Overview

Trailheads

a. South end of Moorpark Rd at Greenmeadow. There is lots of parking here. Map and directions.
b. Los Padres Drive. Map and directions.
c. Hillsborough Street. Map and directions.
d. Rimrock Road. There is space for a few cars here. Map and directions.
e. Sundown Road. There is space for several cars here. Map and directions.
f. The lower parking lot of the Bay Club on Conejo Ridge Avenue. Map and directions.
g. Fairview Road. Map and directions.
h. Foothill Drive. Map and directions.
i. Triunfo Community Park, second lot on Tamarack Street. Map and directions.
j. Triunfo Community Park, on the side of Aranmoor Avenue. Map and directions.
k. Top of Brookview Avenue. Map and directions.
l. In a gated community on Bridgegate St. There is no access to the trail here.
m. Bridgegate Street. Map and directions.
n. Potrero Road. There is no parking here. However, there is parking in the nearby neighborhood. Map and directions.

Trails

[1] Los Robles Trail East

Description This trail connects the trailhead at the south end of Moorpark Rd and Los Robles Trail West with Hampsire Rd (almost). It is the backbone of the area and provides access to most of the other trails in the area. Of its 5.25 mile length, it is all fireroad except for about a half mile, the newest section near the west end that leads up to the Vista Loop. Overall, it is well maintained but has one rocky stretch of a couple hundred yards, just west of the White Horse Canyon Trail.

 Technical Rating T1 for the fireroad and T2 for the singletrack

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[2] Los Padres Trail (AKA Sherwood Forest) and Janns Fire Road

Description: The Los Padres Trail is a very pretty but far too short trail that starts on Los Padres Drive about a half block east of Moorpark Rd. The first section goes through a beautiful wooded section with huge trees (hence the name "Sherwood Forest") before becoming a little steeper as it climbs up to Janns Fire Road. The last few hundred feet are quite steep with a couple of switchbacks and water bars thown in for good measure. This section is too steep for novices to ride, so they can either push up to the fire road if need be. This trail connects to Janns Fire Road a few hundred feet uphill from Hillsborough Street which runs downhill to Los Padres Drive. This is an alternate way back for anyone who doesn't want to ride down around the switchbacks and over the water bars to get back to the cars. To get to Los Robles Trail is a half-mile climb up Janns Fire Road. The road is in good shape so the climb is pretty easy.

Technical Rating T1 for the fireroad and T2 for the singletrack

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[3] Vista Loop

Description The Vista Loop trail is a doubletrack that skirts the southern edge of a plateau and overlooks Thousand Oaks. It provides a great view of the city. The direction to ride this trail is clockwise, ie, west to east. That way, when climbing, the trail is solid and the downhills are slightly rutted and loose and really fun! Be careful after rounding the righthand turn at the bottom of the last hill and near the end - poison oak grows out into the trail along here so stay in the center and don't touch the plants!

 Technical Rating T2.5

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[4] White Horse Canyon Trail and [13] White Horse Canyon Singletrack

Description The White Horse Canyon Trail is a mixture of somewhat technical singletrack and Edison Road, starting at Los Robles Trail East and ending next to Protreo Road between Hidden Valley and Westlake Blvd. It starts with a steep and loose descent that can be handled by intermediate riders, and climbed by very good riders, at least at the time of year when the trails are most firm. One section of the Edison Road is very steep and a little loose; fortunately the White Horse Canyon Singletrack bypasses this section. From the east end of the singletrack, the trail follows the ridgeline for awhile before heading left and definitely downhill on a firm singletrack, bypassing a development of unfriendly homeowners at the bottom (take note of the "No Tresapassing" and "Armed Response" signs; please respect property rights!) and coming out on Potrero Road. (Where the singletrack head downhill, the Edison Rd climbs and crests a ridge; it looks like a singletrack heads downhill but it has not been mapped and comes out in the gated community, if anywere, at the bottom.)

The White Horse Canyon Singletrack bypasses the very steep section of the Edison Road. It has some short but quite steep climbs in both directions (loose when going east and rocky but firm when going west). Overall it is more fun than the fireroad despite its challenges.

Technical Rating T1.5  (best sections of the fireroad) to T3.5 (the singletrack)

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[5] Brookview Trail (aka Conejo Ridge)

[10] Triunfo Community Park Trail

[11] Bobcat Trail (aka Fairview Trail)

[12] Foothill Trail

[13] Conejo Ridge Trail

[14] Spectrum Spur

[15] Rolling Oaks Trail

[16] Rimrock Trail

[17] Sundown Trail

[18] Loop Trail

[19] West Conejo Ridge Connector

[20] East Conejo Ridge Connector

[21] Old Jeep Road

[9] Triunfo Canyon Trail

Approaching a switchback on the Triunfo Canyon Trail.

Description: The rerouting of the majority of this single track was completed in the fall of 2005. The loose, rocky, steep and hazardous sections are gone, replaced with a modern, smooth surface, making it a joy to ride for intermediate mountain bikers. It's obvious when you're riding on the old trail at the beginning and end because it's much more rocky. The bottom of the trail starts at Triunfo Community Park in Westlake Village.

It ends at the Los Robles Trail East a couple of dozen yards east of the east end of the Conejo Ridge Trail. These trails meet at an Edison tower, just before Los Robles East starts down a short, steep hill. The Triunfo Canyon Trail is a very short way down the hill - be careful or you'll miss it and have to ride back up. About 0.3 miles from the top there is a short trail on the right that connects to the Brookview Trail.

In Triunfo Communty Park, there is a dirt walking trail that circumnavigates the park, ending close to the bottom of the Triunfo Canyon Trail.

Technical Rating T2 (new section) and T3 (old sections)

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 [x] Conejo Crest Trail (AKA Babyheads Ridge)

Description This trail connects in the east to the Los Robles Trail East and the Brookview Trail, and the Whitehorse Canyon Trail at the south/west end. It is a rocky ridgeline trail with one particularly nasty and steep section that has been nicknamed "The Descent of Death" (see photo at  right).We have a short video (21 MB) of some crazy people riding down this hill.Except for the Descent of Death, the grade is such that it can be ridden in either direction.

Technical Rating T4

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[8] White Horse Canyon/Conejo Crest Connector

Description This trail is essentially a shortcut from the Los Robles East Trail, via a short section of the White Horse Canyon Trail, to the Conejo Crest Trail at the bottom of the Descent of Death and near the top of the New Bridgegate Trail. It is a difficult trail, somewhat overgrown, rocky (but firm) and steep. Good riders can ride up parts of it and down most, but for most of us it's a hike-a-bike. Even so, it's faster than going around!

Technical Rating T4

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[x] Brookview Trail

Description This is a somewhat rocky doubletrack/fireroad that starts at the top of Brookview Avenue and climbs about a half mile to join the Conejo Crest Trail. The bottom 0.1 mile is the steepest and from there it levels off a little. There is a short (20') connector to the Triunfo Canyon Trail about 0.2 miles from the Conejo Crest Trail. From this connector it gets steeper and rockier, becoming more similar to the Conejo Crest Trail. It provides a great way to get back onto the top (or near-top) of the Triunfo Canyon Trail if you take one of the New Bridgegate Trail, the Old Bridgegate Trail or the Whitehorse Canyon Trail down into the valley.

Technical Rating T3

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[6] (Old) Bridgegate Trail

Description This is a somewhat loose, quite rocky and very fun descent on a bike if you're up to it! There are a couple of small steps near the top. The photo on the right shows the typical surface - small but rectangular rocks. At the bottom, bear to the left of the oak tree to avoid a short but very steep descent. From there it's nearly level for a couple of hundred yards until you come out on Bridgegate Street.

Technical Rating T4

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[7] New Bridgegate Trail (AKA Purple Rock Trail)

Description As of the end of 2006, this is a fairly new trail with a somewhat mysterious origin. It starts on the Conejo Crest Trail not far from the bottom of the Descent of Death. It comes in at a very sharp angle so you need to keep a keen lookout over your left shoulder (when headed south) to see it. Unlike the Old Bridgegate Trail, this one is built to modern standards so the tread is quite smooth although some of the switchbacks are a little tight. It ends on Bridgegate Street in a new gated community. Because you can't rely on getting through the gate, this is essentially a down-and-back-up ride from the Conejo Crest Trail. Even though it's not very long, it's quite a lot of fun, and showing up in a community where they really would like to keep outsiders out is a bonus!

Technical Rating T2

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[x] Fairview Trail and Fairview/Los Robles Connector

Description From the Los Robles Trail East, the Fairview Trail starts off as a fireroad that branches to the right when travelling east. After a couple of short climbs it narrows to a singletrack and mostly descends, with some loose rocky sections. At one point it forks, with the trail continuing to the left and the Los Robles Connector on the right. Both forks become steeper, especially the Connector Trail, which also has some big ruts towards the bottom, to boot. Connecting these two forks is the end of the Los Robles fireroad, which is wide and not very steep. I think it's most fun to go down the Connector trail, head north on the fireroad traverse and turn left up the Fairview Trail singletrack to make a lolipop loop. There are some pretty views over Westlake Village.

Technical Rating T2 (fireroad sections) to T3  (singletracks)

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This page was last updated February 22, 2007

Thanks for looking at Steve's guide to trails in Ventura County, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) and other locations.