Hill Canyon is a deep canyon in the western Simi Hills and within northern Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks, in Ventura County, southern California.
The Arroyo Conejo Nature Preserve includes the central canyon area, and is part of the Conejo Canyons Open Space. It has trails connecting it to Santa Rosa Valley County Park at the canyon's mouth, to Wildwood Regional Park east of the canyon, and to Rancho Conejo Playfields southwest of the canyon.
The canyon separates the Conejo Grade area and westernmost Simi Hills from the Mount Clef Ridge to the east. It was formed by Arroyo Conejo (creek) flowing down through the Simis from the higher Conejo Valley to the lower Santa Rosa Valley, where the creek merges with Arroyo Santa Rosa and becomes Conejo Creek. [1]
It is located in an area locally known as La Barranca (Spanish for canyon). [2] [3]
It is a deeply eroded canyon at the foothills of dramatic ridgelines and volcanic outcroppings [4] on the Mount Clef Ridge. Hill Canyon is part of the Conejo Canyons Open Space, which is owned and operated by the Conejo Open Space Foundation (COSF). [5]
The canyon is situated east of the Conejo Grade in Camarillo, CA, and is immediately west of the Mount Clef Ridge of Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks. Once slated for a golf course, the canyon is now protected open space. [6] Hiking trails and bridges are accessible from trailheads found for instance in Wildwood Regional Park, Rancho Conejo Playfields and Santa Rosa County Park. [7] Hill Canyon Trail is the primary trail and connects to the Hawk Canyon Trail, Western Plateau Trail, Arroyo Conejo Trail, Lynnmere Trail, and the Canyon Overlook Trail, which climbs to the top of the Mount Clef Ridge from Santa Rosa Valley. [8] [9] [10]
The only developed area in Hill Canyon is the Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant (HCTP), [11] which takes up about sixty acres and includes the largest bodies of water in Newbury Park. It has a capacity of 14,000,000 gallons per day, [12] and approximately 3.7 billion gallons of water are conveyed here every year for processing. [13] Thousands of gallons in sewage spills have led to leaks into the adjacent Conejo Creek, which discharges at its estuary in Mugu Lagoon. [14] [15]
The Conejo Canyons make up a total of 1,628 acres when combined together. The flora includes coast live oak- and riparian woodlands, coastal sage scrub, as well as interior sage scrub and chaparral. From nearby peaks there are panoramic views as far as the Pacific Ocean, the Oxnard Plain, and the Topatopa Mountains. [16] The trails here are used for horseback-riding, mountain biking, running and hiking. [17]
Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura.
Oak Park is an unincorporated community in Ventura County, California, United States. When developed in the Simi Hills in the late 1960s, a single road provided the only access to the community from Agoura Hills, California, in neighboring Los Angeles County. As of the 2010 census, Oak Park had a population of 14,266, down from 14,625 at the 2000 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Oak Park as a census-designated place (CDP). The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name.
Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately 15 miles (24 km) from the city of Los Angeles and 40 miles (64 km) from Downtown. It is named after the many oak trees present in the area.
The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It is located in the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Newbury Park is a populated place and town in Ventura County, California, United States. Most of it lies within the western Thousand Oaks city limits, while unincorporated areas include Casa Conejo and Ventu Park. About 28,000 residents of Thousand Oaks reside in Newbury Park.
The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, of southern California, United States.
Santa Rosa Valley is a rural unincorporated community, named after the eponymous valley in which it lies, located in Ventura County, California, United States. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Santa Rosa Valley as a census-designated place (CDP). The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name. The 2010 United States census reported Santa Rosa Valley's population was 3,334. Santa Rosa Valley sits at an elevation of 433 feet (132 m).
Challenger Park is a 141.55-acre open-space park (57.28 ha) located in southern portion of Simi Valley, California in the Simi Hills. The park is owned and maintained by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District. Challenger Park is used for mountain hiking, mountain biking, jogging, and horseback riding but with a focus on the preservation of wildlife habitat. The scenery lining the trails includes extensive oak woodlands, chaparral, and coastal sage scrub. The terrain varies greatly with rolling green hills and steep mountainous hills and canyons. The park offers miles of trails connecting to Long Canyon, Oak Canyon, Trough Canyon, Lone Oak Canyon, and other adjoining open-space nature areas in the southern section of the Simi Valley. There is a fairly easy hike to Thousand Oaks, CA via Long Canyon trails. To get to Oak Canyon, Old Windmill Park and Coyote Hills Park, you must cross Long Canyon Road. Fences run along the Long Canyon Road with dirt paths. There are also lights at the signals with push buttons for hikers, and raised buttons for equestrians. Adjacent to Challenger Park is also Bridle Trails, a private hiking area. There are scenic views of the City of Simi Valley from the park and it is a native habitat for numerous species of animals, including mule deer, mountain lions, coyotes, rattlesnakes, crawdads, California king-snakes, grey foxes, bobcats, as well as red-tailed hawks, barn owls, and numerous other raptors.
Wildwood Regional Park is a suburban regional park in the western Simi Hills and Conejo Valley, in Ventura County, California. It is located in western Thousand Oaks, northern Newbury Park, and southern Moorpark.
Arroyo Conejo is the longest creek in the Conejo Valley, sprawling over the cities of Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, and the communities of Newbury Park, Casa Conejo and Santa Rosa Valley. Arroyo Conejo is the primary drainage for the City of Thousand Oaks. Its watershed covers 57 square miles (150 km2) of which 43 square miles (110 km2) are in the Conejo Valley and 14 square miles (36 km2) in the Santa Rosa Valley.
Rancho Conejo Playfields is a 13 acres (5.3 ha) multi-use community park in Newbury Park, California, adjacent to Conejo Canyons Open Space and the Arroyo Conejo Nature Preserve which includes 302 acres (122 ha) of public open-space land and numerous trails in the western Simi Hills.
The Conejo Canyons Open Space consists of 1,628 acres (659 ha) of open-space areas in northernmost Newbury Park, Ventura County, California. It consists of deeply eroded canyons, numerous ridgelines and plateaus in the northwestern portion of the Conejo Valley. The area consists of diverse natural features such as deep canyons with perennial streams, prominent ridgelines, volcanic mountains, and a variety of natural habitats. While some of the flora includes chaparral, riparian habitats, oak woodlands and coastal sage, fauna includes mountain lions, coyotes, mule deer, and bobcats.
The Potrero Ridge Open Space is a passive recreation area in the southwestern portion of Newbury Park, CA and the Conejo Valley that encompasses eastern parts of the Potrero Ridge. The open-space area contains a total of 203 acres (82 ha), and is owned and operated by the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA). It is adjacent to the Dos Vientos Open Space in the west, which provides further access to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area by Satwiwa, as well as the Alta Vista Open Space, Los Vientos Open Space, and Los Robles Trail which leads to Los Robles Open Space in Thousand Oaks, CA and further into Westlake Village.
Deer Ridge Open Space is a 188-acre public-owned open-space area in the southwest portion of the town of Newbury Park, California. It contains a series of north-facing mountainous ridges and canyons, dominated by chaparral and oak trees. It shares borders with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to the south, and the Los Robles Trail traverses the length of Deer Ridge Open Space. Its main trailhead is located on Potrero Road, while a smaller access point is located at the southern end of Felton Street. The Los Robles Trail is the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency’s longest trail, and connects to open-space areas and parks such as the Los Padres Open Space, Conejo Ridge Open Space, Hope Nature Preserve, Old Conejo Open Space, and the Los Vientos Open Space. The trail in Newbury Park provides panoramic views of the Conejo Valley and Santa Monica Mountains, before entering the Hope Nature Preserve. The Los Robles Trail provides more than 25 miles of contiguous trails connecting Newbury Park to Westlake Village in Los Angeles County. Immediately south of the Deer Ridge Open Space in Newbury Park are the Hidden Valley and Rancho Sierra Vista Satwiwa.
Arroyo Conejo Open Space is a 302-acre (122 ha) open space reserve in the western Simi Hills in northern Newbury Park, Ventura County, California. Most of it is part of the 250-acre (100 ha) Arroyo Conejo Nature Preserve.
Dos Vientos Open Space is a 1,216 acres (492 ha) open space area in western Newbury Park, California. It contains more than 41 miles (66 km) of trails used for cycling, hiking and equestrians. Originally a part of the Rancho Guadalasca Spanish Land Grant of 1836, the area is now an important wildlife movement corridor into the Santa Monica Mountains through the Point Mugu State Park. It provides a habitat for a variety of wildlife, including bobcats, mule deer, coyotes, eagles, hawks, barn owls, mountain lions, and more. It provides regional and internal trail connections, many trails offering panoramic views of the Conejo Valley, Oxnard Plain, Topatopa Mountains, Channel Islands, and the Pacific Ocean. Some of the endangered plant species found here include Conejo buckwheat, Verity's liveforever, and Conejo dudleya. The landscape is undeveloped, and dominated by coastal sage scrub, grassy hillsides, oak woodlands, and chaparral habitats.
Ventu Park Open Space is a 141-acre open space area in Newbury Park, California. Its primary features are the Rosewood Trail leading to Angel Vista, a 1,603 ft peak in the Santa Monica Mountains. Parking for the Rosewood Trail is located at the Stagecoach Inn Park, across Lynn Road from the primary trailhead. The Rosewood Trail begins with oak woodland and crosses a creek at the canyon floor, before climbing up towards the steep Angel Vista Point. There are 360-degree panoramic views of the Conejo Valley, the Oxnard Plain, the California Channel Islands, Pacific Ocean, Point Mugu, Hidden Valley, as well as the Santa Monica-, Santa Susana- and Topa Topa Mountains.
Mount Clef Ridge is a 1,076 ft volcanic mountain in Thousand Oaks, California. It is a volcanic outcrop that resulted from lava eruptions 30 million years ago. The ridge was formerly under ownership by the Janss Corporation, but was acquired by the Conejo Recreation and Park District (CRPD) in 1967. Trails here are available from Santa Rosa Valley, Newbury Park and Wildwood Regional Park. Although being a major feature of Wildwood, it occupies its own open-space area bordering Wildwood's northern boundaries. Mount Clef Ridge Open Space Area occupies 212 acres. From the ridge are great panoramic views of Santa Rosa Valley, Conejo Valley, Hill Canyon, as well as the Santa Susana-, Santa Monica- and Topatopa Mountains. The open-space area is home to plants such as coastal sage scrub, chaparral, Lyon's pentachaeta and Conejo dudleya. The fauna includes mountain lions, deer, coyotes, gray foxes, and more.
Bard Lake, also known as Wood Ranch Reservoir, is a 231 acres (93 ha) reservoir which is the largest lake in Simi Valley, California. It is east of the intersection of Olsen Road and Moorpark Freeway, near the border between Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks. Built in 1965, Bard Lake is a 416 feet (127 m) high reservoir with a capacity of 11,000 acre-feet (3.6×109 US gal). It is an earthen dam which is owned by the Calleguas Water District.
Conejo Recreation and Park District (CRPD) is the park management agency for most of the parks in the Conejo Valley, California. Established in 1962, CRPD later established Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA) in 1977 through a joint effort with the City of Thousand Oaks. COSCA administers over 15,000 acres of open space and 140 miles of trails, while CRPD administers over 50 community parks. In 2019, CRPD's annual operating budget was $20 million, of which about 70% comes from property taxes.