Bell Canyon
For nearly 10,000 years, the sound of stone striking boulder has echoed through this canyon. The Acjachemen people, also known as the Juaneno, would create ringing tones that gave this place its name: Arroyo de las Campanas, the Canyon of the Bells. Long before Spanish missionaries arrived, long before Mexican land grants divided the territory, and long before suburban development crept up its tributaries, Bell Canyon carried the music of its first inhabitants through the Santa Ana Mountains. Today, most of this wilderness remains much as it was when those sounds first rang out, a rare preservation in Orange County's developed landscape.
Waters That Shaped a Valley
Bell Creek flows southward for miles through a valley more than a mile wide and deeply carved into the western slopes of the Santa Ana Mountains. Its headwaters fan out from Los Pinos Peak, gathering water from a network of smaller canyons before the main creek turns southwest through wilderness in the Cleveland National Forest and Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park. Major tributaries like Dove Canyon, Crow Canyon, and Tick Creek join along the way. By the time Bell Creek reaches San Juan Creek near the city of San Juan Capistrano, it has become a wide, meandering braided stream whose flow runs mostly below the surface, emptying eventually into the Pacific Ocean at Dana Point.
Deep Time Written in Stone
The geology beneath Bell Canyon tells a story spanning millions of years. The mountains began rising during the late Miocene epoch, approximately 5.5 million years ago. The valley floor rests on the Bedford Canyon Formation, composed of siltstone, argillite, conglomerate, limestone, slate, and greywacke. Two minor faults cross the creek: the Aliso Fault and the Mission Viejo Fault. The Wisconsinian era, lasting from 70,000 to 10,000 years ago, shaped the modern landscape as climate shifted and sea levels rose to their present position. The canyons carved by ancient rivers became narrow inlets that gradually filled with sediments, leaving behind the river terraces visible today.
Collision of Worlds
The Acjachemen people's way of life changed forever when Spanish colonizers established Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776, just miles from the creek's mouth. In 1841, Pio Pico and Andres Pico received an 89,742-acre land grant from Mexican Governor Juan Alvarado, encompassing Bell Canyon within Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores. Much of Bell Canyon was later purchased by Eugene Grant Starr in 1941. His undeveloped parcel became the National Audubon Society's Starr Ranch in 1973, protecting a significant portion of the canyon from the development that has transformed surrounding areas like Coto de Caza.
A Living Riparian Forest
The broad alluvial floodplain supports riparian woodland extending from canyon wall to canyon wall. California Sycamores, Fremont Cottonwoods, and Coast Live Oaks shade the creek, with plentiful undergrowth filling the spaces between. Yet this ecosystem faces threats. Urban runoff from nearby residential developments carries invasive species like Periwinkle and Ivy into the watershed, gradually displacing native plants. In 2005, pumps were installed on Dove and Tick Creeks to capture excess surface water from developed areas and redirect it to reclaimed-water systems, reducing runoff that enabled invasives while providing irrigation water for residential use.
From the Air
Located at 33.66N, 117.47W in the Santa Ana Mountains of Orange County, California. Bell Canyon is a prominent terrain feature running north-south, the second largest tributary of San Juan Creek. Best viewed at 3,000-4,000 feet AGL. The canyon lies within Cleveland National Forest and Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park, visible as a green ribbon through the brown hills. John Wayne Airport (KSNA) lies 20nm northwest. Be aware of mountain weather conditions and maintain safe altitude when overflying terrain.