Canyon Country is a neighborhood in the eastern part of the city of

Santa Clarita Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most populo ...

, in northwestern

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It lies along the Santa Clara River between the

Sierra Pelona Mountains The Sierra Pelona, also known as the Sierra Pelona Ridge or the Sierra Pelona Mountains and originally known as the Liebre Mountains, is a mountain ridge in the Transverse Ranges in Southern California. Located in northwest Los Angeles County, t ...

and the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains () are a mountain range located in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert ...

. It is the most populous of Santa Clarita's four neighborhoods.

History

The area was the ancestral homeland of the

Tataviam people The Tataviam (Kitanemuk: ''people on the south slope'') are a Native American group in Southern California. The ancestral land of the Tataviam people includes northwest present-day Los Angeles County and southern Ventura County, primarily in ...

for over five hundred years, and other tribes before then, such as the

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous peoples of California, Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Channel Islands of California, Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . In the precolonial era, the peop ...

Kitanemuk The Kitanemuk are an Indigenous people of California and were a tribal village of the Kawaiisu Nation. The Kawaiisu traditionally lived in the Tehachapi Mountains and the Antelope Valley area of the western Mojave Desert of southern Californi ...

, and

Serrano people The Serrano are an Indigenous people of California. Their autonyms are Taaqtam meaning "people", Maarrênga'yam meaning "people from Morongo", and Yuhaaviatam meaning "people of the pines." Today the Maarrênga'yam are enrolled in the Moron ...

. After Spanish settlement, the valley became grazing lands of the

Mission San Fernando Rey de España Mission San Fernando Rey de España is a Spanish missions in California, Spanish mission in the Mission Hills, Los Angeles, Mission Hills community of Los Angeles, California. The mission was founded on September 8, 1797 at the site of Achooyko ...

around 1790. In the 1880s, the rancho become the Newhall Ranch empire of

Henry Newhall Henry Mayo Newhall (May 13, 1825 – March 13, 1882) was an American businessman whose extensive land holdings became the Southern California communities of Newhall, Saugus and Valencia, and the city of Santa Clarita. Life Born in Saugus, ...

, from which his family started the Newhall Land and Farming Company after his death. In 1928, the St. Francis Dam collapsed, suddenly flooding and washing away settlements and people along the Santa Clara River section of present-day Santa Clarita not including Canyon Country. Canyon Country was originally called Solemint. It later absorbed the community to the west called Honby. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Newhall Land company's

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

developments transformed the surrounding areas into a largely residential city. In 1987, Canyon Country was one of four communities, along with

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, Newhall, and Saugus, that merged to create the city of

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most popul ...

Geography

Canyon Country is located on the east side of Santa Clarita, along the Santa Clara River. It occupies roughly the portion of Santa Clarita east of Golden Valley Road, and is bordered by Saugus to the west and Newhall to the southwest. The

lie north of the community, and the

lie to the south and east. Both ranges are part of the

Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in Southern California. The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabri ...

. Canyon Country lies primarily within ZIP codes 91351 and 91387. The boundary between the two ZIP codes mostly follows

Sierra Highway Sierra Highway or El Camino Sierra is a historic route in California, United States, that connects Los Angeles with the Eastern Sierra and Lake Tahoe. The trail formed in the 19th century before it was rebuilt as highways in the early 20th centu ...

- addresses west of or along the highway are in 91351, while addresses east of the highway are in 91387. ZIP codes 91321, 91350, and 91390 also include small portions of Canyon Country. Due to its location adjacent to the mountainous Angeles National Forest, and its aridity (especially in summer), Canyon Country is susceptible to wildfires. The Buckweed Fire in October 2007 burned nearly throughout Canyon Country and Agua Dulce. The Sand Fire took place in Canyon Country in July and August 2016 and burned nearly of land.

Neighborhoods

Canyon Country has the highest number of unique neighborhoods of any borough in Santa Clarita. Most derive their names from natural landforms such as a

canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...

or from a

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

that was once located there. A neighborhood may include a variety of

housing tract Tract housing, sometimes informally known as cookie cutter housing, is a type of housing development in which multiple similar houses are built on a tract (area) of land that is subdivided into smaller lots. Tract housing developments are found ...

s with unique names. Notable neighborhoods and communities include: * Aliento * American Beauty * Fair Oaks Ranch * Friendly Valley * Golden Valley * Humphreys * Honby * Mint Canyon * Oak Spring Canyon * Rainbow Glen * Rio Seco * River Ranch * Sand Canyon * Solemint * Shangri La * Skyline Ranch * Stetson Ranch * Tick Canyon (includes Pinetree and Shadow Pines) * Tres Robles * Vista Canyon * Vista del Cañon * Whites Canyon (includes Canyon Crest and Falcon Ridge) The oldest neighborhood in Canyon Country is Whites Canyon, traditionally named "Canyon Country". The neighborhood includes both Sierra Vista Junior High and Canyon High School. Some of the newest neighborhoods in Canyon Country include Skyline Ranch and Vista Canyon, the latter of which is still under construction as of April 2023.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, the population of Canyon Country was 92,897. 41.7% of residents were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

, 36.7% were

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, 13.9% were

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

, 7.4% were

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, and 3.1% were Native American.

Education

Canyon Country elementary school students attend schools in

Saugus Union School District Saugus Union School District (SUSD) is a public California school district located in Santa Clarita, Los Angeles County, California. The district serves students in grades TK/K-6 in Saugus, most of Valencia, and parts of Canyon Country. There ...

and

Sulphur Springs School District The Sulphur Springs School District is an elementary school district in Los Angeles County, California. It serves the east side of the Santa Clarita Valley, including most of Canyon Country. As of 2023, the district has 9 elementary schools. ...

. Middle and high school students in Canyon Country attend schools in the

William S. Hart Union High School District The William S. Hart Union High School District (commonly referred to simply as the Hart District) is a school district in the Santa Clarita Valley of Los Angeles County, California. It serves all of the valley's high school students (grades 9� ...

, in particular Sierra Vista and La Mesa Junior High Schools, and

Canyon A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency t ...

and Golden Valley High Schools.

Santa Clarita Christian School Santa Clarita Christian School (SCCS) is a private Christian school in Santa Clarita, California, United States. It serves students from kindergarten to 12th grade. It is a ministry of the Santa Clarita Baptist Church, and competes in the Herita ...

is located in Canyon Country.

College of the Canyons College of the Canyons (COC) is a public community college in Santa Clarita, California. It comprises the Santa Clarita Community College District. The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and has campus loca ...

has a satellite campus in Canyon Country in addition to its main campus in Valencia
Charter College
has a campus in Canyon Country, one of three campuses in California (the others are in

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

and

Oxnard Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...

Services

Canyon Country is served by the

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...

and

Los Angeles County Fire Department The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting and emergency medical services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, California, as well as 59 cities through Contract city, contracting, including the city of ...

. The fire stations serving Canyon Country are 104, 107, 123, 128, 132, and 150.

City of Santa Clarita Transit City of Santa Clarita Transit is a local bus service, administered by the City's transit division, that serves the City of Santa Clarita, California and nearby surrounding unincorporated areas. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per we ...

operates bus services throughout Canyon Country along routes 5, 6, and 12. Route 12 provides direct connections to Metrolink's

Antelope Valley Line The Antelope Valley Line is a commuter rail line that serves the Northern Los Angeles County area as part of the Metrolink system. The northern segment of the line is rural in character because it travels through the sparsely populated Soleda ...

at Via Princessa station. The Vista Canyon Regional Transit Center will become the central

transit hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports, and ferry slips. ...

Canyon Country Canyon Country is a neighborhood in the eastern part of the city of Santa Clarita, in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It lies along the Santa Clara River between the Sierra Pelona Mountains and the San Gabriel Moun ...

once completed by the end of 2023.

Parks and recreation

Canyon Country is served by the park system of the city of Santa Clarita. Parks in Canyon Country include Canyon Country Park (the largest), North Oaks Park, Discovery Park, Todd Longshore Park, Fair Oaks Park, Oak Spring Canyon Park, and Begonias Lane Park. The city's newest park, Plum Canyon Park, is located in northern Canyon Country on the border with Saugus. The George A. Caravalho Santa Clarita Sports Complex in far western Canyon Country includes a gymnasium with two indoor, full-sized basketball courts, four

pickleball Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two or four players use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played i ...

courts, two

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

courts, two

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

courts, and four

racquetball Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase vel ...

courts. The Sports Complex includes the City of Santa Clarita Activities Center (a.k.a. The Centre) which contains rooms for banquets and meetings. Adjacent to the Sports Complex is the Santa Clarita Aquatic Center, which includes three large swimming pools and several water slides; the Trek Bike Park of Santa Clarita (opened September 2020) covering 7 acres including BMX and mountain biking trails; and the Santa Clarita Skate Park. Many city-sponsored recreational programs are held at the Sports Complex and adjacent facilities. It is located along Centre Pointe Parkway just east of Golden Valley Road.

In popular culture

The house of The Crandall family used in the movie ''

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead ''Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead'' is a 1991 American coming-of-age dark comedy film directed by Stephen Herek, written by Neil Landau and Tara Ison, and starring Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy, Keith Coogan, John Getz, and Josh Ch ...

'' is located in this community. A home here was also featured in the climax of ''

Real Genius ''Real Genius'' is a 1985 American science fiction comedy film directed by Martha Coolidge, written by Neal Israel, Pat Proft, and PJ Torokvei, and starring Val Kilmer and Gabriel Jarret. The film, set on the campus of Pacific Tech, a scie ...

'', but it no longer exists.

References

External links

{{Authority control Neighborhoods in Santa Clarita, California