Tour of ecological reserve offered

The Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve (SMER), located between Temecula and Fallbrook, has space available on a docent-led educational tour on Saturday, February 12. This tour begins at the north gate of SMER (reached from Rancho California Road in Temecula) and descends into Temecula Gorge. This 1.7-mile roundtrip hike, with 440 feet of elevation gain and loss, will be led by Shirley Duryee and begins at 10 a.m. The tour is limited to 15 people. Participants must sign up in advance by contacting Tom Chester at [email protected] or (760) 723-0087.