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HIKE 7

GOLD CREEK TO OAK SPRING, FASCINATION SPRING

HIKE LENGTH: 8 miles round-trip; 2,000' elevation gain

DIFFICULTY: Moderate

SEASON: November–May

TOPO MAP: Sunland

Features

In the gentle hills above Little Tujunga Canyon are two delightful springs—little oak-sheltered recesses nestled in hills covered with chaparral. Both were largely spared by the 2009 Station Fire, although much of the surrounding slopes—particularly near and around Yerba Buena Ridge—burned. Oak Spring lies in a shallow recess near the head of Oak Spring Canyon, just over the ridge from Gold Creek. Fascination Spring—one can only guess how it got this intriguing name—is hidden in a narrow crease on the south slope of the mountains, 2,000 feet above the Sunland-Tujunga Valley.

You start from Gold Creek, Little Tujunga’s major tributary. As the name suggests, Gold Creek was once the scene of feverish mining activity. Most storied were the so-called Little Nugget placers, recovering gold right from the creek bed. The gold is gone now, and this is ranch country.

A good trail leads south from Gold Creek and climbs into the gentle hill country of Yerba Buena Ridge. A mile and a half up is Oak Spring, hidden in a small draw so that you don’t see it until you’re almost there. Then you climb over Yerba Buena Ridge and drop abruptly down to Fascination Spring. The two springs are shaded by oaks; the rest of the trip is through open chaparral. This is an ideal outing for a cool winter or spring day. Try it after a rain, when the springs bubble full and the aroma of damp chaparral perfumes the clean air.

Description

From I-210 in Pacoima, just north of Hansen Dam, take the Osborne Street off-ramp. Go right onto Foothill Boulevard, and then immediately left on Osborne Street, which becomes Little Tujunga Road. Follow the latter 4 miles to Gold Creek Road. Turn right (east) and drive 0.75 mile to the marked Oak Springs Trailhead, on your right. Park in the oak-shaded clearing adjacent to the trailhead. Be sure to display your Adventure Pass on your parked vehicle.

Burned hillside above Fascination Spring

Proceed along the footpath across Gold Creek and up the chaparral-coated south slope. Follow the trail as it makes one long switchback, and then climbs south up the chaparral-covered hillside. Vistas open up over the wrinkled Gold Creek basin. The ranch you see down to the north is Paradise Ranch, scene of many a Cecil B. DeMille film extravaganza. Below to the east are the stone quarries where 770,000 tons of granite rock were removed for Hansen Dam in 1938–1940. In 1.25 miles you cross a divide and drop down to lush Oak Spring, where you’ll find water except in the driest months. If it’s a sunny day, the shade here is welcome. You may see a fire road coming down to Oak Spring from the other side; don’t take it. Remain on the trail as it crosses the creek and contours around the slope (south). This section of trail isn’t as good as what you’ve just been over, but it’s easily passable. Follow the trail through dense chaparral and burn area from the Station Fire, around the slope, across a small gully, and up to the Yerba Buena Ridge fire road, 1.5 miles from Oak Spring. Here, you have a spectacular panorama southward over the Tujunga and San Fernando Valleys. Ignore the confusing trail signs here, which seem to point you in the wrong direction, and walk 100 yards down the road—toward the city—and then look carefully for the trail dropping south (left) down the steep mountainside. The pathway here is narrow and at times hard to follow as it contours around the slope in a generally southwest direction, follows a ridge, and then reverses course eastward. Fascination Spring lies nestled in a small gully, 1 mile from where you left the fire road and 900 feet lower in elevation.

Return the same way you came.