JAUNTS : One-Mile Trek Is Gentle Enough for Young or Old : Oak Creek Canyon Trail in Thousand Oaks is designed for easy walking yet offers many nature-watching opportunities.

Grandparents Day--that not-quite holiday--is Sunday, and the Conejo Recreation and Park District has come up with a way to promote some intergenerational bonding.

A district naturalist will lead a special, free hike Sunday for grandparents accompanied by grandchildren on the Oak Creek Canyon Trail in Thousand Oaks.

The one-mile hike starts at 2 p.m. and is expected to last about 90 minutes as the naturalist points out sights along the trail, located at the end of Greenmeadow Drive near the Arts Council Center.

This is a newly opened trail, designed and constructed at a cost of about $80,000 especially for people with physical limitations. It has a rubber guide cable for blind hikers, along with 16 Braille signs that point out highlights, like an elderberry tree or a wild cucumber plant--even the location of poison oak.

The surface of the trail looks like dirt, but has been hardened with granite to give wheelchairs a smoother ride. The going is a little easier for seniors or toddlers who might not be that steady on their feet. And, with its gentle inclines, the trail is a snap for strollers. It also has a restroom and picnic tables that are accessible to the disabled.

The trail cuts through a shady glen, canopied by tall oak trees that let the sun peek through. It follows a creek bed, meandering out of the oak woodland and into the shrubby chaparral where it links up with Los Robles Trail, stretching from Newbury Park on the west almost to Westlake Village on the east.

What will grandparents and grandchildren see along the trail besides 100-year-old oak trees? They might see lizards, spiders, rabbits and the home of an owl, according to Kathy Myers, with the district’s outdoor unit.

It will also be a hands-on experience. They’ll sample horehound candy and learn about the plant of the same name. They’ll also find out how the local Chumash Indians used plants like black sage for food and the seeds from the wild cucumber for a game similar to marbles.

“They’ll see the rejuvenation from the fire,” Myers said. The Green Meadow blaze late last year scorched some of the trees at the bottom of the trail and devastated a swath of the nearby Santa Monica Mountains. But the area has recovered swiftly.

Details

* WHAT: Grandparents-grandchildren hike.

* WHEN:Sunday, 2 p.m.

* WHERE: Oak Creek Canyon Trail at the end of Greenmeadow Drive near the Arts Council Center. Take the Moorpark Road exit off the Ventura Freeway and go south.

* HOW MUCH: Hike is free.

* FYI: No preparation is required. For more information, call 494-8301.