The Amigos de la Colina (Friends of the Hill) is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to supporting Orange County Parks in their efforts to preserve a piece of the history of our local area in the form of Heritage Hill Historical Park. The park spans the time from the earliest Native American inhabitants of the Orange County area to the incorporation of Lake Forest as a city in 1991. Original buildings from the El Toro area: during the Mexican rancho era, the founding of the village of El Toro in the 1880's and 1890's, and the citrus farming of the early 1900's provide glimpses into what life was like during those times. The Amigos de la Colina volunteers lead free tours, typically lasting between 60 and 90 minutes, of the various buildings and exhibits. We also provide "hands-on" and "living history" tours for school, scouting, and other groups and participate in the various special events hosted by the park rangers at different times of the year. Check out the Home page to see what is coming up at the park. Contact OC Parks or the Amigos de la Colina for more information on special events or tour schedules. The Amigos de la Colina need docents to lead tours, work special events, research local history, and to design presentations and learning experiences. If you have an interest in history and enjoy learning and passing along that knowledge to others then talk to any of our volunteers about joining us.
Heritage Hill Historical Park offers 4 tour types
Walk-in
-This tour takes guests through all 4 historical buildings
- 1.5 hours long (15 minutes in each building + walking time)
Hands on
-This tour takes guests through all 4 historical buildings
- Guests will be able to handle certain historic items such as an adobe brick, hidden drawer, school slate and more!
-1.5 hours long (15 minutes in each building + walking time)
Living History
- Guests will be immersed into the 1900's as they attend the El Toro Grammar school
- Guests will become students and be guided through the highlights of attending school over a hundred years ago!
- Hands on activities include: Dressing up in period clothing, sitting at desk and working on slates, and more!
- 2 hours long
Native American
- Guests will be immersed into the culture of our Acjachemen Village
- Guests will become Native Americans and learn about the culture of the Acjachemen peoples.
- hands on activities include: how Acjachemen people hunted, prepared food, made crafts, told stories and more
- 2 hours long
Interested in touring? Please contact OC Parks - Heritage Hill to learn more