Scenery Right Out of a Western

Intriguing sandstone formations and backdrops that are literally out of a western movie are two highlights of a hike in Sage Ranch Park. The park, perched high in the Simi Hills on the Los Angeles-Ventura county line, offers magnificent rural and metropolitan views from its 2,000-foot-high ridges.

Western movie fans hiking through Sage Ranch might have deja vu. The ranch’s big boulders served to shelter the good guys camping out and conceal the bad guys hiding out. Filmmakers got a certain authenticity when they used the ranch road, once part of the old stagecoach road that linked the San Fernando Valley with the Simi Valley.

Mostly what you notice at Sage Ranch is an odd tapestry of native, exotic and cultivated flora. Native plants are well represented within the oak woodland ecosystem and by such chaparral community members as chemise, ceanothus, coffee berry and California buckwheat. Invaders include castor bean, Australian saltbush and assorted thistles. Abandoned orange and avocado groves are the third component of the ranch’s diverse plant life.

In springtime, wildflowers splash color on park hillsides: bush sunflowers, purple clarkia, gold fields, bush lupine, peony, cream cups, California poppies and many more. Maidenhair and gold back ferns grow in the park’s wetter corners, while beaver tail and prickly pear cactus stake out higher and drier terrain.

One might reasonably conclude that Sage Ranch was named for the presence of native sage species (white, black, purple and pitcher), but this was not the case. The ranch’s namesake is Orrin Sage, who began a cattle operation in these then-remote Simi Hills just after World War II.

What was once the wild west of Los Angeles County and the equally wild east of Ventura County got fenced in by freeways: the Simi Valley/San Fernando Valley Freeway on the north, the Ventura Freeway on the south, Valley Circle Boulevard and Topanga Canyon Boulevard on the east, California 23 on the west.

In those tranquil, pre-U.S. 101, pre-California 118 days, Sage Ranch was smack dab in the middle of a wildlife corridor. Deer and other animals migrated from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Simi Hills, then through Topanga Canyon into the Santa Monica Mountains. When this migration route was severed, the deer population declined drastically. Sage referred to his road-surrounded ranch as “the island.”

Bordering Sage Ranch to the south is the Rocketdyne Santa Susana Field Laboratory, established in 1958. Rocket engine testing can be a noisy business, so the company chose the site, then called Paradise Valley, because of its isolation. The company and its successor, Rockwell International, have tested systems for the Apollo, Delta, Jupiter and Atlas projects, as well as for the Space Shuttle. Engine testing continues today; on weekdays, hikers may be surprised to find the park’s quiet shattered by a short (under 30 second), low, loud rumbling noise.

Rocketdyne’s lab was the site of an early, glitch-prone nuclear reactor. The reactor was shut down long ago, but not before causing some low-level contamination of some of the nuclear research buildings. This accident, plus engine-cleaning toxic chemicals that seeped into the ground water, created a dilemma for the lab’s neighbor Orrin Sage: In the 1980s when he wished to sell his ranch, he couldn’t prove his ranch wasn’t contaminated and thus couldn’t market it.

The Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority tested soil, water and air quality and found no contamination. The agency purchased the ranch for parkland in 1990.

The views have changed considerably since the days when Sage’s cattle roamed these hills; despite the addition of lots more civilization to the panoramic pictures, they remain spectacular. One good vista point is located a short distance from Black Canyon Road. From the east side of the road (opposite the park’s main entrance), hike 100 yards up a trail to gain a grand view of the San Fernando Valley and the Santa Monica Mountains.

Sage Ranch Loop Trail also offers excellent views. I prefer a counterclockwise hike of the ranch, but the loop is a fine one whichever direction you hike it.

Directions to trail head: From the Ventura Freeway (U.S. 101) in Woodland Hills, exit on Valley Circle Boulevard and drive north six miles to Woolsey Canyon Road. Turn left (west) and proceed 2.7 miles to Sage Ranch Park. The park entrance is on the left, a short distance past the Rockwell International Santa Susana Field Laboratory, where Woolsey Canyon Road bends north and continues as Black Canyon Road.

The hike: From the parking area, walk up the paved park road past a hillside cloaked in an eclectic mixture of scrub oak, eucalyptus, orange and avocado trees. Alas, time, freezing temperatures, several drought years and Ventura County’s restrictions on agricultural water use have not been kind to the orange and avocado trees.

You’ll soon arrive at the “Campground Overflow Parking” lot and join the signed loop trail. The path winds briefly among oaks and drops into a cluster of sandstone boulders. Enjoy inspiring views north of the Simi Valley and the distant peaks back of Ojai. The trail curves south, drops into a boulder-filled bowl, crosses it, then passes sandstone outcroppings that look like giant skulls. A gentle ascent brings you by a far corner of the Santa Susana Field Lab’s parking lot. The path climbs past some brush-engulfed avocado trees back to the parking area.

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Sage Ranch Loop Trail

Where: Sage Ranch Park

Distance: 2.5 mile loop with 200-foot elevation gain.

Terrain: “Old West” setting in Simi Hills.

Highlights: Grand vistas from sandstone ridges.

Degree of difficulty: Easy.

Precautions: Wear your best waterproof boots and clothing.

For more information: Mountains Conservation and Recreation

Authority; tel. (310) 589-3200.