Hike at Santa Rosa Plateau

As a wedding photographer, I really appreciate when I get to shoot for my own selfish pleasure, with no assignment or shot list! That was the case for this awesome hike with my wife at the Santa Rosa Plateau in Murrieta California. My wife and I love to be outdoors and under the sun, despite the first sunburn of the year we had an awesome time.
The lady at the visitor center was very nice and gave us a map showing our 8 mile hike for the day. We had lunch and water packed and headed out into this pristine natural environment. We saw tons of Engelmann Oaks on these rolling green hills that went for miles and miles. It was great, and right here in Murrieta off of Clinton Keith Rd!


We also saw some wildlife; coyotes! My instinct was to sneak up on them and become Mr. National Geographic, but instead I was smart enough to have a wife with me to keep me on the trail. Here is an image I grabbed of one of the coyotes. And then a cropped version for a zoom effect.


There were tons of wildflowers along the hiking trails, but only a few California Poppies.

We had a great time in the outdoors and just being together. We highly recommend this hike, especially this time of year in the spring.