Great Escapes in the Santa Monica Mountains

For the hiker, storied Mulholland Drive offers a great “backdoor” approach to the scattered beauties of the Santa Monica Mountains. In fact, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy has promoted the idea of making Mulholland an official scenic parkway in order to link--literally and symbolically--the far-flung parks and reserves in the mountains.

Mulholland Drive (which becomes Mulholland Highway at Topanga Canyon Boulevard) connects a trio of National Park Service properties in the middle of the mountains: Paramount Ranch, Peter Strauss Ranch and Rocky Oaks Park.

--Paramount Ranch features a Western town and rugged scenery that has attracted generations of moviemakers offers some nice walks.

--Peter Strauss Ranch was once the Lake Enchanto resort where thousands of Angelenos flocked in the 1930s and ‘40s; now it’s a quiet retreat for hikers and picnickers.

--Rocky Oaks Park, acquired by the National Park Service in 1981, is one of those little places perfect for a picnic or a little leg-stretcher of a hike.

Paramount Ranch Even in 1921, Burbank was too busy a place for filming Westerns on location, so Paramount Studios purchased a 4,000-acre spread in the then-remote Agoura area. Paramount Ranch had many desirable locations: mountains, meadows, creeks, canyons and oak and walnut groves. One dramatic mountain--Sugarloaf Peak--is said to have inspired the famous Paramount logo.

The National Park Service purchased the ranch in 1979. Today, filmmakers continue to use the Western town and surrounding hills for features, TV series episodes and commercials.

For the walker, Paramount Ranch offers a stroll through Western Town, a loop around what used to be a sports car race track and a couple of miles of hiking trail.

Coyote Canyon Nature Trail begins behind Western Town, heads up Medea Creek and meanders among some handsome oaks. Halfway along the trail, there’s a good hilltop view back at Western Town and of Goat Buttes towering above nearby Malibu Creek State Park. Sometimes an interpretive brochure is available at the trail head.

You can join Stream Terrace Trail south of the parking lot by the old racetrack. The path ascends a hill for vistas of Western Town, Malibu Lake and Sugarloaf Peak.

The 32nd Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest will be held at the ranch May 3 from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Western Day, complete with stagecoach rides, Native American dancers, a barbecue and mock gunfights, is scheduled for June 20, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Directions to trail head: From the Ventura Freeway (101) in Agoura, exit on Kanan Road. Drive south three quarters of a mile, fork left onto Cornell Road and go 2 1/2 miles to Paramount Ranch.

Peter Strauss Ranch “The largest swimming pool west of the Rockies.”

That was once the boast of Lake Enchanto, a resort and amusement park popular in the 1930s and ‘40s. Sometimes, on a given weekend, as many as 5,000 Southlanders would come to swim, fish, picnic and enjoy the amusement rides. A Big Band-style radio program was broadcast live, while L.A. notables and Hollywood stars danced the night away.

During the 1960s, a plan was hatched to develop a theme park--Cornell World Famous Places--that would replicate Egyptian pyramids and Mt. Fuji. Meanwhile, Lake Enchanto itself disappeared when the dam backing up Triunfo Creek washed away in a flood.

The park plans never materialized, and the property was sold for back taxes, finally ending up in the hands of actor-producer Peter Strauss, who purchased the former resort in 1977. After Strauss restored and improved the property, it was acquired by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which deeded it to the National Park Service.

Peter Strauss Loop Trail is surely one of the best short hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains. Ferns as well as spring-blooming blue and white ceanothus cover the slopes above the ranch house, which now hosts special events.

The one-mile trail begins near a eucalyptus grove and a former aviary, switchbacks up the hillside behind the ranch house, then loops back down the slope. After the hike, kids will enjoy playing with tadpoles in Triunfo Creek.

Directions to trail head: From the Ventura Freeway in Agoura, exit on Kanan Road, proceed south 2 3/4 miles to Troutdale Road and turn left. At Mulholland Highway, turn left again, cross the bridge over Triunfo Creek and turn into the Peter Strauss Ranch parking area. After parking, walk back to Mulholland, cross the bridge over Triunfo Creek, then join the signed trail behind the ranch house. (If the creek is low enough, you can just hop across it to the trail head.)

Rocky Oaks Park You’ll find a lot of park packed into a little area: an oak woodland, a grassland, brushy hills, a pond and a near-perfect picnic ground. A one-mile loop trail links the sites.

From the parking area, a signed path leads to the oak-shaded picnic area; another path heads directly for the pond. Rainfall determines the depth--indeed, the existence of--the pond. These two paths intersect and ascend a brushy hillside to an overlook, which offers views of the park and surrounding mountains.

Directions to trail head: From the Ventura Freeway in Agoura, exit on Kanan Road and drive south. Turn right (west) onto Mulholland Highway, then right into the park.

Santa Monica Mountains. Paramount Ranch, Peter Strauss Ranch, Rocky Oaks Park Where: Santa Monica Mountains. Distance: Half a mile to 1-mile trails. Terrain: Gentle former ranch land. Highlights: Visit a Western town at Paramount Ranch; take the mountain’s best short hike at Peter Strauss Ranch; picnic at Rocky Oaks Park. Degree of difficulty: Easy. For more information: Call the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area at (818)597-9192.