Coyotes? Press one. Flower-studded hills? Press two.

This weekend, the Irvine Ranch Conservancy will introduce Orange County’s first cell-phone trail tour — a 1.8-mile loop trail at Quail Hill in Irvine off Shady Canyon Drive. Hikers can punch 949-743-5943 into their cell phones (yes, there is adequate coverage), and listen to the natural and cultural history of the area.

The stops are marked along the trail. Hit the corresponding number, one through nine, and you’ll hear a brief presentation tailored to that stop.

“One is an introduction to the area,” said Brian Hughes (right), a naturalist with the conservancy who came up with the idea. “It gives a feel for what the trail is, what the tour is about.

“The sixth stop is all on the wildlife of the area. The vista point on the trail is where we talk about the history — overlooking the whole city and valley, what used to be there, what’s there now; a little bit about the ranching days, and agriculture.”

Other stops offer information on non-native, invasive species and habitat restoration efforts.

Maps are available at the trailhead, and each stop on the way includes the phone number, just in case. The number can be called anytime, not just by people on the trail.

The tours were arranged through a company called Guide By Cell, which offers similar tours around the country of museums, art galleries, zoos and other attractions. Hughes said he knows of cell-phone museum tours in Orange County, but believes this will be the county’s first trail tour.

The Quail Hill loop is popular with families, and is a fairly easy trail, close to an engineered wetland for treatment of urban runoff and a seasonal pond (both explained on the cell tour).

As more of the Irvine Ranch trails are opened to the public, more tours could be added – as long as there is cell coverage.

“There is definitely potential for us to expand into other cell phone tours of different areas,” Hughes said.

The trail is part of the city of Irvine’s Open Space Preserve, which is managed by the Irvine Ranch Conservancy.

(Photos courtesy of Wida Karim, Irvine Ranch Conservancy.)

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