Thanksgiving Morning on The Ranch Ends at Sendero, the Corner Carrying the Villages Until 2027

The 10th Annual Turkey Trot on The Ranch is two weeks away, on Thursday, Nov. 26. The 10K and 5K start at The Pavilion in Esencia and finish at Sendero Field on Ortega Highway. The race shuttles, the finish-line parking and the post-race traffic all end up at the Antonio Parkway and Ortega Highway corner. On the other 364 days of the year, that same corner carries most of the shopping for Sendero, Esencia and Rienda. Esencia Commons is still expected in mid-2027, so for one more holiday season the race finishes at the Ranch's busiest crossroads.

Two Starting Points and One Finish

According to the race page on RunSignup, this is the tenth year, and proceeds go to The Nature Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo, which handles education and conservation on the open land around the villages. Registration is still open on publish day. Online sign-up for the 10K and 5K closes at 9:00 a.m. on race morning, and the Little Gobbler's 1K closes at 10:15 a.m.

The schedule means a family can run two races. A parent can finish the 5K at Sendero Field around 9:30 a.m. and be at the same field when the 1K starts at 10:00. Parents and guardians can run the 1K with their kids, but only the kids get finisher medals. The 1K isn't chip-timed, so it has no official results. Strollers are allowed in all three races, and the organizers ask stroller runners to start behind the field.

The last packet pickup before race day is Wednesday, Nov. 25, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Rancho MMC Office, 28436 Airoso Street. On race morning, packets for all three distances are at The Pavilion from 7:00 to 8:15 a.m., and 1K packets are also at Sendero Field from 9:00 to 9:55 a.m.

The Esencia Streets That Close Before Sunrise

The start line is the part of the course that affects people who aren't racing. The street closures page lists three Esencia closures from about 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.:

• Fauna Drive, between Chiquita Canyon Drive and Esencia Drive
• Esencia Drive, between Saliente Road and Andaza Street
• Andaza Street, between Esencia Drive and Aprender Street, next to The South Plunge

If you're driving out of Esencia that morning to pick up relatives or get groceries, leave before 6:00 or after 10:00, or take a route that avoids those blocks.

Organizers suggest arriving 30 to 45 minutes before your start. Start-line parking is at Esencia Farm, 75 Esencia Drive; The Pavilion, 2 Tierno; and Esencia K-8 School, 5 Aprender Street. Finish-line parking is at the Guest House, 11 Brioso; the Reata lot at 28632 Ortega Highway across from Sendero Field; and Sendero Marketplace. Parking and shuttles are free.

RanchRide shuttles run every 10 to 15 minutes from 7:00 to 11:30 a.m. between The Pavilion, Sendero Field and the Guest House. Two feeder loops connect the race to the rest of the villages:

With the Rienda loop, a runner from the newest village can leave the car at home, ride to the start, run to Sendero and ride back. The Los Patrones loop serves the business park, home to Oak Ranch Grill and Frisby Winery & Brewery.

The organizers ask runners to leave dogs at home. Dogs that do come must be leashed, and there are bag stations near the start and finish. The 10K has three water stations, the 5K has two, and there's another at Sendero Field. The race runs rain or shine as long as conditions are safe.

Why the Finish Line Sits Next to the Grocery Store

The finish-line lot list includes Sendero Marketplace, a 96,400-square-foot center at the northeast corner of Antonio Parkway and Ortega Highway. Its leasing materials describe it as the only grocery-anchored shopping center serving Sendero, Esencia and Rienda. Gelson's is the anchor, and the marketplace's own directory shows Starbucks and Bagel Bistro for espresso and lists In-N-Out Burger, Jersey Mike's Subs, Morena's Mexican Cuisine, Nekter Juice Bar and Yogurtland in the dining section.

The next retail center will be much larger. According to the developer's retail and restaurants page, Esencia Commons will have about 175,000 square feet, or about 1.8 times Sendero Marketplace, and is due in mid-2027. So the 2026 holidays will run the way the past several have, with Thanksgiving grocery runs, race-morning coffee and post-race lunch all on one corner of Ortega Highway.

Sendero Field sits on Ortega Highway, and the Reata lot is directly across from it. Race finishers and Gelson's shoppers will be parking on the same corner that morning, so if you need cranberries at 9:00 a.m., expect company.

Creekside Adds an Evening Spot to the Corner

Creekside Restaurant & Bar opened at Sendero Marketplace on Oct. 12, so this is its first Thanksgiving on the corner. The Daily Pilot's TimesOC coverage in the Los Angeles Times reported that it's the eighth restaurant from Russ Bendel's RJB Restaurant Group, which also runs Sapphire, Parlor Woodfire Kitchen in San Clemente and Bloom in San Juan Capistrano. Bendel told the paper his team wanted "two great restaurants as bookends of the historic Ortega Highway," with Bloom at the San Juan Capistrano end and Creekside at the inland end.

The name comes from the site. In the same Times story, Bendel said his partners had a list of 20 names, none of which felt right, until they noticed the nature reserve around the center and "San Juan Creek runs directly behind the restaurant." The space has a full liquor license, a high bar-top area with TVs, booths and a covered patio for up to 60. According to the Times, the menu ranges from chili cheese fries with smoked cheddar queso to a double-cut pork chop with mac and cheese and pan-roasted rainbow trout. The beer list includes Webb's Coast IPA, brewed in Aliso Viejo.

Creekside opens at 4:00 p.m., so it won't serve the race crowd. It fits later in the day. According to Creekside's website, it's open 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 4:00 to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Reservations are on the same site.

The center's own listings haven't fully caught up. Creekside's address is 30865 Gateway Place, Suite E6. The center's dining directory still lists Scarlet Kitchen & Lounge, and the landlord's August 2026 tenant roster put Scarlet in unit E-6. The same roster listed Luna Grill in another building, one unit marked lease pending, and two small vacant spaces of about 1,100 to 1,200 square feet. Because those spaces are still filling, the corner may have changed again by next Thanksgiving.

December Runs on the Same Shuttles

RanchRide, which runs the Thanksgiving shuttles, already has two December outings on its service calendar. On Saturday, Dec. 5, it lists a 4:00 to 10:00 p.m. ride to the City of San Juan Capistrano's Christmas Tree Lighting at Historic Town Center Park, 31872 El Camino Real. On Saturday, Dec. 12, it lists a 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. ride for the Ranch's Holiday Market in Lights. Both are interest lists, so riders sign up ahead of time.

The developer's RanchLife events page says the Holiday Market in Lights usually has live music, artisan vendors, food trucks and free cocoa. The tree lighting goes the other way, west down Ortega Highway toward Bloom's end of the road.

If you have race questions before Nov. 26, RanchLife takes them at (949) 625-6500 or [email protected].

At GreenTree Properties, we follow the Ranch's retail picture block by block, from the units filling at Sendero Marketplace to the Esencia Commons opening in 2027. If you'd like to know how that kind of change affects your home's value, Request Your Home Valuation and we'll walk through it with you.