340-Turtle Rock “ULTRA” French Hill Loop, Irvine, 4.5-5 Mi, Thursday 8:00 AM

TURTLE ROCK “ULTRA” FRENCH HILL LOOP, 4.5-5 MILES, 800’ gain, 8:00 AM
MEET AT 1 CONCORDIA, IRVINE, CA
Meet on Concordia street across from Turtle Rock Preschool

Repeats the 2nd and 4th Thursday morning each month. Dog friendly.

Please join me for this 2026 challenge 😅!
What makes this version of Turtle Rock French Hill Loop “ULTRA” :) ?!!!

THREE of the HILLS are being REPEATED!

• The first steep hill from Concordia, X2
• The next steep hill before the gazebo, X2
• The last big hill, the Turtle Rock, X2

This is sort of a trial hike. I am seeking to improve my uphill speed over time by doing this. I’m estimating it can be completed in about 2.5-3 hours.

I will still schedule the “regular” French Hill Loop on several Saturdays throughout the year. The ULTRA may become 2X per month on Thursday mornings or Sunday afternoons, TBD.

This is one of my favorite conditioning hikes. There are a few steep places, but they are not too long, and one technical hill where one needs to choose a path, use hands and watch footing.
There is an easier alternative path around the fourth technical hill, if desired.

See my YouTube video below with highlights of the trail.

We'll start at the trailhead off Concordia across the street from Turtle Rock Preschool. Here is the first big hill, a second hill comes within the next mile, but both of these hills are not long. From there it's lower "rolling hills" not too steep. In the spring there is very tall mustard on either side of the trail, it's very beautiful and exhilarating to hike through. By about mile 2 the trail passes behind residential for less than a mile, then up narrow, slightly steep hill.

The fourth and most challenging hill comes next, steep and wide, but it's a slow and steady climb with plenty of places to navigate and get your foothold. At the top of this hill you can see all of downtown Irvine and Catalina Island out yonder. The last mile~ish is the end of the dirt trail, and back to residential which closes the loop at Concordia.

CHECKLIST:
- SHOES W/GOOD TREAD, PREFERABLY HIKING BOOTS
- 1-2 LITERS OF WATER
- HAT, GLOVES
- SNACKS optional

More specific stats and Feature Image from All Trails, see link:
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/turtle-rock-french-hill-loop-irvine

*MY YOUTUBE VIDEO from when I hiked April 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK_chjwdy3Y

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