The Randall Preserve Will Open in Small Groups. The Trails Around It Are Open Now.
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
According to the Orange County Register, planners for the former Banning Ranch say the first public visitors could be touring the land by 2028. They would start with monthly small-group tours of no more than 10 people, then move to every weekend, and each step would be studied for its effect on the land. West Newport has lived next to this 387 acres for decades. The plan is to open it gradually, and much of that opening is already happening in the parks next to it.
This month's news sounded like momentum, and it was. The Daily Pilot reported on October 14 that Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris had presented the preserve with a $2 million check funded by Proposition 4. The same report said the first phase of construction, testing and cleanup has begun. That phase is expected to take roughly five years and covers a visitor center, walking paths and wetland restoration.
Taken together, the dates look like this:
| Milestone | Timing | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Land purchased for $97 million | 2022 | Daily Pilot |
| Property management plans adopted by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority | Early August 2026 | Coastal Corridor Alliance, OC Register |
| $2 million in Proposition 4 funds presented | October 2026 | Daily Pilot |
| First small-group public tours, if all goes to plan | As early as 2028 | OC Register |
| First phase of construction, testing and cleanup | About five years | Daily Pilot |
The adopted plans came out of a multi-year process that drew more than 2,000 public comments, the Register reported. The Coastal Corridor Alliance, formerly the Banning Ranch Conservancy, announced the adoption on August 12. The final public access, resource management and coastal resilience plans are posted on the Randall Preserve planning page.
The land was a working oil field beginning in 1934 and once held almost 500 oil wells. The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority says the former oil operator is responsible for a remediation process of two to three years, overseen by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board. That work includes removing oil infrastructure and bioremediating the brownfield, and the agency says public access is unavailable while it is underway.
The two most recent news reports describe the cleanup differently. The Daily Pilot wrote on October 14 that the hundreds of oil wells and related piping and materials have been cleaned and removed. Two weeks earlier, the Register described workers removing invasive plants while oil cleanup continued on the fenced property. The people managing the plan have said they are prepared for it to take as long as it needs. Melanie Schlotterbeck, a consultant managing the planning process for the Coastal Corridor Alliance, told the Register:
"We don't care how long it takes, because we want it clean. We don't want anything hazardous left behind. If it takes two years, or five years, that's OK."
Restoration has already started alongside the cleanup. A summary of a September 25 tour hosted by the Orange County Community Foundation said more than 40 acres had been restored or were in restoration. According to the Register, the foundation donated $200,000 to the project through an endowment fund dedicated to preserving endangered species. The foundation's recap says the tour brought together community leaders, environmental advocates and philanthropists, with Coastal Corridor Alliance leaders guiding the visit.
The slow rollout follows from what lives on the property. The Register reported an estimated 45 rare, sensitive, threatened and endangered species on the land. It also reported 61 vernal pools that are home to the federally endangered fairy shrimp, and a forecast El Niño could increase that number.
The plan scales the land down to protect them. About 26 miles of packed dirt road would become roughly 5 miles of public trails. The first would be a one-mile hiking loop, with parking for about 100 cars planned off 17th Street. Bikes and dogs will not be allowed. Schlotterbeck told the Register that excluding dogs was a compromise made to get the plans approved, because even well-behaved dogs on a leash change how wildlife behaves.
For a West Newport household, that rule decides where the morning dog walk goes, now and after the preserve opens. It also explains why the preserve was planned from the start as one piece of a larger corridor.
Planners told the Register they hope to create "unified visitor experiences" by connecting the preserve with Sunset Ridge Park in Newport Beach and the Talbert Nature Preserve in Costa Mesa, about 1,000 acres of open space altogether. The goal is one trail system running from Fairview Park down to PCH, passing through land run by different managers without visitors noticing the boundaries. The Register put the cost of that connection at about $350,000.
The parks at either end of that future trail are open now. Each one offers something the preserve's first years will not.
Sunset Ridge Park. This is the closest to West Newport, at 4850 Coast Hwy W. The paid lot is across Superior Avenue, and a pedestrian bridge connects it to the park. The City of Newport Beach lists ocean views, playing fields, a baseball diamond, a playground, picnic facilities and restrooms. Check the lot's posted information before you count on a space.
Talbert Regional Park. OC Parks describes it as covering both sides of Victoria Street between Pacific Avenue and the Santa Ana River. It has hiking and bike trails, allows dogs on leash, and has no on-site parking. Leashed dogs are allowed here and will not be allowed in the preserve, so Talbert is the part of the future corridor that works for dog owners.
Fairview Park. The City of Costa Mesa describes Fairview Park as 208 acres with seven miles of trails for walking or biking, linked to the Santa Ana River Trail and Talbert. Its restoration work includes vernal pools that provide habitat for the endangered San Diego fairy shrimp, the same kind of habitat planners are protecting behind the Randall fence.
The preserve's planners have said who they want walking the land first. "We're hoping to train people about the reserve before we just swing the door wide open," Schlotterbeck told the Register. That training already happens a few miles inland. The California Native Plant Society's Orange County chapter reported in July that the Coastal Corridor Alliance was training prospective volunteers through projects in Costa Mesa and at Fairview Park while restoration on the preserve itself continued under state and federal requirements.
These dates are posted for the coming weeks at Fairview Park, 2525 Placentia Ave.:
The schedules don't fully agree. The City of Costa Mesa's volunteer page lists the Thursday sessions as ending at 8:30 a.m., while the Alliance's own calendar shows 9 a.m. Confirm the time with the Coastal Corridor Alliance before you go. Restoration mornings at Fairview are run by the same alliance that is planning the trails behind the fence on PCH.
If you would like a clear read on where your home stands as the Randall Preserve moves through its first phase, Kent Martin Group can walk you through it. Get a Free Home Valuation.
Stay up to date on the latest real estate trends.
Get assistance in determining current property value, crafting a competitive offer, writing and negotiating a contract, and much more. Contact us today.