The Land The Irvine Ranch wildlands and parks stretch in a giant green crescent from Weir Canyon near the 91 freeway at the north end of The Irvine Ranch… connect with the Cleveland National Forest along the northeast border of the ranch... continue south where they include the massive regional open space systems in the northern and southern hillsides of Irvine, and extend to the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Crystal Cove State Park near Laguna Beach. The land is prized for its beauty, as well as its unusual geological and natural diversity. Special places are found throughout: the 5,500-acre Limestone Canyon and the "Sinks," a striking formation frequently compared to a miniature Grand Canyon; the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, one of Southern California's largest coastal freshwater marshes; Irvine's beautiful Bommer and Upper Shady canyons, and distinctive Quail Hill; and more than 7,000 acres of open space and coastal sage scrub at Newport Coast. "The significant open space, parks and recreational opportunities on The Irvine Ranch provide aesthetic beauty, relief from development and secure our unique Southern California outdoor lifestyle," says Donald Bren, chairman of The Irvine Company. "Residents of communities on The Irvine Ranch have a better sense of their urban limits and the security of knowing these large green buffers around them will exist forever."

The North Most of the 11,000 acres is the expansive northern sphere of The Irvine Ranch, immediately adjacent to the Cleveland National Forest and the Nature Reserve of Orange County. These lands form a giant, uninterrupted swath of open space stretching east from Gypsum Canyon to the Cleveland National Forest, and contain several complete watersheds and significant wildlife linkages that enable animals to move freely. They encompass Silverado, Modjeska, Blind, Fremont and Baker canyons. Besides their sheer magnitude, the North Ranch lands are rich in biodiversity. They support an unusually diverse array of wildlife, plants and geological formations.

The South At the headwaters of Laguna Canyon is a key linkage to The Irvine Ranch's giant Southern Open Space Land on Irvine's southern boundary. Laguna Laurel, as the 1,400-acre site is commonly known, also is a key linkage to Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Crystal Cove State Park, and Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park. The land—highly visible along Laguna Canyon Road near the community of Laguna Woods—has long been described by preservationists as one of the last remaining undeveloped coastal canyons in Southern California. Adding the entire site to Laguna Coast Wilderness Park has been the focus of an 11-year joint preservation effort between the community and The Irvine Company. The preservation of this key portion of the canyon is now assured: The Irvine Company will permanently protect and then donate as a gift the last remaining undeveloped canyon parcel—a 173-acre missing link—as open space in perpetuity.