State Awards Funds for Wilderness Area
The city of Glendale has been awarded $200,000 in state funds to begin improving a wilderness recreation area that provides access to miles of hiking and riding trails in the Los Angeles area.
The funds, allocated last week by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, will be used to develop a master plan for the Gov. George Deukmejian Wilderness Park, a 702-acre mountainside preserve in the La Crescenta foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.
The city also plans to build an access road and temporary parking facilities on the property, previously called the Inter-Valley Ranch.
The initial improvements are part of a three-year, $1.9-million project to build a nature center, picnic and parking areas and hiking and equestrian trails on the ranch property, said Nello Iacono, city director of parks, recreation and community services. The construction work is expected to begin early next year.
The property borders on the Rim of the Valley Trail that stretches from the Santa Monica Mountains through the San Gabriels and ties into a state and national system of hiking and horseback trails.
The city purchased the property last year for $5.2 million, using $3.2 million in city funds and $2 million allocated by the state from a $776-million parklands bond issue approved by the voters in 1988.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
