Potrero Ridge Trail in Newbury Park

The Potrero Ridge Trail in Newbury Park is an interesting ridgeline trail that runs west/east in three sections over approximately 2 1/2 miles one way. You can access the trail from a number of locations and neighborhood feeder trails, but the main sections are as follows (west to east):

Via Las Brisas in the Dos Vientos tract, just north of Paseo Santa Rosa to Reino Road, just north of Paseo de Leon and Lynn Road, is a little over a mile. This is one of my favorite trails in the area, providing panoramic views of the southern portion of Newbury Park, Boney Mountain and Dos Vientos. There are some switchbacks on the west end near Reino Road but they are not overly strenuous.

Potrero Ridge Trailhead on Via Las Brisas, just north of Paseo Santa Rosa.

Potrero Ridge Trail trailhead (and parking area) off of Reino Road

The middle section of the Potrero Ridge Trail runs from Woodland Oak Place off of Reino Road to Wendy Drive between Felton and Peppermint, where there's a convenient dirt parking lot.  Only about a half mile to the top of the trail, where you'll see a water tank. The primary trail is a wide fire road to the water tank from Wendy Drive. There's a secondary single track trail that mostly runs parallel (south) to the main fire road that is accessible from several points. This trail treats you to wonderful, panoramic views of the area.

Potrero Ridge Trail trailhead off of Wendy Drive.

Views towards the water tank at top of Potrero Ridge Trail (middle section)

The east section of the trail runs from across the parking lot on Wendy Drive to another peak, then down towards Silas Lane near Grace Bible Church, about half a mile in total. There is no parking available for this section of trail, though you can park in the Wendy lot and find a crosswalk to cross over to the trailhead.

View from east section of Potrero Ridge Trail.

So basically these 3 segments are split between Via las Brisas and Reino Road, Reino Road and Wendy Drive and Wendy Drive and Silas Lane.

If you'e like to extend your trail trekking on the west side, cross over Via las Brisas and take the Sierra Vista Trail west another mile to Rancho Dos Vientos.

This trail is maintained by the Conejo Open Space Foundation.

Here's a view of the initial section of the western section of the Potrero Ridge Trail from the Wendy Water Tank section of the trail across Reino Road.

Views into the Dos Vientos section of Newbury Park

Potrero Ridge Trail bench provide extensive views

Views from the same bench on a cloudy late October day in 2013

Malibu Creek State Park

Malibu Creek State Park is accessible in Calabasas, at 1925 Las Virgenes Road, south of Mulholland. The park contains over 8,000 acres of rugged, beautiful hills, trails and scenery. It stretches from Agoura Hills down to Malibu, down to Malibu Lagoon State Beach, covering much of the 25 mile Malibu Creek that flows from Boney Mountain down to the Lagoon. Malibu Creek is the only stream channel that crosses through the Santa Monica Mountain range.

There are three natural preserves in the park, Liberty Canyon, Udell Gorge and Kaslow, which protect Valley Oaks, rare plants and volcanic formations.

Things to do in Malibu Creek State Park include hiking, running, biking, camping, picnicking, fishing and checking out the wildlife. There are over 35 miles of trails and fire roads throughout the park. A fun added bonus is the old M*A*S*H series set, filmed from 1972 to 1983, that resides there.

Dogs are not allowed in Malibu Creek State Park trails.

Malibu Creek State Park contains roughly three dozen different trails, many easy, and some...extraordinarily challenging, such as the Bulldog trail, taking you to 2,500 foot peaks with panoramic views out to the ocean and surrounding peaks and valleys.

Parking for the day at Malibu Creek State Park is currently $12, or $3 per hour. You can also park at the corner of Mulholland and Las Virgenes and make your way into the park via the Grassland Trail.

The campground at Malibu Creek State Park has 62 campsites and 4 RV sites. Visit www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=614 for more information.

The old M*A*S*H site is 2.7 miles from the parking area.

M*A*S*H site with plenty of picnic tables

The Visitor Center is only a 10 minute walk from the parking lot and is generally open from noon to 4pm on weekends.

There's also an interesting visitor center about 1/2 mile from the main entrance to the park. It is open on Saturday/Sunday from noon to 4pm, subject to availability of docents. Worth a stop as there are some neat things to see in there, including wildlife and rocks/artifacts and other useful information. You can also purchase drinks in there as well as a small assortment of other items.

Hike to the Rock Pool at Malibu Creek State Park

Century Lake Hike at Malibu Creek State Park

Two Springs Trail and Wildwood Canyon Trails in Wildwood Park, Thousand Oaks

Sign on the west side of the Wildwood Park parking lot after walking down some steps. (Indian Creek Trail was renamed Two Springs Trail in May 2022.**)

If you enjoy the sound of running water, the Two Springs Trail (formerly Indian Creek Trail) and Wildwood Canyon Trail at Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks are for you.

The Two Springs Trail can be accessed from the main Wildwood Canyon trailhead area parking lot at the east end of Avenida de los Arboles as well as at a separate trailhead on Arboles, slightly west of the parking lot.

Two Springs Trail (formerly Indian Creek Trail) entry point from Avenida de los Arboles

There are shady sections hidden among the trees and sections in the sun. Most of the trail runs along a creek that flows into Paradise Falls. This is not a completely easy hike as there are some hilly sections, a number of steps, and a stream crossing. That said, there's enough variety to make this a fun and interesting hike with the kids.

Visit the Conejo Open Space Foundation website at cosf.org/trails/wildwood/wildwood-park-easy-hike-moonridge-trail/ for a handy map of these trails.

About half a mile or so into the hike, you'll come across a fairly significant waterfall down below, way below, in the creek. Not as large as Paradise Falls, but definitely prominent. Adjacent to that area is a bench. And from there you have some steps and a stream crossing to make it down to the flatter section of the trail.

The waterfall seen from the Two Springs Trail (formerly Indian Creek Trail). Be careful!

The bench on the Two Springs Trail (formerly Indian Creek Trail) in Wildwood Park

Eventually you get to a bridge. If instead of crossing the bridge, you veer left (southwest), you'll be on the Wildwood Canyon Trail along the creek. This is a wide path that can take you on another little sidetrack loop up the Castillo Trail to Castillo Circle (street). A bit of a steep, roughly 3/8ths of a mile trail to Castillo Circle, where you can walk back to a separate trailhead via Velarde Drive north to San Miguel Circle to the San Miguel Trail. You'll end up back at the bridge area.

The Wildwood Canyon Trail is pretty cool. Fairly flat, wide and runs along a creek. The water they say is mostly urban runoff but fun to check out up close with the kids.

The Meadows Center next to the bridge has restrooms and a drinking fountain. The Conejo Rec & Park District leads many hikes here for s'mores and fun activities.

The bridge that intersects the tWO sPRINGS (FORMERLY iNDIAN cREEK) Trail and Wildwood Canyon Trail. Lots of options!

Or, veer right (west) over the bridge, continuing on perhaps the Wildwood Canyon Trail southeast towards the top end entry into the Paradise Falls area (pretty cool to go this way). You can also sidetrack a bit by crossing the bridge and making a sharp right (north) to the short Little Cave Trail** and check out the Little Cave **.

The Little Cave (formerly Indian Cave**) is really easy to get to. Wear good hiking shoes though as it can get slippery. I slipped several times recently because the sole of my sneakers was so worn down.

You can return to the parking area by either backtracking up the Two Springs Trail or by taking the trail directly across from the bridge (basically go straight) up the steep, moderately winding path to a public access road (there is overflow parking available here) to the main Mesa Trail. From there, go right (east) back to the parking lot.

I could go on but there are so many different options in Wildwood Park that we'll stop here for now. Here are links to some other options:

THE TEEPEE, LITTLE CAVE AND PARADISE FALLS

LIZARD ROCK

SANTA ROSA LOOP

SANTA ROSA TRAIL AND LOWER BUTTE TRAIL FROM WILDWOOD PARK TO CLU

** The change in name was approved by the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA) in May 2022. COSCA received a request to change the Indian Creek Trail name earlier that year. On its own, the work "Indian" refers to individuals from India, rather than Native Americans, and thus did not accurately reflect the origin of the people to whom it refers.

The Indian Cave and Indian Cave Trail were renamed Little Cave as it was unclear if the cave was naturally formed and/or historically used by Native Americans.

The Indian Creek Trail in Wildwood Park was renamed Two Springs Trail as two natural springs contribute to the stream flow in this portion of the channel.

El Encanto Trail in Dos Vientos Section of Newbury Park

If you're looking for quick access to gorgeous views in the Dos Vientos section of Newbury Park, from Thousand Oaks to Camarillo to the Santa Monica Mountains, stop by the roughly 1.2 mile El Encanto Trail. Access the trail either at the western endpoint of Kimber Drive, just past Greenway Avenue, or inside Dos Vientos at the eastern endpoint of Via Laguna, near the Calle Del Prado intersection.

After a fairly flat start off of Kimber, the trail gets a bit steep and narrow. My young kids were fine on it but it take a decent effort, with an elevation climb of about 300 feet.

This little trail seems quite popular with mountain cyclists as well as hikers. Here's an inviting bench that awaits you near the top of the trail, about halfway between the Kimber and Via Laguna trailheads.

The area was ravaged by the Springs Fire of 2013. The bench has an inscription dedicated to the efforts of the Ventura County Fire Department that did such a fantastic job protecting local neighborhoods.

If you start on the Kimber side all the way to the Via Laguna side, you can either retrace your steps back or take Calle Del Prado down to Via Rio, turning left (east) for a about a quarter mile walk back to the Kimber side.

For a detailed trail map of Dos Vientos area trails on the Conejo Open Space Foundation website, visit https://cosf.org/files/maps/dos_vientos_trail_map.pdf.

Upper Sycamore Canyon Trail in Point Mugu State Park

The Upper Sycamore Canyon Trail is a 1.3 mile trail connects to the bottom of steep Sycamore Canyon Fire Road on the west to the Danielson Road trail on the east.

Sign at top of Sycamore Canyon Road before the descent into the canyon.

The trail goes deep into the canyon and can get quite overgrown, especially after solid winter rains. But it is an interesting hike and alternative to other trails that take you to "The Waterfall" in the Boney Mountain Wilderness. Bike and dogs are not allowed on these back country trails. Watch out of course for poison oak and snakes.

The "Narrow Bridge" sign marks the bottom of the steep initial grade down Sycamore Canyon Fire Road. You'll cross the bridge, then see the Upper Sycamore Canyon Trail entry to the left.

After you enter the west end of the Upper Sycamore Canyon Trail, within about a 1/10th of a mile is the entry point to the Fossil Trail, a very steep trail that leads up to the Old Boney Trail. 

Inside the canyon, looking west, towards the Sycamore Canyon Fire Road.

After the substantial rains of Winter 2017, a creek has been flowing through this canyon and has caused some obstacles and overgrown sections of the trail. Do wear good hiking shoes.

Upper Sycamore Canyon Trail (Map excerpt courtesy of National Park Service)

Danielson Road sign you will see at the east end of Upper Sycamore Canyon Trail, Now you can head back up towards Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa to the left or go the The Waterfall and/or Danielson Monument.

Triunfo Creek Park in Westlake Village

Owned and maintained by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, 600-acre Triunfo Creek Park in Westlake Village/Agoura provides deep oak woodland, native grasslands and blankets of wildflowers in the springtime. The main feature of the park, the Pentachaeta Trail, is named after the Pentachaeta lyonii, a federally-listed endangered flower found in the park. The yellow, daisy-like flower is found only in Southern California, and blooms between April and June.

An informational kiosk at the trailhead interprets the Pentachaeta lyonii, as well as other unusual wildflowers found on the site such as the Chocolate Lily, and the White Globe Lily. The site also provides access to hiking trails on the Westlake Vista parcel, also owned and managed by the Conservancy.

Pentachaeta Trail to the east. Westlake Vista Trail towards the Las Virgenes Reservoir on the west.

Pretty flowers off the Pentachaeta Trail in March 2016.

Views from Westlake Vista Trail towards, well, but of course, Westlake Village

Las Virgenes Reservoir in close proximity to Westlake Vista Trail.

The Westlake Vista Trail takes you to a fence that encloses the Las Virgenes Reservoir, where you may be treated to sounds of birds and other wildlife. Find the trail that parallels the fence up the mountain and you will be treated to gorgeous views of the area down to Westlake Lake and beyond and the Santa Monica Mountains to the south.

Views towards Westlake Lake from the Westlake Vista Trail.

Directions: The main trailhead with kiosk is on Triunfo Canyon Road east of the southern terminus of Lindero Canyon Road. There are a small number of off-pavement parking spots there. The other end of the trail is at the west end of Triunfo Canyon Road about 1.5 miles west of Kanan Road.

Directions: From the 101 Freeway in Westlake Village exit Lindero Canyon Road. Take Lindero south to Triunfo Canyon Road. Turn left. The trailhead is located opposite Oak Forest Mobile Home.

Visit mrca.ca.gov/parks/park-listing/triunfo-creek-park for more information.

Map courtesy of Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy at THIS LINK. (Note that Truinfo is a typo on map; actual spelling is Triunfo. But at least is was consistently misspelled not once, not twice, but seven times lol.)

Demolished car sitting near Westlake Vista Trail.

DOZENS OF LOCAL HIKES AND TRAILS AROUND VENTURA COUNTY

Conejo Ridge Open Space in Thousand Oaks

The Conejo Ridge Open Space is located in Thousand Oaks in a 406 acre area enclosed roughly as follows:

• Rancho Road, Rimrock Road and the Los Padres Open Space on the west.

• Los Robles Trail on the south.

• The industrial park at 2400 Willow Lane (at Conejo Ridge Ave)

• Highway 101 on the north.

While I have not completely explored this area, I do find it a great place for views of the Conejo Valley. One access point is at the west end of the parking lot at 2400 Willow Lane building that faces the 101. The trail briefly parallels the adjacent businesses in a southward direction, then veers west. It is a single track trail that is surprisingly well maintained.

At the top you’ll be treated to views towards the Conejo Grade on the west, Highway 23 and beyond on the north and Ladyface Mountain in Agoura Hills towards the east. You’ll also see what the traffic looks like on the 101 down below.

You can continue southwest bound to catch other trails and trailheads.

www.conejo-openspace.org/conejo-ridge.html

Sycamore to the Sea Hike, Run or Bike From Newbury Park to Sycamore Cove

Did you know that you can walk, hike, run or bike from Newbury Park to the ocean over 8 1/4 miles pretty easily, without dealing with automobiles? Park your car at the Wendy and Potrero trailhead or at the Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa parking lot in Newbury Park and experience it yourself.

The entry to the Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa area.

The Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center is a short walk from the parking lot.

From there, take the paved road, called the Sycamore Canyon Fire Road, towards the ocean.

This is a nice, wide paved road with trails along the side much of the way. Generally cool in the early morning year-round as you head towards the ocean, plenty of rest/pit stop areas on the way down and nice and peaceful and beautiful, full of canyons, trees and wildlife.

The steepest descent on this course is a roughly 800 foot drop over a 3/4 of a mile into the canyon on the paved road after you see this sign. Coming back up if you do the full round-trip circuit is a bit of a challenge.

After you drop into the canyon, it is pretty much smooth sailing. The paved road stops right around the Danielson Multi-Use area (see image below for that juncture). After that, follow the wide, dirt fire road towards the beach.

There are numerous water spigots on the side of the road going down, which comes in quite handy on warmer days. If you use them, just make sure to turn them off.

About 3/4ths of the way down to the beach, you'll pass one of the most picturesque locations for a porta-john that I've ever seen.

A few miles after passing the above porta-john, you'll reach the Sycamore Canyon Campground, which has 58 campsites and is across Pacific Coast Highway from the ocean. Cross over PCH (be careful!) or find the underpass that takes you under PCH to the Sycamore Cove Beach area, with picnic tables, bathrooms, etc., and enjoy your day!

Sycamore Cove Beach in Point Mugu

From there, you either head back up or call your significant other to pick you up. Or perhaps plan it out in the morning to leave one car at the beach in either the Sycamore Canyon Campground or Sycamore Cove day lots (they open at 8am) for a fee, or park on PCH where there are spots near Thornhill Broome Beach and the giant sand dune, then drive another car back (obviously you can't do this alone), park the 2nd car at Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa, hike/walk/bike down the canyon to retrieve car #1.

Or do what I did once, which was drive down to Sycamore Cove via Potrero Road/Las Posas/PCH, park the car, run (or perhaps ride) up to Newbury Park, then ride down with the kids and enjoy the beach. Fun! 

For a map of the Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa area with a portion of the Big Sycamore Canyon Trail, visit www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/upload/Rancho-Sierra-Vista_Satwiwa_2023.pdf (National Park Service pdf brochure).

Arroyo Conejo Trail in Thousand Oaks

The Arroyo Conejo Open Space consists of 302 acres, bounded by Wildwood Park and Conejo Canyons on the north, Lynnmere Open Space on the east and the Rancho Conejo residential development on the west. There’s a trailhead at Rancho Conejo Playfield at 950 N. Ventu Park Road in Newbury Park.

The Arroyo Conejo Trail trailhead is on the far right/east section of the parking lot facing the park's restrooms and tennis courts.

Arroyo Conejo Trailhead is on the right side of the parking lot.

The trail veers to the left (if you go down the initial trail to the right, you will see this is not open to the public). After passing the park, you will notice that the canyons below are mighty steep and you will hear the creek down below.

After you get to a gate (see below), the downhill is pretty significant and you may see a mini-waterfall on your way down to the creek, where you will immediately come to a crossing that, the last time I was there, had several wooden pallet crossings.

The gate that signals you are about to head downhill into the canyon.

The first stream at the bottom of the hill had these nicely placed wooden planks to alleviate the problem of wet shoes.

If you continue on straight, you will come across four more creek crossings. Often you will find large rocks or wood planks to walk across, but sometimes you won't find one, so be prepared for the possibility of wet feet if your plan is to reach the Hill Canyon Water Treatment Plant. If you do get that far, then turn back, you'll have done about 5 miles round trip.

Some of the stream crossings are a bit dicier getting across, that is if you don't want to get wet.

You've reached your destination but probably don't want to be jumping in these wetlands.

If you're looking to extend the hike into something more strenuous, after the first stream crossing, if you look on your right you'll find a steep trail that gets you to the Lynnmere Trail.

Learn more and see a map on the Conejo Open Space Foundation website at cosf.org/trails/other-trails/moderate-hike-arroyo-conejo-to-hill-canyon.

Hill Canyon, Hawk Canyon and Western Plateau Trails in Thousand Oaks

In 2012, the Conejo Canyons bridge was constructed in Thousand Oaks, opening up more trails to explore in the Western Plateau area of Thousand Oaks, which ties into Wildwood Park. Visit cosf.org/trails/conejo-canyons for trail maps.

The Hill Canyon bridge that takes you to all the action!

Access the Conejo Canyons bridge to get to the Hill Canyon Trail, a flat path that after a mile takes you to an intersection where you can go straight ahead to the Hawk Canyon Trail, take a right turn to the Western Plateau Trail or veer left to make your way to the Arroyo Conejo Trail that takes you about 2 1/2 miles to the Rancho Conejo Playfields in Newbury Park.

The Hill Canyon Trail is as flat as they come. I see bikers, hikers and runner back here.

This creek parallels the Hill Canyon Trail

One path I enjoy is the Hill Canyon Trail to the Hawk Canyon Trail, which veers right towards the Western Plateau Trail, which loops back to Hill Canyon Trail.  Do look at a map first as signs are not always at trail junctures (the sign above is clearly an exception!). You can actually take the Hawk Canyon Trail as well as Western Plateau Trail to Newbury Park.

There’s also the Elliot Mountain Trail and Outlaw Loop Trail, accessible from the Western Plateau Trail.

Western Plateau Trail

When you reach the Western Plateau Trail, if you go just a bit further north/northeast, you'll be rewarded with great views down the Conejo Grade towards Camarillo and the Oxnard Plain.

Views from the Western Plateau Trail on a bit of an overcast June morning

Access the Conejo Canyons bridge via Santa Rosa Road. Coming from Thousand Oaks, take Moorpark Road north down the Norwegian Grade, where it intersects with Santa Rosa Road. Continue about 3.7 miles on Santa Rosa Road and make a left on Hill Canyon Road. Drive down Hill Canyon Road and you will see a large, flat dirt parking area on the right, adjacent to Santa Rosa Valley Regional Park.

Spring Canyon Trail Hike in Thousand Oaks

The Spring Canyon Trail is a short, fairly easy hike in the Newbury Park/Thousand Oaks section of the Los Robles Trail system that is great family fun.

Although a good portion of the Spring Canyon Trail is flat like this, there definitely are some moderately hilly sections.

This one mile trail runs east from the vicinity of Lynn Oaks Park, 359 Capitan Street, Newbury Park as well from the eastern terminus of Hemlock Lane, at Heavenly Valley Road in Newbury Park (in the Ventu Park community) to a juncture where you can either continue straight ahead for about a half a mile towards the Los Robles Trail access point at South Moorpark Road and Greenmeadow Avenue in Thousand Oaks or veer up "Space Mountain" on the right. (The views at the top of Space Mountain are awesome but this is a bit of a climb and is very popular with mountain bikers...probably not the best direction with little ones).

The path that takes you from Lynn Oaks Park to the Spring Canyon Trail.

Sign above Lynn Oaks Park that tells you that to the left is Los Robles Trail and to the right is the Hemlock Lane gate in Ventu Park.

Out and back you can make this a 2 to 3 mile moderate hike or more if you add in the Oak Creek Canyon Loop or Los Robles Nature Walk.

Sign at the east terminus of Spring Canyon Trail indicating Moorpark Road is half a mile away. Behind me is the trail toward "Space Mountain" and Los Robles Trail going east towards Newbury Park.

You can also park your car at the Moorpark Road/Greenmeadow trailhead and make your way west towards the Spring Canyon Trail and perhaps eat lunch or snack at Lynn Oaks Park (which by the way also has a nice playground area, basketball court and more...but no restroom however).

Paramount Ranch Recreation Area in Agoura

The Woolsey Fire in November 2018 destroyed the historic structures at Paramount Ranch described below. However, there is a plan to rebuild four of the structures in 2023-2024. More information at www.nps.gov/samo/learn/historyculture/paramount-past-present-and-future.htm.

Paramount Ranch Western Town Aerial View (Courtesy NPS)

Paramount Ranch is located in Agoura off of Cornell Road, between Kanan Road and Mulholland.  Click here for a map in a pdf file on the National Park Service website.

Paramount Pictures originally purchased 2,700 acres here for use as a "movie ranch" in 1927 and since then, hundreds of movies and TV shows have been filmed there.  A permanent western town was built on the site in the early 1950s using old Paramount Pictures props.  Before the Woolsey Fire of 2018, you could walk freely around these old sets.

Before the Woolsey Fire of November 2018.

The Western Town sign and bridge is still there but most everything surrounding it is burnt after the Woolsey Fire of November 2018.

Western Town at Paramount Ranch destroyed in the Woolsey Fire.

A beacon of hope. Two structures were unharmed in the Woolsey Fire - this church building seen in the TV series “Westworld” and the train station.

A list of movies filmed at Paramount Ranch is here.  These include films like The Last Outlaw (Gary Cooper), The Virginian (Gary Cooper), Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn (Jackie Coogan), Million Dollar Legs (W.C. Fields), Adventures of Marco Polo, Remember  the Night (Barbara Stanwyck) and many more.  From 1992 to 1997, the TV show, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (featuring Jane Seymour) was filmed there.

Beyond the western town, there are plenty of hiking trails at the park.  More information at www.nps.gov/samo/planyourvisit/paramountranch.htm or call the NPS at 805.370.2301.

Sunset Hills Trail in Thousand Oaks

The Sunset Hills Trail is easily accessible off of Erbes Road in Thousand Oaks, just 7/10ths of a mile north of Sunset Hills Boulevard, just past Fernleaf Court.

There's a triangular dirt parking lot on the east.

This is a pretty easy mile or so trail that takes you past the Bard Lake Reservoir. The reservoir is of course is fenced in but you'll be treated to its beauty as you make your way up. Lake Bard is owned by the Calleguas Water District for storage of up to 10,000 acre-feet (3.3 billion gallons) of water used to meet peak summer demand and emergency requirements.

In fact, most all the way up this fairly gentle, hilly slope, you'll get some great panoramic views of the entire area, including the Conejo Valley, Simi Hills and looking west towards Camarillo/Oxnard. Continue east and you will reach the Woodridge Open Space in Thousand Oaks.

The Sunset Hills Trail is maintained by the Conejo Open Space Foundation. More information at cosf.org/trails/other-trails/easy-hike-sunset-hills-trail.

An additional, and perhaps more popular hike provides even better view of the Bard Reservoir. Take the additional loop in the shape of Maine (kind of) either clockwise or from the first juncture or counterclockwise after cresting the hill. If you go to the top of the hill take the trail on the left and continue onwards. You will see some steps and a bench to take in the views along the way.

(Map courtesy of the conejo Open Space Foundation) Green highlighted section is a nice loop to hike - good family hike.

After cresting the first hill from Erbes Road, find the loop trail on the left.

A short walk to this bench that overlooks Bard Reservoir.

Continue on the trail until it loops around and goes south., parallel to Highway 23

Soon you will be back at the main trail, passing through this tree-tunneled section.

DOZENS OF TRAILS IN AND AROUND VENTURA COUNTY