Chino Hills

For such a densely populated area, Orange County has a large number of hiking trails.

Chino Hills State Park is located on the northern tip of Orange County. The trails have the same character as those found further south, but being further from the coast tend to be warmer due to a lack of breeze.

Atop one of the summits along our loop 

The concept of an alpine start is familiar to those in Southern California, as it gets way too hot in the afternoon, although wet avalanches and rockfall are not as common. The strategy is to get off the trail before noon, when things start to really cook.

Hills and haze

The park shows many signs of the drought which I am told has affected the area since 2010. However, there is a lot of infrastructure in place to handle floods, which I find is an interesting strategy and perhaps one that Canmore might be able to learn from.

Overall, this seems like an interesting area if you're a local, and very similar to the trails in my own back yard.

http://app.endomondo.com/workouts/399976376/3101909