Wildwood Park

A couple of weeks ago, I packed my bags for a long weekend at Pismo Beach in San Luis Obispo County. I was happy that my sister could join us.

1st Day – Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks

I’ve been wanting to go back here and explore more. It was Hazel’s first time so I was excited for her. We began our hike from the main parking lot off W Avenida De Los Arboles at 9:25 AM.

From Mesa Trail, we took N Tepee Trail toward Tee Pee / Paradise Falls at the 0.4-mile mark. Then, we took the Stagecoach Bluff Trail.

We hiked 0.2 miles to the top of the (little) hill (elevation: 730 ft) and enjoyed the view. We could see the Tepee Trail and the creek straight ahead. That’s where we were going.

If you stay on Stagecoach Bluff Trail and continue on, you will eventually meet Mesa Trail. But, that was not my plan. We retraced back to a junction where Stagecoach Bluff Trail splits. This trail is a triangle shape here so both trails will take you back to N Tepee Trail. We chose the trail we haven’t been on yet. I am so glad we did because it was so pretty with wildflowers next 0.25 miles.

We met up with N Tepee Trail and hiked down towards Tee Pee. As I promised in my previous post, here is a picture of a close-up Tee Pee. It’s huge! One of the things I really like about this park is, it has many places you can relax and enjoy yourself. And the best part is, in my opinion, these areas are spread out all over the park. Note: there is a water fountain here if you need to fill up your bottle.

While listening to the waterfalls, we continued on Tepee Trail towards Paradise Falls. When we came to a path to the waterfalls after 0.13 miles, we ignored the sign and stayed on Tepee Tr. We could see the top of the Paradise Falls from the trail. The picture below was taken with a telephoto lens.

At the 1.6-mile mark, we met up with Wildwood Canyon Trail and turned left. It led us to a spacious picnic area with a water fountain and a restroom. There were many picnic tables in the shade. Check out that cool BBQ grill!

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After passing the picnic area, there was a little bridge so you can cross over the creek. At the 2-mile mark, we reached Paradise Falls. Since it was a weekday, we had the waterfalls all to ourselves. In fact, we were alone pretty much the entire time we explored the park. Aren’t the rocks behind the waterfalls beautiful?

Whenever you are ready to continue, go up and take Wildwood Canyon Trail again. This is the trail above the waterfalls with a fence to keep you safe. It leads you to a small picnic area next to the creek. It’s secluded and inviting. So we played there a little bit and worked on Xena’s fear of water. She is getting better. Yay!!

Once we were on Wildwood Canyon Trail again, we followed the sign for Indian Cave and at the 2.5-mile mark, we took a single track to the cave. I’d like to check out Meadows Cave next time.

From Wildwood Canyon Trail, we took Moonridge Trail to go back to the trailhead. All of sudden, now we were in a land of cacti. Every trail on this hike had a different personality and kept us interested. Even though the loop we made was only 3.5 miles, it was full of outdoor fun! Our road trip started on a fabulous note!

Good to Know:

• Hike Date:  4.14.16
• Trailhead:  928 W. Avenida de los Arboles, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
• Distance and type:  3.5 miles RT, Loop
• Elevation Gain:  485 ft
• Kid-friendly
• Restroom at the BBQ area
• Xena’s wearing a Ruffwear Swamp Cooler cooling vest.

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Happy Hiking!