Elevation +/-: ~1300'+
Hike Time: 3:00 (I think)
Rating: Difficult
How to get there:
The trailhead is in Lang Ranch, near the intersection of Avenida de los Arboles and Westlake Blvd. From Westlake Blvd. turn on Lang Ranch Pkwy. Take Lang Ranch past the Chumash Center until it makes a sharp right turn. The trailhead is on your right. There is also a walking trail on the right side of the road that leads straight to the trailhead, so you could park anywhere along Lang Ranch Pkwy.
 |
| The trail map, though I didn't take the right turn at China Flat like this map shows. |
This Saturday, I tried out a new trail. I had tried to hike Simi Peak a few years ago from a different trailhead, but it wound up being a very hot day and we got off on the wrong trail or something. We eventually gave up and got some Jamba Juice on our way home. This time I did actually make the peak, though not without incident. (more on that later)
Simi Peak is the highest point in the hills between the Conejo Valley, Simi Valley and the San Fernando Valley, topping out at 2403'. There are several ways to reach it, most of them being in the Westlake Village area on the north side of Kanan Rd. This particular trail, though starts out in Lang Ranch near the Chumash Center. I have hiked through some of the Oakbrook Regional Park south of the Chumash Center, but had never realized how much hiking there is on the north side in the Lang Ranch area.
Much of the trail is on the Albertson Motorway, which is an emergency access road. This means that it is very wide and well graded, making it great for hiking, biking and horseback riding. Which also means you need to be aware that those other people will be around. The first 1.5 miles of the trail are very easy. The motorway skirts the edge of the Chumash Center grounds and makes for a nice hike. A little over half a mile in, the road goes into private land, so you are ushered onto a scenic detour trail that is quite beautiful in spots.
Soon the trail meets back up with Albertson Motorway and the hiking gets much harder. To this point you have gained roughly 300' in elevation over 1.5 miles. From here you will gain nearly double that (more than 500') in the next 1.5 miles, and because it is an emergency road, it is steeply graded with no switchbacks. There is also very little shade, so take your breaks when you can. This is not the prettiest part of the trail, but there are some great views as you climb quickly to the tops of the ridges.
Soon you reach a gate that marks the Thousand Oaks city boundary where you cross into National Park Open Space. Not long after crossing into the NPS area you turn off the motorway onto a trail marked Palo Comado, China Flat, Simi Peak. You'll have to keep an eye out for this trail because it is way off to the right as you reach a large graded area on top on one of the ridges, almost hidden by bushes.
Once on the Palo Comado, China Flat, Simi Peak trail (wow, that's a mouthful), the hiking gets much easier and very picturesque. As you drop into the China Flat area, that landscape suddenly turns to the beautiful oak groves and meadows that made this area such popular ranching land before suburbia took over. Soon after, you leave the Palo Comado Trail and head out onto China Flat.
You wander through this beautiful area for about half a mile before turning right onto the Simi Peak trail.
Here's the peak itself. Not the most glamorous of peaks but it has some nice views. I didn't actually stand at the very top, because a swarm of bees was trying to make its home on the pole there.
Looking east you can see the San Fernando Valley shrouded in its trademark veil of smog.
To the north lies the city of Simi Valley.
If you look closely you can see the Calleguas Reservoir to the northwest.
Looking west you see the main part of Thousand Oaks, as well as some of Moorpark and Camarillo. On clearer days you can see out to the Channel Islands.
South of the peak is Westlake Village. The main road in the middle is Lindero Canyon Rd.
Once you take a break to enjoy the views and get some water back in your system, the trip back down is very pleasant (one of the perks of hiking a peak). Unless, of course, you get back to the Albertson Motorway and discover that your cellphone has gone missing somewhere in the last mile and a half, causing you to retrace your steps back to the peak in an effort to recover this adventurous phone, only to add 3 miles and an hour to your trip to no avail, making your wife worry, until some stranger calls with your phone to tell her that you dropped it in the trail and he graciously picked it up to return it.
Recommendations:
- This is another hike I recommend starting earlier in the day, and would not advise taking on an extremely hot day. As I said there is very little shade for the most strenuous part of the hike, so it would probably be best not to do that in the heat of the day. Be aware, though, that you will spend most of the early part of the hike facing the sun.
- Bring lots of water. The steep incline will work up a sweat very quickly.
- Boots are not necessary. The trails are well graded and not overly rocky, so any athletic shoes will be just fine.
- Be careful on the narrower parts of the trail. Keep an eye out for bushes and branches overhanging the trail. I did bonk my head on an overhanging branch (not once, but twice!) coming down from the peak.
- Also be sure to check for ticks after this hike. It's usually a good general practice, but especially important after close contact with brush. Ticks like to wait on branches for unsuspecting mammals to brush past, latching on and spreading some wonderful diseases.
