China Flat Provides Slice of State’s Lost Heritage : Parklands: Remote 800-acre meadow of undulating grasslands and valley oaks is ‘crown jewel’ of conservancy acquisition.

Joe and Linda Nicolosi of Thousand Oaks were on the downward leg of their hike to China Flat--an 800-acre meadow atop the Simi Hills--when they crossed paths with a hiker who was headed there for the first time. He asked them what to expect.

“Paradise,” Joe Nicolosi said.

Then he caught himself. “Actually, it’s a dump,” Nicolosi said with a wink. His wife added: “We’re hoping people don’t come here.”

The Nicolosis and others are overprotective about China Flat these days.

Throughout modern times, the area has been in private hands and closed to hikers and riders, except those who receive permission. But when the Ventura County Board of Supervisors approved the Ahmanson Ranch deal in December, China Flat was one of several parklands scheduled to be opened to the public--meaning anybody will be able to use it.

The thought of this beautiful, unsullied land turning into party central--with the attendant broken beer bottles, pizza bones and graffiti--is unsettling to responsible citizens, but actually there is little chance of that happening.

Isolated and remote, China Flat is extremely difficult to reach by foot (cars won’t be allowed). One route is along a six-mile fire road that snakes through Palo Comado Canyon, rising gradually into the Simi Hills. But the quickest path to China Flat is straight up the side of a 2,100-foot mountain, necessitating “a very vigorous” 30- to 60-minute hike on steep switchbacks, Linda Nicolosi said.

But China Flat will be worth the trek when it opens to the public. Walking over the mountain and across a boulder-strewn butte, hikers come down into China Flat, awe-struck at first sight. Nestled between two peaks, China Flat’s undulating grasslands, thousands of valley oaks and acres of sage create a feeling of nostalgia for California’s lost heritage.

“This is what Ventura County used to look like before it got developed,” said Ed Mercurio, a science Ph.D. who specializes in the area. “It’s almost a religious experience being up there. Every person who lives in Ventura or west L.A. County should make a pilgrimage to recapture their past.”

Fire roads crisscross the rolling plateau, providing easy hikes throughout the area. Resembling a smaller version of Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park, China Flat is home to rare horn lizards, fox, bobcat and mountain lion, all of which make use of a year-round pond. California quail hide in the brush. Numerous caves once stored Chumash artifacts. In the spring, wildflowers put on a show.

From many easily climbed ridges, hikers can see Rocky Peak Point and the Topatopa Mountains to the north. On smoggy days, China Flat’s air is supposedly untainted because of its altitude and location between two mountains.

When Mercurio first visited China Flat 20 years ago, he looked up from under an oak and saw a California condor circling 40 feet above him. Riding Santa Ana winds, the condor flew in from wilderness areas north of Fillmore. With its pond attracting animals, China Flat used to be prime hunting grounds for the carnivorous birds.

Today, of course, condors are an endangered species, but they’re making a comeback, with seven having been reintroduced into the Sespe Condor Sanctuary in the southern wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest.

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful to go to China Flat and see them (flying overhead) again?” Mercurio said.

Something else unusual confronts visitors to China Flat. For years, the area has been used as a cattle ranch. Even today, horned steers roam unfettered, occasionally bumping into a hiker.

“They kind of scare us,” Linda Nicolosi said.

Forget tortuous mountain trails. Introduce man-eating beasts: Now that’s how to deter people.