The best part about hiking is also the best part of parks: Mother Nature and all five senses are involved, and each comes with a background story. Barbara and I found the Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park on the Long Beach map while searching for another location we never did find. A big green splash on the Long Beach map, we decided to give Harbor a try. We found a pristine haven, a "dedicated city wildlife sanctuary" in inland Long Beach. Part of the backstory here is the Who: in 1948 park namesake Ken Malloy, an environmentalist, led the charge to transform the 231 acres  to a community recreation space, a reserve of wetlands with trails, lakes, streams, and lush vegetation, part of the natural habitat of SoCal for native animals and plants. Time and intruders took their toll, including an invasion of alien species and pollution,  bullfrogs and apple snails "as big as baseballs," Florida banded water snakes, and, from 2005–2007, Reggie the alligator (now residing at the zoo.) In 2014, L.A. Dept of Public Works set out to restore the park, one of the largest remaining coastal wetland ecosystems in SoCal. They hydraulically dredged 240,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the lake and installed a treatment system. Three years later, the refurbished park had pathways, observation piers and zones, pedestrian bridges, fixtures, 622 new trees, and over 50,000 new plants. THAT's the park Barbara and I hiked through this morning. Hiking, biking, dog walking, and catch-and-release fishing in freshwater Machado Lake. So beautiful that the view from every bridge could be a picture postcard. Even the cloudy water near the wetland shoreline gleamed in swirls. Canadian Geese roamed the open spaces freely, including the goose, gander, and their three goslings waddling across our trail. In addition,  Egyptian geese, ducks, squirrels, and a lot of birdsong. Adjacent to L.A. Harbor College, the park also includes a golf course. Harbor Park might be a trek from L.A. but if you're down in Long Beach looking for an escape, this hike is a beauty.