By Wildwood Park is in Ventura County. I loved this place so much, I went twice this month! Since I extended the route for our second hike, I decided to write two separate posts. This is a 3-mile loop hike that includes a tepee and waterfalls. We arrived at the parking lot just a little after 7 AM. The sun was still rising and the morning sunlight made everything look soft and warm like a baby blanket.
Right away, I knew I was going to like this park. It was beautiful. The park was huge and open and there were signs showed that it was well-maintained. And Arizona-like rock formation surrounding the park on the right was impressive, to say the least.
The hike starts on Mesa Trail.
At 0.4 miles, turn left on to N Tepee Trail toward Tee Pee / Paradise Falls.
Tee Pee would be a good place for a break if you need one. There is a lot of seating spaces inside. I will share a photo of the inside in Part II.
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From Tee Pee, I could hear the waterfalls. We followed the sign for Paradise Falls. After going down on Tepee Trail for 0.13 miles, there was a little sign for the falls. Turn left and follow that path. There were two picnic tables near the falls. How lovely!
Whenever you are ready to continue, go back up and take Wildwood Canyon Trail. This is the trail above the falls with a fence to keep you safe. It leads you to another picnic area next to the creek at 1.38 miles. This is where I found a green heart-shaped rock. If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you know I have a thing for heart-shaped rocks. I was thrilled to find this one! It always feels like nature is sending me love. And the feeling is mutual.
At 1.5 miles, we took Lynnmere Trail, just to see where it takes us. We had to cross the creek via a wooden bridge. Shortly after, we came out to a meadow and there was a use trail on the left. I could hear the water flowing. We took the use trail and found this place. Clear shallow water was inviting us to play fetch. So we did. I worked with Xena on her fear of water and we made huge progress that day.
When we had our fill, we backtracked to Wildwood Canyon Trail then followed the sign for Indian Cave. We didn’t explore the Indian Cave that day because it started to get too warm. Instead, we stayed on the fire road until we met up with Mesa Trail again. From here, the trailhead is only 0.25 miles away.
Good to Know:
- Hike Date: 4.2.16
- Trailhead: 928 W. Avenida de los Arboles, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
- Distance: 3 miles RT, loop
- Elevation Gain: 354 ft
- Notable: Kid-friendly, no restroom
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Happy Hiking!
Hiking Girl with Dog 
Sounds like quite the adventure, and such beautiful photos 🙂 I love the heartshaped rock, thats so sweet.
Thank you so much! Isn’t it sweet? I love little things like that. So many interesting things in one place. Hard to not have adventures here. 🙂 Thank you for your comment!