hy do we feel more human when we walk among the trees, when it is quiet and we can hear the wind through the leaves, birds or the sound of water? Preserving the beauty of the land, giving us real space to renew our relationship with those things that will never change, is at the heart of Shady Canyon.

his abundance of space is felt in every corner of Shady Canyon, Irvine’s premier golf course community. Most of it is waiting to be discovered.

• Approximately 400 luxury homes and homesites are dispersed within a total of 1,070 acres of some of Orange County’s most pristine real estate.
• Luxury custom homesites average 27,000 square feet.
• A trail system traverses the community with access to recreational destinations such as Quail Hill and Bommer Canyon.

he entrance to Shady Canyon is less than a mile from the 405 freeway in Irvine, yet its two-lane country road leads one to a valley that feels removed from the world outside. The road travels through part of Shady Canyon's 800 acres of open space, which extends beyond the rugged Orange County ridgelines. Within the developed portions of Shady Canyon are another 175 acres of "internal open space." The 300-acre Shady Canyon Golf Course, designed by Tom Fazio, qualifies as a "special linkage" supporting the protection of sensitive species. Encompassing all of this are 16,000 acres of natural sanctuary extending to the Pacific Ocean and managed by The Nature Conservancy, the international land-preservation institution.

"We sometimes call this preservation development," says Joseph Davis, president of The Irvine Community Development Company. "But it's really an important part of our approach to the greater Irvine Ranch preserve."