Hiking Los Angeles: Urbs, Burbs, Staircases, and Trails

Week 331: Oakbrook Regional Park, Thousand Oaks

AllTrails Chumash Museum via Albertson Fire Road, 2.6 miles.

At face value this hike is an easy, flat walk through part of the Conejo Open Space to a museum and back. Great for Fido, bicycling, the kids. But, as Barbara and I discovered, if you take a little time to get to know the history, the land comes to life with caves holding pictographs, spaces with the bones of a village and a field, and, at the bottom of the halfway loop, a museum filled with artifacts and facts about the Chumash peoples. Think we're so cool for our 500-ish years making and developing SoCal? Before the arrival of the Cabrillo expedition in 1542, the Chumash peoples spent 11,000 years on this land. This hike tours a portion of the historic former Chumash village of Sap'wi (House of the Deer)—a Ventura County Historical Landmark and a Thousand Oaks Landmark—including a stop (if it's open) at the halfway point at the Chumash Museum for a look at artifacts. There are 20 caves on the property, several with pictographs, cave paintings of swordfish created by swordfish shaman spirit helpers. Too bad for us you need to be on a tour to see the caves, and wait until noon for the museum to open, but we had a great time imagining the activities in the village. The early part of the hike led us up, and then down into the low grounds at the base of the mountain. We saw the caves above but couldn't get up there, instead following the oak-shaded fire road along the grounds between the mountains and a creek. We stopped for a snack at the small village, the activity area for the tribe. Three thatched "aps" made of long willow branch frames interwoven with insulated, water-resistant tule reeds, circle the central hearth for cooking and warmth. There's an area for men to make tools and to process meat and hides from the hunt. Another area for women to weave the baskets the Chumash were famous for, and create household goods like baskets. About fifty feet or so from the village, a long field lined with benches is the "malamtepupi," the game field where games were held during tribal gatherings. The most popular game, "Ma'pon," is an ancient "rabbit stick" game that travelled across America. The proceeds from betting games like peon, or games like the ancient Hoop and Pole game, or the ring and stick game "Shpalutspuq," are donated by the winning team to the host village. There were games like Shinny—Tikauwich with 200–300 players who used small sticks to put a small wooden ball through the opponent's goal post. Rings? Sticks? Poles? Don't laugh, aren't we STILL playing with sticks and balls before huge audiences? So, yes, a pleasant, easy hike with lovely views, OR, a trip back in time to visit the home of peoples who hung out her for thousands of years. And why not? The area is gorgeous. Side note: I mentioned the shaman spirit helpers, and though there's nothing spooky about the area, and we rounded the halfway mark, my iPhone in my pocket took two photos all by itself. Cool hike. We recommend going during museum hours for the full experience.

November 09, 2025
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Week 330: Red Rock Canyon Park, Topanga State Park

Trails

November 02, 2025
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Week 329: Charmlee Wilderness Park, Malibu

Trails

October 05, 2025
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Week 328: Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area Eastern Gate, Baldwin Hills

AllTrails Kenneth Hahn Loop from Norman O. Houston Park, 1.9 mile loop.

Barbara and I have the oddest luck when we hike at this 401-acre recreational treasure filled with trails, gardens, sports fields, and city views. Baldwin Hills is 500 feet high with a 360 view from the ocean to the mountains and across the basin to DTLA and back to the shore, not to mention the awesome Baldwin Stairs, but we've never been here on a sunny day. Today, on our fourth hike at the park, the overcast sky broke about a mile in during this new-to-us area on the east end along the LaBrea green belt. With all respect to Norman O. Houston, his park at the bottom of the "string" portion on the map, is there because the parking lot is there, a short walk to the light to cross LaBrea to get to the stairs leading up to the Kenneth Hahn Eastern Gate. We hiked the loop on the map clockwise. The left side of the loop across the top of the hill was a civil, paved and fenced trail with runners, hikers, and happy dogs with dog-walkers. We passed several park fitness stations, a helipad, picnic tables, and an adorable Hummingbird Park, all showcasing the work of trail-builder Ron Webster and the Sierra Club of volunteers who "built the connector trails and linked the dirt roads to create the two-mile loop" after Kenneth Hahn Park was established in 1984. The hummingbirds charmed us. Twenty or so put on a show for us, flying backwards, sideways, and upside down from feeder to feeder in their little park filled with plants attractive to them. From there we passed through the Burke-Roche Picnic Area, crossing the top of the map past a hazy but cool "city view" then curved to part two of the hike: adventures in the wild. And I mean wild. On the map, at about 0.9 mi., the trail turns into all dirt and narrow then becomes a sheer drop of man-made dirt steps going straight down. I confess—I did the entire dirt stairway drop on my butt—on purpose. From there, the last mile covered a series of dirt trails that eased down and up and down and toward street level where we found the staircase to the street. The history of Baldwin Hills began with the Tongvas before the Spanish, Mexican, then US occupation. In 1924 oil was discovered in the fields, then came the reservoir and the infamous 1963 Baldwin Hills Dam collapse disaster. The fields east of LaBrea housed the first ever Olympic Village for the 1932 Summer Olympics, the Tenth Olympiad. Truly new to us, this section of Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area offers so many alternatives that we know we'll be back. Hopefully in the sunshine.