Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Visit Palo Comado Canyon, China Flat, and Simi Peak in a circle tour of new parkland in the Simi Hills of Ventura County.

Leapfrog suburban growth has surrounded the once-remote Simi Hills of western Ventura County, but not before the National Park Service and local agencies succeeded in setting aside more than 5000 acres of contiguous public open space there. The following rambling route of ten miles will take you on foot -- or mountain bike (for expert riders only) -- through the newest parkland additions, collectively known as the Palo Comado Canyon Site.

Exit Highway 101 at Kanan Road in Agoura Hills and drive north 2.2 miles to Sunnycrest Drive. Turn right and continue 0.8 mile to a trail entrance on the right signed "Public Recreation Trail." At this point, the street's name changes to Doubletree Road. Abundant curbside parking is available.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On foot or bike, travel east through grassland for 0.5 mile over a rise and downhill into broad Palo Comado Canyon. Turn left on the dirt road going left, up the canyon, and enjoy a pleasant stroll amid stately sycamores and gnarled live oaks. Deer, bobcats, coyotes, rabbits, owls, and various birds of prey haunt this serene space.

At around 1.5 miles, the dirt road begins a vigorous and sometimes crooked ascent. Looking behind you, you gaze upon a lovely tapestry of canyon-bottom woods and slopes adorned with dense patches of chaparral and sandstone outcrops. After assuming a more gentle gradient at 2.6 miles, you pass over a summit at 3.3 miles and proceed another 0.2 mile downhill to the edge of oak-dotted China Flat. On your left lies an old stock pond forming a small reflecting pool when it brims with water during and after the rainy season.

Continue west through China Flat, staying left at the next junction. Beyond the oaks to your left (south), the China Flat Trail climbs a ridge and goes down the far side. This is your way back to suburbia, but for now don't miss the side trip to Simi Peak, which is 1.0 mile away by trail. Keep going west by veering right on a pathway going up a gradual incline. This pathway eventually curls up Simi Peak's north slope, becoming very steep and rocky in the last 200 yards. South and west from the jagged summit, your gaze takes in the broad sweep of the Santa Monica Mountains and scattered patches of cityscape embedded in the rolling landscape below.

After visiting the peak, return to China Flat and turn right on the China Flat Trail. You duck under a canopy of oaks, climb for a few minutes, pass over a saddle, and finally descend 1.5 miles on a disused and sometimes eroded dirt road to the edge of a housing development. You emerge either at King James Court or just around the corner on Lindero Canyon Road. Cross Lindero Canyon Road and proceed on one or another pathway heading southeast down along the oak-lined Medea Creek drainage. Soon you find yourself on Oak Canyon Park's nature trail, where you can either follow a bike path on the left or stick to a wide dirt path along trickling Medea Creek itself. You emerge near the park's entrance.

Now only 1.3 miles remain -- entirely on sidewalks. Use Hollytree Drive and Doubletree Road to get back to your starting point by the shortest route.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Melissa Etheridge, The Imaginary Amazon

Events April 1-April 3, 2024

Leapfrog suburban growth has surrounded the once-remote Simi Hills of western Ventura County, but not before the National Park Service and local agencies succeeded in setting aside more than 5000 acres of contiguous public open space there. The following rambling route of ten miles will take you on foot -- or mountain bike (for expert riders only) -- through the newest parkland additions, collectively known as the Palo Comado Canyon Site.

Exit Highway 101 at Kanan Road in Agoura Hills and drive north 2.2 miles to Sunnycrest Drive. Turn right and continue 0.8 mile to a trail entrance on the right signed "Public Recreation Trail." At this point, the street's name changes to Doubletree Road. Abundant curbside parking is available.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On foot or bike, travel east through grassland for 0.5 mile over a rise and downhill into broad Palo Comado Canyon. Turn left on the dirt road going left, up the canyon, and enjoy a pleasant stroll amid stately sycamores and gnarled live oaks. Deer, bobcats, coyotes, rabbits, owls, and various birds of prey haunt this serene space.

At around 1.5 miles, the dirt road begins a vigorous and sometimes crooked ascent. Looking behind you, you gaze upon a lovely tapestry of canyon-bottom woods and slopes adorned with dense patches of chaparral and sandstone outcrops. After assuming a more gentle gradient at 2.6 miles, you pass over a summit at 3.3 miles and proceed another 0.2 mile downhill to the edge of oak-dotted China Flat. On your left lies an old stock pond forming a small reflecting pool when it brims with water during and after the rainy season.

Continue west through China Flat, staying left at the next junction. Beyond the oaks to your left (south), the China Flat Trail climbs a ridge and goes down the far side. This is your way back to suburbia, but for now don't miss the side trip to Simi Peak, which is 1.0 mile away by trail. Keep going west by veering right on a pathway going up a gradual incline. This pathway eventually curls up Simi Peak's north slope, becoming very steep and rocky in the last 200 yards. South and west from the jagged summit, your gaze takes in the broad sweep of the Santa Monica Mountains and scattered patches of cityscape embedded in the rolling landscape below.

After visiting the peak, return to China Flat and turn right on the China Flat Trail. You duck under a canopy of oaks, climb for a few minutes, pass over a saddle, and finally descend 1.5 miles on a disused and sometimes eroded dirt road to the edge of a housing development. You emerge either at King James Court or just around the corner on Lindero Canyon Road. Cross Lindero Canyon Road and proceed on one or another pathway heading southeast down along the oak-lined Medea Creek drainage. Soon you find yourself on Oak Canyon Park's nature trail, where you can either follow a bike path on the left or stick to a wide dirt path along trickling Medea Creek itself. You emerge near the park's entrance.

Now only 1.3 miles remain -- entirely on sidewalks. Use Hollytree Drive and Doubletree Road to get back to your starting point by the shortest route.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance
Next Article

Navy solves San Diego homeless crisis by retiring four locally moored ships

Decommision Accomplished
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.