN

The upper new port bay is the largest coastal wetlands in the Newport southern Cali..!!!One of the best place for walking,running,cycling,hiking and many more.!!People who love nature will enjoy there watching different species of birds .!!!!!!

Great place for an easy hike. Bring water. Theres a very nice Nature Preserve Interpretive Center Bldg with water and restrooms at the beginning of the trail. Parking is plentiful most times. Bring binoculars and sunglasses to catch the action in the Back Bay.

BEAUTY TO BEHOLD ! My wife and I rode our electric bike rentals around most of this nature preserve ( we ran out of time ) when we vacationed up here last February. We enjoyed our bike ride so much that we planned to ride the whole circuit of the nature preserve on the 4th of July weekend. This time we brought our own electric bikes ( hitch bike rack on the back of our new Tesla Y ). We checked into the Newport Beach Marriott Bayview Hotel on Friday afternoon and grabbed a quick lunch at our fav coffee shop nearby before hitting the trail on our electric bikes. After riding about half way around the nature preserve we were brought to an abrupt halt by a huge barrier across the road....a sign stated that the road was closed due to the pandemic shutdown. We were a bit disappointed but we did manage to get a few great photos along the way. On Saturday morning we headed out early ( a hot day was predicted ) to ride the trail from the other end of the nature preserve. We rode around all over the place within view of the nature preserve but believe it not we could not find the road which allowed access to the trail. We took a bunch of great photos of everything we saw on our bike ride. Put this scenic bike ride on your list !

People dont follow CDC procedures wear a face mask while on park and not staying 6 feet away from each other. How can we get back to normal life when not everyone are doing their part I wish that C.Mesa City closes their parks again.

Beautiful, calm, so well preserved. Grateful that this land and all its awesome nature is so easily accessible and with very little development. Bring bug repellent & water, and youre going to be in for a treat!

Fun place to hike around if youre from out of town!

Simple walk. Maintained and clean trail if you stay on the main path

I love this place. I used to come on a regular basis with a friend of mine. I have also hiked it alone from end to end just to stay fit. There is a lot to see and plenty of area to hike. You can lose a few hours being here.

This hike is really nice if you are looking for a flat hike to run or ride a bike.

Pleasant walk. It was listed as a hiking trail but it is all flat and paved.

One of my favorite places.

Great place for a bike ride, walk, and jog.

So fun...great easy hike..beautiful scenery.

Always. You should Always make time to be a Free Range Human & this is Thee perfect place. As one would expect you will see a great variety of egrets, Blue Heron cranes, flying fish Birds, squirrels, wild rabbits & once in awhile if youre lucky youll see a four-legged furry friend from the cat series families I wont name which one but thats been so long since I have but occasionally you will. What it comes down to is when youre surrounded by all this beauty the chirping of a single bird or watching a flock of birds, walking breathing in and breathing out, looking up at a blue sky or gray sky, youre surrounded by nothingness and everything which is just about what anyone could possibly ever want when youre going out on a small walk, just a time to think, you need to mull some things over or youre happily ready to celebrate your daily run or something else----this is the perfect place to be surrounded by all sorts of life and energy, color and Beauty with a the sun coming up or the suns going down dont miss a chance to find one little corner or place in this wonderful Park to experience a little bit of your own Essence and life.

Saw various wildlife to include California Mountain Kingsnake, various lizard, rabbit and an egret in the water nearby. Great beginner hiking spot for families with little kids and obviously close to home.

One of my favorite places!

One of the best trail in this area, perfect for winter and cloudy summer.

One of my favorite spots for a scenic bike ride

A beautiful nature preserve that interfaces with the ocean

Fabulous nature preserve. Great walking trails.

What a lovely park and lookout!

Had one new emerged from chrysalis Monach butterfly and released at Upper Newport Bay. Love this place

Beautiful and enjoyable nature !!

Fresh air, clean and beautiful scenery. Lots of dirt and paved trails to walk or ride bikes. Great facilities in an out of the way location in the urban sprawl of orange county. Its also in a very nice part of town.

Nice place for relaxing hike

Very nice to come walking with the kiddos

Great place to get some exercise!

PHENOMENAL place to walk around and get fresh air.

Great place to run. The backbay loop is about ten miles. Never crowded but always plenty of other runners, walkers and bikers on the trail with you.

Great experience for all ages also plenty to see and do around the area. Have fun!

This is a great place for a brisk walk, run or bike ride. The path around the bay is paved and has to lanes. Its a long way around for a walk or even a run, so plan for a partial round trip. You may see wildlife or riders on horseback along the way, farthest from streets and noise.

Beautiful trail, easy and convenient for walking your dogs, riding a bike or jogging, much more pretty in spring covered by flowers and yellow bushes

So cool for people of all ages! I have a blast every time i go! Great gift shop with very low prices! Open daily! Very clean! Also has a kids room for kids to Interact and learn

Great place for a bike ride or walk. If you circle the whole back bay its about 12 miles.

Great parking and trails for all skill levels

What a great spot. So many different areas to walk and bike ride. So peaceful. Lots of birds. 2 good visitor centers. Upper Bay center open all days except Monday. Back Bay Science Center open Sundays 10-2. Great 10 mile +/- bike loop. Yes it is under the airport flight path but still can be calm and refreshing. Walk Big Canyon. See coyotes, bobcats, long tailed weasels, squirrels, rabbits and more. See late spring, early summer wildflower blooms. See pelicans, egrets, herons, osprey, other raptors and so many different birds.

I take my dog there almost every day for walks or I go for a run through here, never a disappointment.

Really calming hiking trails through nature preserves. Well marked, sand trails with lots of informational signs and snails scattered about. We also walked some of the paved path near Irvine Ave. - wide and marked with a center line. We even saw a rainbow - a real bonus.

What a great spot. So many different areas to walk and bike ride. So peaceful. Lots of birds. 2 good visitor centers. Upper Bay center open all days except Monday. Back Bay Science Center open Sundays 10-2. Great 10 mile +/- bike loop. Yes it is under the airport flight path but still can be calm and refreshing. Walk Big Canyon. See coyotes, bobcats, long tailed weasels, squirrels, rabbits and more. See late spring, early summer wildflower blooms. See pelicans, egrets, herons, osprey, other raptors and so many different birds.

Wasn’t overly impressed by the reserve. It needs a lot of work from garbage pick up, tidier pathways and proper signage. Could be something special with a little TLC.

Spectacular view. Great sunsets if you time your venture properly. Amazing place for walking, biking, running. Also pet friendly.

Gorgeous views, as well as easy trails to explore.

A great place to take pictures of people taking picture. Easy trails and nice weather. Planes constantly flying overhead can be distracting.

The parking is pretty bad ok busy days, but if you do get a spot it is worth it The walk and the scenery is breath taking but I also went during spring so all the yellow mustard was there.

Quiet & serene place packed with all kinds of wildlife. Great place to cycle or walk

Pretty and not crowded

Love this place. Rainbow sky this evening and ducks flying and swimming around. Even saw a road runner.

The visitor center is super interactive! The trails have great views and are really clean.

Its a beautiful place to go for a bike, hike, walk, run, or just sight see. It is great to have this back yard enjoy it. Its year round pleasure Kama but in the Spring time the flowers pop.

This is a very important nature reserve to many different species. It is also a wonderful place to take a jog and enjoy nature.

Good hiking path

Great views, less trash than many local hiking trails