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.