Trail Proposal Would Connect Simi to the Sea

Forget about driving to the beach from the Conejo Valley or Simi Valley.

Don’t bother taking California 23--the winding, twisting route that leads over the Santa Monica Mountains to the Pacific Coast Highway and the striking Ventura County coastline. Try walking to the beach instead.

It certainly sounds like a daunting idea, but under a new proposal from the National Park Service, it’s a feat that could be accomplished, provided a hiker had a few days to burn and plenty of energy.

The park service released its game plan for its Simi Hills properties this week, and among the proposals is the establishment of a regional trail from Simi Valley to the ocean.

The Simi-to-the-Sea trail would begin at China Flat, a mesa above Simi Valley, run through the golden hills of Cheeseboro Canyon, cross under the freeway--how and where are still up in the air--and then all the way out to the Pacific.

Since 1994, when the park service acquired Jordan Ranch--now known as Palo Comado Canyon--from entertainer Bob Hope, the agency has been trying to figure out what to do with the 4,400 acres it owns on the north side of the Ventura Freeway.

A new report presents four alternatives, ranging from the minimal--which would cost $71,000--to the most elaborate, a $2.6-million plan that would create parking lots, a ranger residence and provide numerous entryways into the park.

The Simi Hills parklands include three long, slim, parallel canyons--Palo Comado, Cheeseboro and Las Virgenes--and Liberty Canyon, a smaller parcel linking the upper canyons to the freeway. The park service, which owns Palo Comado and Cheeseboro canyons, is negotiating to acquire the deed to Liberty Canyon and anticipates receiving part of Las Virgenes Canyon as a part of the Ahmanson Ranch development deal.

*

The region is considered one of the most critical habitat links in Ventura County, providing a route for wildlife to travel back and forth from the Santa Susana Mountains to the Santa Monicas.

It is also home to one of the largest and most diverse groups of nesting raptor species in the United States. And throughout the parkland, ancient Chumash sites sit side by side with historical ranching operations.

“It’s a very special area because it provides wonderful wildlife viewing opportunities and a magnificent diversity of scenery,” said National Park Service planner Tedra Fox.

Even though visitors to the park can quickly lose themselves in the wild canyon territory, Fox said its proximity to urban areas--the Calabasas landfill, the freeway and housing developments press up against its edges--will give the park service a unique teaching opportunity.

“One of the exciting things about this area of the park is that it provides us with chances to give the public lessons about the impacts of our own impacts on the land,” Fox said.

*

One proposal, the least expensive, would simply enhance current parking available at the Cheeseboro Canyon trail head. But the other three would relocate the trail head to Liberty Canyon, where the park entrance would be marked by a sandstone, wood and ornamental iron gate meant to evoke the bygone days of cowboys and sprawling ranches. There would be parking for 100 cars and 12 buses or horse trailers, an information kiosk, bathrooms and even a 50-seat amphitheater for group gatherings.

An interpretive loop trail through Liberty Canyon would highlight the contrasts between nature and development, taking visitors through valley oak savannas, then leading them up to ridgeline views of urban development.

Another trail, a one-mile loop lined with exhibits that is accessible by wheelchair, would start at the Liberty Canyon trail head and go to the old Morrison Ranch, where buildings from California’s cowboy heyday remain intact.

*

From there, the plans diverge. The most expensive plan, costing $2.6 million, would allow for maximum public use with eight trail heads and increased parking, including two lots in Oak Park near popular but currently unofficial trail heads. For $400,000 less, another alternative would preserve as much of the park as possible as a semi-primitive area. Ten miles of existing trails would be eliminated and four trails would be established for hiking only in the northern reaches of the park. Rangers would patrol these areas by nonmotorized methods.

The final alternative would blend the others and cost $2.4 million.

The park service is inviting public comment on the proposals. The plan is available for review at public libraries throughout Ventura County and at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area visitor center, 30401 Agoura Road, Suite 100, in Agoura Hills. It can also be viewed on the Internet at http.//www.nps.gov/planning/samo/simi

Deadline for comment is Oct. 22. The final plan should be completed by spring 1997.