Green Meadows and Hills and Wildflowers on Display in La Jolla Valley, Point Mugu State Park

The La Jolla Valley Natural Preserve is located in Point Mugu State Park, in the west end of the Santa Monica Mountains. The La Jolla Valley was acquired by the State of California in 1966 and was established as a Natural Preserve in 1972.

The area can be accessed via the .7 mile, but very steep Chumash Trail in Point Mugu (strenuous but the quickest approach), via the La Jolla Canyon Trail (which has been closed since January 2015 due to mudslides), or in a roundabout way, via the Ray Miller Trail. Or you can hike there from Rancho Sierra Vista in Newbury Park, which would be something in the neighborhood of 6 to 8 miles, depending on route.

In any case, the area is spectacularly beautiful right now in March 2017 after the winter rainstorms. If you are looking for peace and quiet, green hills and wildflowers, this is the place for you right now.

Spring Flowers and Green Hills at Charmlee Wilderness Park in Malibu

View of Zuma Beach to Point Dume State Beach from Charmlee Wilderness Park.

Charmlee Wilderness Park, a 532 acre park at 2577 Encinal Canyon Road in Malibu, is a "must visit" for anyone who lives in the local area. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, its eight miles of trails dispersed through 532 acres of land provide unbelievable spectacular views of Zuma Beach to Point Dume in particular.

The Park is also blossoming with wildflowers and is green as can be in March 2017 after our significant winter rainstorms.

Park hours are 8 a.m. to sunset and the nature center is open on weekends from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (or dark, whichever comes first). Parking is $4.

Green envelopes the trains here in early March 2017.

From Charmlee, I noticed this beautiful flower display on a hilltop home and had to take a pic and post it to Instagram. Little did I know that this is apparently Caitlyn Jenner's hilltop home.

Wildflowers in Full Bloom at the Ray Miller Trail in La Jolla Canyon, Point Mugu State Park

Note: This was posted in March 2017. We stopped by in 2018 and 2019 and there was not an abundance of flowers on the trail these years.

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We knew this was coming. A sea of orange and purple wildflowers in La Jolla Canyon at Pt. Mugu State Park in northwest of Malibu. It may take you about a half an hour to get there from Thousand Oaks, but it is well worth stopping by the Ray Miller Trail in La Jolla Canyon to catch a glimpse of these colors. More on the Ray Miller Trail at THIS LINK. Directions from Thousand Oaks at THIS LINK.

Another Look at the Conejo Valley Before and After the Rainstorms of 2017

Last week's highlights of scenes around the Conejo Valley before and after the winter rains of 2017 were so popular that I went back to the photo archives to find more photo duos to share. The temperatures are starting to heat up, so we have to enjoy this green while we can!

OVER 50 LOCAL AREA TRAILS AND HIKES

Rancho Sierra Vista, behind the Satwiwa Native American Culture Center.

Rancho Sierra Vista after the rainstorms of 2017.

Nearly 50 things to do in Thousand Oaks

A view towards Newbury Park from the Rosewood Trail / Angel Vista Peak.

Rosewood Trail./ Angel Vista Peak views after the rainstorms.

View of Mountclef Ridge from Tarantula Hill.

A greener view of Mountclef Ridge after the rains.

The former Olympia Farms property in the Rancho Potrero Open Space in Newbury Park.

Greener times in the Olympia Farms area.

Los Robles Trail looking east from "Space Mountain."

Fueled by months of steady rain, it is looking green here in the Los Robles Trail System.

View of Boney Mountain Range from Rancho Potrero Open Space last fall.

Green foreground after the rains in Rancho Potrero looking at Boney Mountain.

Wildflowers in Bloom in the Conejo Open Space

We are already seeing these beautiful orange poppies blooming throughout the open space surrounding the Conejo Valley after two months of steady rains. Here is a patch of them in the North Ranch Open Space, west of Lindero Canyon Road up in the hills. 

These yellow wildflowers appear off of the Westlake Vista Trail adjacent to the Las Virgenes Reservoir each year in the March time frame.

Great hikes and trails in and around Ventura County

The Ojai Valley Sign and Rotary Club of Ojai Plaque on State Route 150

The Ojai Valley sign on California State Route 150 at 6462 Santa Paula Ojai Road.

California State Route 150 runs 36.4 miles, from State Route 126 in Santa Paula at 10th Street (where it is called Ojai-Santa Paula Road), through Ojai (where it is called Ojai Avenue), then co-signed with State Route 33 (Maricopa Highway) until unincorporated community Meiners Oaks, then Baldwin Road between Ojai and Lake Casitas, then finally, Casitas Pass Road until it ends at U.S. Route 101 in Carpinteria.

If you are driving the section between Ojai and Santa Paula (which you WILL have to do sometime to experience the beauty back there), at roughly 6462 N. Ojai Road you will see a large "The Ojai Valley" monument.

Park the car, check out the views of the Ojai Valley and take a look at the Rotary Club of Ojai plaque dated 1990. The plaque shows various prominent mountain peaks in the Ojai Valley, including:

• White Ledge Peak (4,640')
• Matilija Twin Peaks (4,485')
• Three Sisters Peaks (5,378')
• Nordhoff Peak (4,485')
• Chief Peak (5,334')
• Topatopa Peak (6,244')

The plaque also highlights the canyons in view - Matilija Canyon, Gridley Canyon, Senior Canyon and Horn Canyon.

VISIT THIS PAGE FOR A BUNCH OF FUN THINGS TO DO IN OJAI

As you can see, the view is awesome. The tallest point ahead is Chief Peak.

This photo was taken in January 2017 after storms dusted snow on the Topa Topa Mountains. We can see this snow from the Conejo Valley but it is fun to see it closer up from Ojai.

A Look at the Conejo Valley Before and After the Recent Rainstorms

As Tom Jones said, "It's good to touch the green, green grass of home." We're seeing green hills throughout the Conejo Valley after several months of rain. We're enjoying it now, but we know it will only last so long, as evidenced in the "before and after" photos below.

OVER 50 LOCAL AREA TRAILS AND HIKES

Autumn Ridge Trail in the Lang Ranch Open Space last May.

Autumn Ranch Trail in Lang Ranch in late February 2017.

Horsing around in the Rancho Potrero Open Space, Newbury Park, last December.

Horsing around again in Rancho Potrero; this time in late February 2017.

Hidden Valley Overlook in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa last July.

Hidden Valley Overlook two days ago.

Boney Mountain Range in the Santa Monica Mountains from Dos Vientos early last November

The same view of the Boney Mountain Range, with the Rancho Potrero area in the foreground, on Friday, March 3, 2017.

A view of Lizard Rock in Wildwood Park from the Mesa Trail in late September 2016.

The same view towards Lizard Rock in Wildwood Park on February 24, 2017.  

My, oh my, do we love the green, green grass of home or what!? Enjoy it while you can!