El Escorpión Park is a three-acre (12,000 m²) park located in the

Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Ventura County, California, Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, of Southern California, United States. The range runs ma ...

of the western

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

, in the West Hills district of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The park contains the geographic landmark known as Escorpión Peak or Castle Peak (''kas'ele'ew'' picacho), a 1,475-foot-tall (450 m) rocky peak seen from most parts of the park and the surrounding community.

Access

The El Escorpión Park entrance and parking is at the western end of Vanowen Street, west of Valley Circle Boulevard, in West Hills. The park is open from sunrise to sunset, 7 days a week. The trails are available for walking,

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

and equestrian use. Dogs are allowed on a leash.

Rattlesnake Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genus, genera ''Crotalus'' and ''Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting sm ...

s live in the area, requiring observant footfalls and handholds. Unauthorized motor vehicles and motorbikes are not permitted.
El Escorpión Park El Escorpión Park is managed by the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Department of Recreation and Parks.

Hiking

The peak

Climbing the rough south side trail to the summit of Castle Peak is not for beginners and is considered challenging. This hike is not recommended for children. The final climb to the top of the peak requires climbing over boulders and other rocks, and missteps or slips can result in a fall. Intermediate and advanced hikers will enjoy the vertical challenge, around 561 feet (171 m) of gain in a very short distance. The beginning of the trail in Moores Canyon is easily seen at the base of the peak. Around 3/4 of the way up the trail becomes more difficult to see, the easiest route veers to the left (west).

Other trails

*At the summit, along the western ridge line, there is a trail west to a small meadow. At the meadow's southern cliff edge: overlooking Moores Canyon, lower El Escorpión Park, and the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve; a panoramic view of the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses this mountain range. Because of its p ...

Santa Susana Mountains The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in Southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west, separating the San Fernando and Simi valleys on its south from the Santa ...

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 ...

, and the

. A trail leads northward toward Bell Creek, the community of Bell Canyon, and

Bell Canyon Park Bell Canyon Park is a large Open space reserve, open-space regional park located in the Simi Hills at the western end of the San Fernando Valley in West Hills, Los Angeles, California, West Hills, Los Angeles and Bell Canyon, California, Bell Canyo ...

. *The 1769 the

Juan Bautista de Anza Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was a Novohispanic/Mexican expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as on ...

expedition, the first European exploration by land of

Las Californias The Californias (), occasionally known as the Three Californias or the Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican states of Baja California an ...

, passed by the area. The U.S. National Park service's

Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail is a trail extending from Nogales on the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, through the California desert and coastal areas in Southern California and the Central Coast region to San Francisco.

goes through Moores Canyon in the Park, from the Vanowen Street end and continuing west through the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve. *An informal small circular

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

area with easy jumps is located in upper Moores Canyon near the cyclone fence by the El Escorpión Park and Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Preserve boundary. Several trails goes northwest from this area, around the western side of the Peak, to connect with the trail down Bell Canyon along Bell Creek to Bell Creek Park, and even on to the Victory Trailhead for full loop. *There are many other trails available for exploration in the area They are shown on the Victory Boulevard's trailhead map display. Los Angeles City's

adjoins directly north, with trails along

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

Bell Creek, past the community of Bell Canyon, and to the longer northern route up Castle Peak. The expansive 3,000-acre (12 km²) Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve adjoins along the southwest of El Escorpión Park with miles of trails and even further links west to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Cheseboro/Palo Comado Canyon Park's trails.

History

Castle Peak is the corrupted American form of the Ventureño Chumash name for the peak, which was ''Kas'ele'ew'' (also, ''Kas'elew'') in the Chumash language, The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans of the Tongva-Fernandeño and Chumash-Ventureño tribes that lived in the Simi Hills and close to tributaries of the

Los Angeles River The Los Angeles River (), historically known as by the Tongva and the by the Spanish, is a major river in Los Angeles County, California. Its headwaters are in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and it flows nearly from Canoga Park ...

. A village, Hu'wam (Ventureño Chumash placename), was located at the base of Castle Peak along present Bell Creek near the mouth of Bell Canyon. It was a meeting and trading point for them with the Tongva-Fernandeño and Tataviam-Fernandeño people." Ahmanson Ranch Becomes Private Preserve,
Wishtoyo Foundationw website
Accessed 10/23/2007

Adjacent parks

* Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve

References

External links

El Escorpión Park at recreationparks.net

L.A.Rec+Parks: official Bell Canyon Park website
* https://web.archive.org/web/20110615053342/http://wiki.revecess.com/index.php?id=1109150186&mode=view Revecess_WIKI-Homepage: click 'Alphabetically'; 'C'; then 'Castle Peak' for trails guide
official Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Park website

---- {{DEFAULTSORT:El Escorpion Park Parks in the San Fernando Valley Simi Hills Parks in Los Angeles West Hills, Los Angeles Regional parks in California History of the San Fernando Valley Parks in Los Angeles County, California fr:Parc d'État d'El Escorpion