Santa Clara River Valley

The Santa Clara River Valley runs from east to west through Ventura County and northwest Los Angeles County, and is named for the Santa Clara River. The Santa Clara Valley is bordered by Los Padres National Forest to the north and the Santa Susana Mountains to the south. The communities of Piru and Fillmore are located in the valley near the river. Santa Clarita and the Santa Clarita Valley are to the east. The river originates north of the Santa Clarita Valley, flows through the Santa Clara River Valley, across the Oxnard Plain, and then-to-the Santa Barbara Channel area of the Pacific Ocean. The Tataviam People and their neighbors, the Chumash People, made their homes in the Santa Clara River Valley for thousands of years before the area was claimed by Spain and later by Mexico.

 

Santa Clara River Trail

The Santa Clara River Trail is an eight mile paved walking and bicycle path in Santa Clarita that follows the Santa Clara River and Soledad Canyon Road through the communities of Valencia, Saugus, and Canyon Country.

 

Rancho Camulos

Rancho Camulos Museum

Rancho Camulos, established in 1853; now Known as Rancho Camulos Museum, is a ranch located in the Santa Clara River Valley approximately 2.2 miles east of Piru, California. The 1,800 acre ranch is designated a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark. It was once part of the original rancho of 48,612 acres established in 1839. The western area of the original rancho was once the Tataviam Indian Village of Kamulus. Rancho Camulos is open for docent conducted tours most Saturdays.

 

Bouquet Canyon

Bouquet Dam - Resovoir

Bouquet Canyon is a small unincorporated community in the Santa Clarita Valley region of northern Los Angeles County. The community of Bouquet is located in the Bouquet Canyon which is one of several canyons in the Santa Clarita Valley. The Bouquet Creek, which flows through the canyon, is one of several creeks that feed into the Santa Clara River which flows west through Ventura County, across the Oxnard Plain into the Santa Barbara Channel and Pacific Ocean. The Bouquet Reservoir was formed by the construction of the Bouquet Dam along the creek. The creek originates in the Sierra Pelona Mountains close to Leona Valley.

 

Santa Clara River Watershed Conservancy

The Santa Clara River Watershed Conservancy (SCRWC), formed in 2009, is a nonprofit conservation organization governed by a board.of directors and assisted by many volunteers and financial donors. Its purpose is to protect the watershed areas of the Santa Clara River in both Ventura County and Los Angeles County.

 

Piru Creek

Piru Creek, which originates from springs on the north side of Pine Mountain Ridge in the Santa Ynez Mountains, is a 71 mile long natural stream in eastern Ventura County and northern Los Angeles County. It drains an area of nearly 500 square miles and is the largest tributary of the Santa Clara River, providing more than half of its flow. Piru Creek flows through the Los Padres National Forest into Lake Piru.

 

Lake Piru

Lake Piru is a man-made lake located in the Los Padres National Forest in Ventura County not far from the community of Piru. The lake was formed in 1955 by the construction of the Santa Felicia Dam on Piru Creek which is over 70 miles long. Piru Creek is a major tributary of the Santa Clara River that drains nearly 500 square miles and provides over half of its flow.

 

San Francisquito Creek

San Francisquito Canyon

The San Francisquito Creek is a tributary of the Santa Clara River. The stream is located in the San Francisquito Canyon which is in the northern part of Los Angeles County. The tributary was originally called the Arroyo San Francisquito. The failed St. Francis Dam was built on the San Francisquito creek in San Francisquito Canyon In 1926. The dam failed in 1928 sending a flood of water into the Santa Clara River Valley. The San Francisquito Pass is a mountain pass in the Sierra Pelona Mountains that starts at the head of San Francisquito Canyon and then heads north to Elizabeth Lake in the Leona Valley.