Читать книгу 101 Hikes in Southern California - Jerry Schad - Страница 14

HIKE 1

Paradise Falls

Location: Wildwood Park, City of Thousand Oaks

Highlights: Gem of a waterfall in a steep gorge

Distance: 2.7 miles (loop)

Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 400'/400'

Hiking Time: 2 hours

Optional Map: USGS 7.5-minute Newbury Park

Best Times: All year

Agency: CRPD

Difficulty: Moderate

Trail Use: Dogs allowed, good for kids

Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks is Ventura County’s most scenic suburban park. The scenery here has been imprinted in the minds of many in the over-50 age group: The area was once an outdoor set for old Hollywood movies, as well as for television’s The Rifleman, Gunsmoke, and Wagon Train. The short but steep hike—down and then up—described here takes you to Wildwood Park’s scenic gem: the Arroyo Conejo gorge and Paradise Falls. The lovingly maintained park offers drinking fountains, picnic tables, interpretive signs, and shady rest spots along this fine loop.

Paradise Falls

To Reach the Trailhead: From the 101 Freeway at Exit 45 in Thousand Oaks, take Lynn Road north 2.5 miles to Avenida de los Arboles. Turn left and follow Avenida de los Arboles 1 mile west. At this point traffic goes sharply right on Big Sky Drive; you make a U-turn and park on the right at Wildwood Park’s principal trailhead, open 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Nearby curbside parking is also available.

Description: Three trails radiate from the Avenida de los Arboles trailhead. Two are wide and relatively bland dirt roads. The third (the one you want), the narrow and scenic Moonridge Trail, descends sharply from the east side of the parking area. This is the left side of the parking area as you drive in. Right away you come to a T-intersection amid oak woods. Turn right, remaining on the Moonridge Trail. The trail descends a sunny slope covered with aromatic sage-scrub vegetation and dappled with succulent live-forever plants that sprout white, comical-looking flower stalks. Beware of the prickly pear cactus flanking the trail. There’s a brief passage across a shady ravine using wooden steps and a plank bridge. At 0.5 mile, you cross over a dirt road and continue on the narrow Moonridge Trail.

Ahead, the trail curls around a deep ravine, edging into the crumbly sedimentary rock. At 0.9 mile you join another dirt road and use it to descend toward a large wooden teepee structure on a knoll just below. Make a right at the teepee, further descending into the Arroyo Conejo gorge. As you descend, watch for the narrow side trail on the left that will take you straight down to Paradise Falls—a beautiful, 30-foot-high cascade that makes its presence known by sound before sight. The high water table in the canyon bottom ensures a nearly year-round flow of water. Watch for poison oak, especially on the far side of the creek.

After you’ve admired the falls, continue by climbing back up the slope in the direction you came, and take the fenced, cliff-hanging trail around the left (east) side of the falls. Beyond that fenced stretch, the narrow trail descends a little and sidles up alongside the creek, where large coast live oaks spread their shade. Soon, you continue on a path of dirt-road width. Stay with that path until you reach a major crossroads. It’s worth a 0.1-mile detour straight ahead to walk through Indian Cave. Then, returning to the junction, cross the bridge. The small Wildwood Nature Center is just around the bend to the right, and your return route up along Indian Creek is to the left.

On the Indian Creek Trail, you pay your debt to gravity by ascending nearly 300 feet in about 0.7 mile. The beautifully tangled array of live oak and sycamore limbs along this trail keeps your mind off the climb. At one point, you can look down into a deep ravine where an inaccessible mini-waterfall and pool lie practically hidden. When you finally reach Avenida de los Arboles, turn left and then return a short distance to the trailhead parking lot.