Overview

The Los Robles Trail stretches from Potrero Road in Newbury Park in the west, almost as far east as Hampsire road in the east. The area is too large to cover in one map, so it's split into the Los Robles West area and this area for the eastern half.

Most of Los Robles Trail East (LRTE) is an Edison Road - wide, generally smooth and never very steep. There is one shortish section of singletrack, the Lily Tomlin segment, that is most pleasant to travel. On the other hand, the Edison Road generally has a great view overlooking the city, especially the Overlook Loop, shown in the banner photo above.

The trail spans several Open Space areas, listed at the top of this page. The Conejo Ridge Open Space is immediately north of the middle of the LRTE and forms an almost complete bowl. The trails here appear to be used mostly by equestrians who live nearby; access from LRTE is too steep for mountain bikes, and the trails are too short for them in any case. But this is a very pretty area - hikers could do well to explore it more!

The White Horse Canyon Trail links the LRTE to Potrero road, covering very diverse terrain with constantly changing views. It borders the west end of the pubic Open Space with private property immediately to the west. There are 'unofficial' (bootleg) trails west of White Horse Canyon Trail but the landowner may not appreciate uninvited people using them. There are also bootleg trails that start from Brookview and White Horse Canyon Trails that the COSCA rangers have been trying to shut down so the native plants will regrow, but with limited success.

Please only use official trails shown on this map!

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
[1a] Lily Tomlin Trail
[1b] Los Robles Trail South

Description This trail connects the main 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 the other trails in the area. Of its 5.25 mile length, it is all fireroad except for about a half mile, the Lily Tomlin Trail near the west end that leads up to the Los Robles Overlook Loop. (The Lily Tomlin Trail gets its name from the oversized picnic table at the bottom.) Overall, it is well maintained but has one rocky stretch of a couple hundred yards, just west of the White Horse Canyon Trail.

About 1.1 miles from the east end of LRTE and very close to the top of the Triunfo Canyon Trail, the Los Robles Trail South forks to the southwest and connects to the Brookview Trail. It is only 0.2 miles long but slightly uphill and quite rocky.

Los Robles Trail East 
Technical Rating T1 for the fireroad and T2 for the singletrack

Los Robles Trail South 
Technical Rating T3

Trail Profile      Back to the Top

[2] Los Padres Trail (AKA Sherwood Forest)

Description: The Los Padres Trail starts as a very pretty but far too short singletrack trail from Los Padres Drive about a half block east of Moorpark Rd. The first part goes through a beautiful wooded section with majestic oak trees (hence the name "Sherwood Forest") before becoming quite steep as it climbs up the upper half, a fire road (called "Janss Fire Road" on some maps). The road is in good shape so the climb on it is pretty easy.

Technical Rating T1 for the fireroad and T2 for the singletrack

Trail Profile      Back to the Top

[3] Los Robles Overlook Loop (AKA Vista Loop)

Description The Overlook 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. On a bike, 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 near the east 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
[4a] White Horse Canyon Singletrack
[4b] Edison Spurs

Description The White Horse Canyon Trail meanders south from the LRTE and eventually connects to Potrero Road between Lake Sherwood and Westlake Blvd. It provides access to almost as many other trails as LRTE. It is a rugged fire road, covering very diverse terrain with constantly changing views. It starts with a steep and loose descent from LRTE. One section of the Edison Road is very steep and a little loose; fortunately the White Horse Canyon Singletrack [4a] bypasses this section. From the east end of the singletrack, the trail follows the ridgeline for a while before heading left and definitely downhill on a road/doubletrack, 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 trail heads downhill, the Edison Spurs [4b] climb and crest a ridge.

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.

Several bootleg trails lead west from the White Horse Canyon Trail onto private property and south towards Potrero Road. Please stay off these trails so they can be reclaimed by native plants and use only the official trails listed on this map!

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

Trail Profile      Back to the Top

[5] Brookview Trail (aka Conejo Crest, previously known as Babyheads Ridge)

Description The Brookview is a rugged fireroad that starts in the east at the top of Brookview Avenue in Westlake, follows a ridgeline that bends around in an inverted "U" shape and connects to the White Horse Canyon Trail at it's west end. It's an important component of any loop route in the area, connecting at it does to LRTE through the LRTSouth (or a short connector to Triunfo Canyon Trail) and through the White Horse Canyon Trail.

Towards the west end, there is a steep, loose rocky segment about 100 yards long called the "Descent of Death" by some mountain bikers. During the 2014 COSCA Annual Trailwork Day, a bypass singletrack was built around the Descent of Death that is much less steep, firm and not rocky.

 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.

The loose nature of this trail makes it much less fun for hikers.

Technical Rating T4

Trail Profile      Back to the Top

[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 Brookview 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 on a bike. It ends on Bridgegate Street in a gated community. Because you can't rely on getting through the gate, this is essentially a down-and-back-up route. 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

Trail Profile      Back to the Top

[8] White Horse Canyon/Brookview 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 Brookview 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, mostly firm and somewhat steep. Good riders can ride up parts of it and down most, but for most it's a hike-a-bike. Even so, it's faster than going around!

Technical Rating T4

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[9] Triunfo Canyon Trail
[10] Triunfo Community Park Trail

Description: The rerouting of the majority of this single track was completed in the fall of 2005during the Annual Conejo Open Space Trailwork Day. The loose, rocky, steep and hazardous sections are gone, replaced with a modern, smooth surface. The bottom of the trail starts at Triunfo Community Park in Westlake Village. Over the years the new section has become rockier, but it's still a lot better than the old sections at the top and bottom.

It ends at the Los Robles Trail East a couple of dozen yards east of the east end of the Los Robles Trail South. 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 climb 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, the Triunfo Community Park Trail [10] circumnavigates the park, starting at Aranmoor Ave and ending close to the bottom of the Triunfo Canyon Trail. It is 0.3 miles long and has only small, gentle hills.

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

Trail Profile      Back to the Top

[11] Bobcat Trail (aka Fairview Trail)

Description The Bobcat Trail forks off southeastward from the LRTE about a mile from its east end, starting as an Edison Road. After a couple of short climbs it narrows to a singletrack and mostly descends, with some loose rocky sections. At one point the singletrack forks, with the trail continuing to the left (north) and an unmaintained trail on the right. Both forks become steeper, especially the unmaintained trail, which also has some big ruts towards the bottom. Connecting these two forks is the end of the Foothill Trail, which is wide and not very steep. My favorite route is to go down the steep unmaintained trail, head north on the Foothill Trail traverse and turn left up the Bobcat Trail singletrack to make a lolipop loop.

There are some pretty views over Westlake Village, especially in the autumn when the leaves are changing color, as the photo to the right shows.

 Technical Rating T2 (fireroad section), T3 (singletrack section), T3.5 (unmaintained)

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[12] Foothill Trail

Description This short trail of almost a half mile connects Foothill Drive to the LRTE Edison road a quarter mile from its east end. It starts with a bit of a steep singletrack climb from the street for 650', then joins a fire road and gently climbs northward to meet the LRTE.

 Technical Rating T2.5

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[13] Conejo Ridge Trail T3
[14] Spectrum Spur T4

Description The Conejo Ridge Trail is the eastern-most of four trails that lead from LRTE down to the trails of the Conejo Ridge Open Space area. It is the least steep by far, and being a ridgeline trail, it has some great views in every direction. About 0.6 miles from LRTE, the trail makes a bend to do the left (westward) while the Spectrum Spur [14] bears to the right.

The Spectrum Spur continues for 0.4 miles, dropping 220' to the lower parking lot of what used to be the Spectrum Fitness Club. This trail is somewhat steeper, loose and rocky in places.

 Technical Rating T3 (Conejo Ridge Trail)

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Other trails of the Conejo Ridge Open Space Area

The Conejo Ridge OS area is bounded on the south by the Los Robles Trail East and a ridge, and on the west, east and north-east by ridges, resulting in a big central bowl that is almost completely isolated from civilization. The trails are too short to provide elevation profiles, so instead of the regular descriptions, they will be summarized here. Surprisingly, the land under these trails is not part of COSCA, but is owned by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA).

The Rolling Oaks Trail [15] T4.5 provides the most westerly connection from the LRTE, where it is accessed from a short Edison spur road. This trail is very steep and somewhat loose, hence it's T4.5 rating. From the LRTE, it climbs 90' and then drops 320' over 0.7 miles before it ends at Rimrock Trail after going around a water tank. The photo to the right shows the steepest section that goes straight up the ridge.

The Rimrock Trail [16] T4.5 starts at the south end of Rimrock Rd and heads south-east to end at the Loop Trail. The first couple of hundred feet are part of the paved road to a water tank. There is a very steep and loose section from the paved road down to the valley floor. Overall it is 0.3 miles long with 55' of climbing and 115' descent to get to the Loop Trail.

The Sundown Trail [17] T2 is a very pretty but short trail that starts at the south end of Sundown Road and leads to the Loop Trail. It is almost completely shaded by oak trees. The trail is 0.15 miles long, gently climbing 60'. There's room for several cars to park at the trailhead. This is the easiest and prettiest trail to access the Loop and Conejo Ridge Trails.

The Loop Trail [18] T2.5 to T3.5 runs along the bottoms of the ridges that surround the valley, covering 0.9 miles and climbing/descending 170'. It's quite diverse in its nature. The south section is the most rugged, a little rutted and quite loose with many small hills. There is a significant poison oak hazard on the east side. The north and west sections seem to be the most used and have the best tread surface, with some oak trees along the north, providing some shade. In the south-west corner is a 500' side trail T3  that climbs up a small ridge and provides a great view of the whole valley from it's highest point. Access to this side trail is easier from the south than from the west.

The West Conejo Ridge Connector [19] links the Rimrock Trail in the valley at its north end to the LRTE at the south end. It forks into two trails that join the LRTE. As they approach the LRTE they become very steep and quite loose with some entrenchment, resulting in a rating of T4.5 . Overall the trail is about a quarter mile long and climbs 160' up to the LRTE. There is no downhill.

The East Conejo Ridge Connector [20] links the south leg of the Loop Trail to the LRTE. When last hiked (August 2016), this trail was very steep, severely overgrown and rutted. It is only 0.17 miles long but climbes 190' with no downhill. T5

This page was last updated October 20, 2016

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