Welcome to the northernmost section of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Here, in the Simi Hills, the waters that flow in Cheeseboro and Palo Comado Canyons begin their journey to the Pacific. In this large expanse of habitat, deer, bobcats, coyotes and rabbits roam. Stroll to Sulphur Springs or hike to the top of Simi Peak and view the cities you’ve left behind. Walk quietly amid the oaks and grasses or picnic beside a streambed.
The Chumash lived in these canyons for thousands of years. Many trails within the canyons may have originated with the Chumash and then were expanded by the ranchers who followed.
For more than 150 years, ranchers made these canyons their home, bringing about a change in the landscape. Many of the native plants, poorly adapted to heavy grazing, were replaced with European annuals such as wild oats, mustard and thistles. Native plants were not the only things affected. Grizzly bears, once thriving in the canyons, were exterminated by the ranchers
