Public Asked to Help Improve Local Trails

With only five rangers working for the Conejo Recreation and Park District, maintaining the vast stretches of open space and trails is not an easy chore.

“To have five people that have to cover 14,000 acres and 85 miles of trails is mind boggling almost,” said Tom Sorensen, the district’s administrator of parks and planning.

That is why district officials strongly encourage people to participate in the eighth annual Conejo Open Space Trail Work Day on Saturday. Sponsored by the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency, the event is a chance for residents to improve existing trails and put the finishing touches on newer ones.

Organizers expect 100 to 200 people to show up for the event, which will take place between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday.

“It also pulls the community together, and it’s important for them to get behind their resources,” Sorensen said. “People in Thousand Oaks love their open space. This is a way for them to demonstrate it.”

This year, participants will finish rerouting the 1.75-mile Lizard Rock Trail, which starts near the westernmost portion of Wildwood Mesa and goes down into Wildwood Canyon, ending at Skunk Hollow.

Park rangers rerouted the trail because the original one was too steep, descending straight down into the canyon with only a few switchbacks, said Mark Langton, a member of the Conejo Open Space Trails Advisory Committee.

“Now it’s more gradual and has a better line of sight and a better view,” Langton said. “It’s much less steep and uses more of the hillside and contours around. It’s a really great trail.”

Participants will move dirt to help finish out the trail’s tread surface. They will also be collecting rocks that were moved when the trail’s new route was cut about three weeks ago. The rocks will be used in a future project--the improvement of the nearby Santa Rosa Trail.

For more information on the Conejo Open Space Trail Work Day, contact the park rangers at (805) 381-2741.