Conejo Canyons Bridge to improve hiking access to Paradise Falls, Elliott Peak

Work is expected to be finished by late February on a Thousand Oaks bridge designed to improve access to thousands of acres for hikers, bicyclists and equestrians.

The Thousand Oaks Public Works Department is making visible progress on the 140-foot long Conejo Canyons Bridge over the Arroyo Conejo, a long creek in the Conejo Canyons Open Space. Work started in September.

The new span offers a safer, shorter, flatter hike for people going to places such as Paradise Falls and Elliott Peak, officials say. The steel bridge also will provide access for emergency and public works vehicles.

The project is near Hill Canyon Road, off Santa Rosa Road in Camarillo. The area includes the Hill Canyon Treatment Plant, which treats wastewater for Thousand Oaks, and the county-owned Santa Rosa Valley Park.

Officials say the bridge will serve as a key link between Conejo Canyons and Wildwood Regional Park.

“That means people have access to about 3,000 acres of open space all at once,” said Brian Stark, administrator of the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency.

The city of Thousand Oaks paid for roughly two-thirds of the $3.2 million bridge’s cost. Funding also came from the Conejo Recreation and Park District, which contributed $654,000. The Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency provided $400,000 and the Conejo Open Space Foundation pitched in $30,000.

Jim Friedl, general manager of the Conejo Recreation and Park District, said the bridge provides another point of entry for the area. It will be more convenient for visitors coming from Camarillo, Moorpark and Simi Valley than the trailhead off Avenida de Los Arboles in Thousand Oaks, he said.

The bridge, which is a short distance from a previous bridge designed for nothing more than small trucks, also means improved access for larger emergency vehicles.

The new bridge will be used by rangers' vehicles as well as public works vehicles traveling between the Hill Canyon wastewater plant and the Municipal Service Center on Rancho Conejo Boulevard, said Deputy Public Works Director Nader Heydari.

Plans call for later paving the access road from the bridge to the boulevard, he said.

The park district's Friedl said the bridge will improve safety for hikers. They can stick to trails and avoid walking on narrow Hill Canyon Road, where 18-wheel trucks enter and leave the treatment plant.

“The bridge will enable people to completely stay off the road and still get up into the canyons,” Friedl said.

The span will allow for easier hikes to sites such as Paradise Falls than the steeper trails off Avenida de Los Arboles. It will enable access to miles of trails and hiking loops suitable for all skill levels, Friedl said.

“By distance alone, you can create a very tough hike," he said.

Stark, of the open space conservation agency, said visitors won’t have to drive as far to reach the area's western plateau, which he described as Wildwood without all the people.

The plateau's grassland and wildflowers typically bloom from February to July.

The plateau and other open spaces in Thousand Oaks are known for sightings of birds, deer, skunks, coyotes, foxes, possums, raccoons and occasionally mountain lions, bobcats and bears.

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at dave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0232.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Elliott Peak, Paradise Falls hikes improved by Conejo Canyons Bridge