Placerita Canyon’s Gentle ‘Gold’ Trail

In 1842, seven years before the 49ers rushed to Sutter’s Mill, California’s first gold rush occurred in Placerita Canyon. Legend has it that herdsman Francisco Lopez awoke from his nap beneath a large shady oak tree, during which he had dreamed of gold and wealth. During the more mundane routine of fixing his evening meal, he dug up some onions to spice his supper and there, clinging to the roots, were small gold nuggets. Miners from all over California, the San Fernando Placers as they became known, poured into Placerita Canyon. The prospecting was good, though not exceptional, for several years. The spot where Lopez made his discovery is now called the Oak of the Golden Dream. A plaque marks his find.

The canyon has a gentleness that is rare in the steep, severely faulted San Gabriel Mountains. This hike through Placerita Canyon County Park takes you along the oak- and sycamore-shaded canyon floor by a creek, then climbs through chaparral and oak woodland to Los Pinetos Ridge for a view of the metropolis you’ve left behind. An optional return route via Manzanita Mountain and the Hillside Trail really gives you a grand tour of the park.

Be sure to visit the Nature Center, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.

Directions to trailhead: From Interstate Highway 5 go east on Highway 14 (Antelope Valley Freeway) to Newhall. Exit on Placerita Canyon Road and turn right (east) two miles to Placerita Canyon County Park. Park in the large lot near the Nature Center.

The hike: From the parking lot, walk up-canyon, following the stream and enjoying the shade of oaks and sycamores. A 1979 fire scorched brush within a hundred feet of the Nature Center, but remarkably spared the oak woodland on the canyon bottom. Nature regenerates quickly in a chaparral community; many hikers looking up at the canyon walls don’t realize that a severe fire took place. Some of the chamise on the slopes may be a hundred years old and veterans of dozens of fires. A short two miles of walking bring you to the Walker Ranch section of the park, where you’ll find a picnic ground with tables, water and restrooms.

Placerita Canyon has been the outdoor set for many a western movie and 1950s TV series, including “The Cisco Kid” and “Hopalong Cassidy.” Movie companies often used the cabin built in 1920 by Frank Walker. Walker, his wife, Hortense, and their 12 children had a rough time earning a living in what was then a wilderness. The family raised cows and pigs, gathered and sold leaf mold (fertilizer), panned for gold, and hosted movie companies. When you return to the park nature center, be sure to take the short Heritage Trail to Walker’s Cabin.

Return the same way or perhaps hike back to the Nature Center on the trail that follows the right (north) bank of the creek.

Option: To Los Pinetos Ridge. Skirt the edge of the campground and pick up the trail going up the right (south) slope. The trail climbs for two miles over the chaparral-covered slopes of Los Pinetos Canyon to Los Pinetos Spring, tucked in an oak and spruce glen. From the spring, ascend via the fire road or a steep trail to its right half a mile to a saddle on the main divide and an intersection with a fire road. Climb to any one of the nearby high points and enjoy the view. You can look northward over historic Placerita Canyon and Sand Canyon and southward over the San Fernando Valley sparkling below. Here on Los Pinetos Ridge, the 19th Century meets the 21st Century, and neither gives an inch.

Option: Return via Manzanita Mountain. Continue west on the fire road, called Santa Clara Divide Road, until you reach a rough trail--sometimes referred to as a fuel break. Follow this trail northward until you reach a short ridge-top route that takes you to Manzanita Mountain. Follow the circuitous trail, which connects with the Hillside Trail and leads back to the Nature Center.

Placerita Canyon Trail

Nature Center to Walker Ranch Picnic Area: 4 miles round trip; 300-foot elevation gain.

Nature Center to Los Pinetos Ridge: 8 miles round trip; 1600-foot elevation gain .

Return via Manzanita Mountain: 10 miles round trip; 1600-foot elevation gain .