All summer, the reserve at the top of Clinton Keith Road worked like an evening event venue. This fall it works more like a school. From October through May, Riverside County public schools book three-hour field trips there, Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. The public programs fit around that schedule. Every program on the county's fall sheet for the Santa Rosa Plateau Visitor Center falls on a Saturday afternoon.
The biggest public day of the season is Family Wildlife Day on Saturday, Nov. 7. The foundation that hosts it partners with RivCoParks to help fund the reserve's school programs, the same programs that fill the trails on weekday mornings. For La Cresta households, that link explains how the plateau's fall schedule is set up and which parts of it are open to everyone.
The Saturday calendar, start to finish
Today is Sunday, Oct. 4. That leaves five public Saturdays on the plateau and a handful of equestrian dates just down the hill in Temecula.
| Date | Event | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 10 | Bike the Meadows | 2:00–3:30 p.m. | Santa Rosa Plateau Visitor Center |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Unearthing the Past | 2:00–3:00 p.m. | Santa Rosa Plateau Visitor Center |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Family Wildlife Day | 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Bike the Meadows | 2:00–3:30 p.m. | Santa Rosa Plateau Visitor Center |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Unearthing the Past | 2:00–3:00 p.m. | Santa Rosa Plateau Visitor Center |
The county's sheet lists nothing after Nov. 21. December is open for now. The sheet also gives only titles and times, with no program descriptions. Before you load bikes into the truck for Oct. 10, call the visitor center at (951) 677-6951. The name fits the reserve's own description of the Sylvan Meadows Multi-Use Area, which is where it says horseback riding and mountain biking are popular.
The foundation behind Nov. 7
The Nature Education Foundation at the Santa Rosa Plateau, known as TNEF, runs Family Wildlife Day. TNEF works with RivCoParks to help fund nature and environmental education at the reserve for students in grades 3 through 12. Its announcement lists the programs: Third Grade Outdoor Education, Trout-in-the-Classroom for elementary and middle schools, high school citizen-science work in phenology and air quality, and environmental studies scholarships for graduating seniors. It says the foundation serves ten school districts and about 8,000 students each school year. On its own site, TNEF describes itself as a no-cost, project-based environmental education provider that also supports teachers and districts.
The third-grade field trip shows how closely the classroom work is tied to this ground. The county describes it as a three-hour visit that covers plateau geology, how plants and animals adapt, and the area's human history. It includes a walk through plant communities still recovering from the 2019 Tenaja fire. A child from the neighborhood who takes that field trip learns how the land outside their own window is recovering.
TNEF executive director Ginger Greaves described the goal of the day in the foundation's announcement:
"Family Wildlife Day is all about creating those moments when a child sees, touches or discovers something in nature and suddenly wants to know more. We want families to have a wonderful day together, but we also hope children leave with a greater curiosity about wildlife and an understanding that they can play a role in protecting it."
Inside the gate on Family Wildlife Day
The day runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the reserve, 39400 Clinton Keith Road. It features live birds, snakes, mammals and insects, plus more than 30 exhibitors and activities. Exhibitors named so far include Project Wildlife, the Sierra Club, RivCoParks Interpreter Rob Hicks, The Reptile Guy and the Western Science Center. Kids ages 5 to 14 can stop at the Junior Ranger Program booth. Spider-Man appears for photos starting at 11 a.m.
The ticket rule that rewards buying early
Most savings for this event come from how you buy. Here are the terms in TNEF's Oct. 4 announcement:
- Online, for a limited time: adult tickets are $15, and children and youth up to age 17 get in free when bought together with an adult ticket.
- At the gate: $15 for adults 18 and older, and $5 for ages 3 through 17.
- Veterans: free for retired and active-duty veterans with ID, in honor of Veterans Day.
A family of two adults and three kids would pay $30 online while the free-youth offer lasts and $45 at the gate. The announcement does not give an end date for the offer. It also links to an Eventbrite page that still shows a deadline from last year's event, so check the current terms when you buy. An older Family Wildlife Day page on TNEF's site still has 2020 information. Rely on the 2026 announcement instead. TNEF's events page gives the Nov. 7 date but no parking details, so allow extra time at the Clinton Keith entrance.
Weekday mornings belong to the field trips
The reserve's regular hours stay the same this fall. The visitor center is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Trails are open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $6 per adult and $3 per child, and dogs are not allowed on the trails. School groups visit Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon, from October through May. Those visits overlap with the first half of the visitor center's day. If you want a quiet weekday walk, go after noon or between 7 and 9 a.m.
The county also asks visitors to check its website or call ahead for temporary rules. This fall, that includes checking current trail access. The Volcano Fire started July 7 near Via Volcano and Tenaja Road and was fully contained at 138 acres on July 13. I could not find a current county notice listing which trails, if any, are still affected. The visitor center number above is the fastest way to find out.
What the plateau looks like this time of year
RivCoParks says the Engelmann oak savanna sits on the plateau's higher, drier ground. Its oak woodlands are home to acorn woodpeckers, band-tailed pigeons, red-shouldered hawks, screech owls and great horned owls. The Nature Conservancy notes that the vernal pools fill with winter rain, so they are not part of a fall visit. A local naturalist's older account explains why. The soil has to become saturated before runoff can collect into a pool, so the first storms of the season soak into the ground. The fall Saturdays center on the oaks, the meadows and the rock under them. That is where "Unearthing the Past" comes in, the geology program on Oct. 24 and Nov. 21.
For the horse households, the Temecula side of the calendar
Riders who use Sylvan Meadows have a busy fall at Galway Downs in Temecula. The second week of the Temecula Valley National fall horse show runs Oct. 7 through 11, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with free general admission. The third week starts Oct. 14. The Eventing Championships at Galway Downs follow from Oct. 28 through Nov. 1. The international horse trial covers dressage, cross-country and show jumping at every level from Starter to CCI4*-L. Galway Downs also lists the USPC Southern California Region Research Fair on Oct. 31, during the championships. The American Driving Society's annual meeting weekend runs Nov. 19 through 22.
That puts two big fall events on back-to-back weekends. The Eventing Championships end Sunday, Nov. 1, and Family Wildlife Day opens on the plateau the following Saturday, Nov. 7.
For more about the trails between these Saturdays, see our guide to La Cresta's trail network and outdoor lifestyle. For how the reserve shapes daily life on the plateau, see the La Cresta neighborhood page.
Living next to the Santa Rosa Plateau shapes how a property gets used, from horse routes to Saturday plans, and I'm glad to talk through any of it. If you have questions about land near the reserve or riding access from your parcel, Andrea Lynn Duncan is a phone call away. Call me for a private consultation.
