Bowers Cave, also known as Cave of the San Martins, is a little-known cave that sits high near the…read moretop of a steep mountain at the northeastern border of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill located in Castaic. It has been described as the most significant archaeological site on the North American continent. In 1884 two brothers, McCoy and Everette Pyle, discovered a "treasure trove" of Native American artifacts that had been hidden away by Tataviam Indians hundreds of years earlier. Shortly after the discovery the items were sold to Stephen Bowers who later resold most of the collection to the Peabody Museum at Harvard where it is still kept today. Why the cave is named after the person who purchased the artifacts and not the people who discovered them is beyond me. Nevertheless, it is still an interesting piece of history in the most unexpected place. The location can be seen from a distance from inside the landfill. I would never advise visiting the site without permission, but if you did, I would hike from a northern approach, preferably on a Sunday. Make your way towards the large water tanks and you will eventually spot a path that will take you to the backside of the mountain. The climb to the cave looked way too steep for me so I chose to appreciate it from a distance. I am really curious whether or not the sandstone carvings seen in historic photographs are still present. You can read a lot more about the cave on SCVTV's web site and there is also a very odd 20 minute documentary that you can find online.

Thank you for the information. My great-grandfather was McCoy Pyle, so it was interesting to find…read moreout why he didn't get credit for the collection at Harvard. I didn't realize the artifacts were sold first!

** Dog friendly My Betty would have had fun here…read more Please bring water, a bowl and poop bags for your pup Please pick up after yourselves First off no cell service for me anyway, I have Spectrum. Large empty parking lot available at 10am on a Thursday. Note: posted no off road parking. I didn't have any cash on me and parking meter was not working, so unfortunately I had to turn right around and leave. Payment is $5 in an envelope that you put into the "iron ranger". I wouldn't make a special trip out there but if I am ever nearby again I'd probably check this out. Note: my cell was "off line" until 2.4 miles away on Pico Canyon Rd from Mentryville parking lot.

Mentryville was a pretty cool experience. We got to visit it through Parapod's haunted tour. Has…read moresome history and people claim it is haunted. The pictures I posted pretty much describe it. It was fun to travel back in time for a bit and imagine how life was back in the day.

In January 2003, John Quigley spent 71 days sitting in the branches of Old Glory protesting a…read moredeveloper's plans to remove the tree and make way for a road. John Laing Homes was attempting to cut down this 400 year old tree in order to widen Pico Canyon Road from two lanes to four. Quigley's efforts gained national attention and resulted in the developer eventually agreeing to move the oak a quarter-mile to the east, where it now sits in the center of Pico Canyon Park.

I stopped to visit the Old Glory oak tree on my way back from the California Poppy Preserve in…read moreAntelope Valley and the detour only cost 10 minutes of my time. The Old Glory became famous in 2002 when the renowned environmentalist John Quigley spent 71 days on top of the tree to protest the plans to have it removed in order to widen Pico Canyon Road from two lanes to four. This brought Old Glory- and Quigley- to international fame. The tree was eventually moved to its current location in the center of Pico Canyon Park, a quarter-mile to the east, at the exorbitant cost of $250,000 (which made the Guinness Book of World Records in 2007 for Largest Tree Moving ). Unfortunately, there is no signage to tell the story of this tree and unless you know the story, nobody would know that this tree is considered a symbol of the battle between environmentalists and developers. It was a nice 2-minutes stop, but not worth going out of your way to visit unless you are already in the area.

First time visiting Peter Strauss Ranch. The trails had lots of weeds, under brush. We didn't…read morecomplete the trail, lots of holes on the ground, harder to walk on. Will visit again in the cooler days and when the weeds are cleared... and then update this review. Heard from a local there are free summer concerts every other Sunday. We saw some critters.. lots of lizards, a cotton tail bunny and a ribbon snake. There's lots of place to picnic. But our fave is eating at the Old Place.

First time visiting this place. Was able to find parking and go on a decent hike that is perfect…read morefor beginners. In certain areas it was muddy. It was a bit windy. Would definitely recommend this place if you want to go on a hike that isn't intense.

The world loves a dreamer. And dreamers come in all different forms. Grandma Prisbrey began living…read moreher dream at age 60, on her third marriage, by using found materials from a local landfill and creating her own art environment called Bottle Village. Grandma P lived on the property after a colorful life; she had 7 children with her husband who was 37 years older than her and reportedly worked as a singer in a bar at one point. She may have been something of a hoarder (she build one building just to store her pencil collection) and used her collections as raw materials for the art and buildings on her property including the Pencil House and the Round House. A group of us attended a private tour (suggested donation $15 per person) led by our fantastic tour guide, Debbie. She provided us with fascinating local history of Bottle Village including how a developer almost tricked Grandma P out of the property (he committed suicide three months later, guilty conscience?) and how some local politicians blocked FEMA funds from helping Bottle Village rebuild after the Northridge earthquake. Luckily, a nonprofit was organized to support and maintain this unique work of art. We learned that Bottle Village has appeared in a number of architecture and history books. It is truly a unique art expression on so many levels, not the least of which is the age and gender of the artist. Please contact the nonprofit at the internet link below if you would like to schedule a tour. Highly recommended. http://www.bottlevillage.com/

I live in this area. Went to see it, I thought what the heck. I was not impressed. It looks like…read morea bunch of garbage thrown together and I definitely would not pay to get in. Its chain length fenced off right now. I can see why it didnt get any fema funds. Coming from a trained professional artist all I can say is, everything is NOT art. And this is one of them.

I've been eying these giant rocks for awhile after spotting them on a map; They're also a filming…read morelocation, although I'd never heard of them, but they are pretty damn cool. This stretch of the PCT was nice and had great vistas and you can scramble and play just about anywhere, although I didn't get to see it all because I was losing the sun faster than I expected, but I'll get back out there for certain. Once you reach the first rock, you'll need to take a side trail off the fire road that will lead you directly up to the rock and then follow the base around until a small crevice and climb your way up. Once you get on top you'll realize that you can't get to the others without climbing back down this rock and going either on a downhill adventure or back to the road and then all the way around to the base of the other rocks There are a couple branches off the fire road and trail that you will need to take, so I suggest you download the all trails app and follow those GPS Tracks PARKING: There is a big KOA sign welcome in PCT hikers right off the main road; park here and take the trail down. I pulled into the KOA to ask directions and the girl that worked there told me to go down to the back and that I could park there, but when I got back to my truck the manager (with her undeserved power trip) Had parked their big Duley in front of me and proceeded to berate me about parking there despite me telling her that her own staff told me where to park. So, do yourself a favor and don't even enter the KOA. Park on the road.

To view this impressive rock formation up close you will either have to hike from the west,…read morestarting at the corner of Agua Dulce Canyon Rd and Briggs Edison Rd, or from the south via the Pacific Crest Trail located off of Soledad Canyon Rd (opposite Indian Canyon). From the west it's a an 8-mile round trip hike. You'll start by passing through a locked iron gate with a sign that warns that you are entering a private road. Private land maps clearly show that the road runs through land owned by either Southern California Edison, Santa Clarita Watershed Recreation and Conservation Authority or Bureau of Land Management. The path of the road roughly follows power lines so it's pretty hard to get lost. Unfortunately, the rock formation and 100 acres of land surrounding it is located on private property so you won't be able to venture between the rocks or explore its caves. Never-the-less, it's still a fun hike and you can still appreciate the majestic pinnacles from a close enough distance.

Camped there as a child with my family over 50 years ago we called it Echo Tunnel. At that time it…read morejust had a chain link fence in front of it and a nice creek running from it. Sometimes there would be a hole cut in the chain link fence and we could go in but me and my brothers were never brave enough to go in very far. That's probably why they buried it. Good time for sure

This is the site of the south portal entrance of the Elizabeth Tunnel. Even though the entrance has…read morebeen filled-in with dirt and barely recognizable, you can still stand in it's presence and appreciate it's history. If you do a little searching you can even locate remnants of some the structures that were located nearby. It took four years and seven months to complete in 1911. The tunnel was an important part of the LA Aqueduct and an engineering feat in it's day. The northern and southern crews battled it out to see who could be the first to reach the middle. They finally met 250 ft below Lake Elizabeth through an 1 1/2 inch hole. The two tunnels were remarkably accurate, meeting at about the same level and almost perfectly aligned. The south portal crew also set an American record for hardrock distance tunneled in a single month. To get to the site from Santa Clarita, take San Francisquito Canyon Rd north to the Forest Service Rd and take a left. If you've reached Green Valley then you've gone too far. Take it north for 1.6 miles. I recommend ditching the car and hiking at least part of the way there.

The good: This place is one of a kind! I am so happy I…read morefinally got around to visiting this place. Parking is free! The whale museum is free! Tours of the lighthouse are free! The picnic tables areas are plentiful and there's lots of grass for picnics blankets. The views are great. It's a great spot for whale watching. I noticed people coming here and bringing their camping chairs just to read. It's relaxing and you get to enjoy the sea breeze and beautiful sunset. I also noticed youngsters coming to record an acoustic guitar music video. I imagine people come here to paint as well. The bad: I've lived around here for almost 3 years now and haven't been here until now. The interesting: They do tours of the actual lighthouse area a few times a month and it's completely free and doesn't require a reservation.

The lighthouse is tall and picturesque sitting regally on a cliff. It's a must to stop and take…read moresome photos if driving down the coast of PV. The lighthouse has really restrictive hours, only open the second Saturday every month from 10-3 so you have to plan for this if you wanted to go inside. I went years ago and remember it being kind of a clusterfuck with a lot of people and disorganized system on entering. But the good part was you could go inside all the way to the top. Just the picture from the outside would suffice for most people. The Point Vicente Interpretation Center is nearby as well as some cliff trails to explore.

So I'm just doing a little park hopping today since I had a long drive home and I'm always in the…read morelookout for good parks to come to with my dog. This park showed along my route so I quickly turned in and I did not know what to expect arriving to the Oakridge Estate park but when I pulled in I was excited because it looks like a very well paved trail. I walked along the dirt path a little ways and came across a cute little kids play area with a small tractor and horses to play on. There are some really nice wood benches shaped like tree trunks and from afar I could see the "ampitheatre" that someone had mentioned. I didn't get to stay very long to explore more because parks and recreations arrived to lock up the park so I had to go, I asked them how long is the trail but they didn't know so i did a quick Google search and it says it's a short leisurely walk but that they do offer 75 minute docent led walking tours of the estate. This is a VERY beautiful well maintained area that I definitely plan to come back and explore more when it's earlier! They are open from sunrise to sunset.

The park itself gets five stars. It's lovely. Parking is decent and the trail is perfect for my…read moreelderly parents. There's also a cute amphitheater and plenty of seating for outdoor activities. I hope Recs and Parks starts hosting events. It'd be a great location for music and movies. Zero stars for the estate tour. The majority of the house is still being restored and I did not feel safe walking around. A lot of the information given cannot be verified and the guides are primarily just reading a script. Our guide was also very insistent about squeezing our large group into small spaces and only watching him instead of letting us look around.

I have to say that the history of Rancho San Francisco is definitely a lot more interesting than…read morethe location of this historical landmark. The history of Rancho San Francisco tells the history of the City of Santa Clarita. Most of the information listed below was obtained from various Wikapedia pages. Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana, established in 1797, was the 17th of 21 Spanish missions established in Alta California, the land controlled by Spain and later Mexico before it became a territory of the United States. The mission needed more land for crops and livestock so they looked north to the Santa Clarita Valley. They created a "mission ranch" (or as the plaque states, a "granary" which is a place to store grain). They names the mission ranch Mission Rancho San Francisco. In the process they had to relocate the Tataviam Indians who were living on the lands at the time. They moved them to the mission and used them for labor. The missions were later taken over by the Mexican government. In 1839, Lt Del Valle was the person in charge of inventorying the property of Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana. Instead of returning the land back to the Tataviam Indians, the then Mexican Governor, Juan B. Alvarado, deeded it to his friend Del Valle. Del Valle later died and his son, Ygnacio, took control over the land. Del Valle's wife, Jacoba Feliz, had an uncle named Francisco Lopez. He was the first person to find gold in California at the Oak of the Golden Dream, located in Placerita Canyon. This started a mini gold rush with the much larger California Gold Rush taking place several years later. Jacoba later sued for control of Rancho San Francisco. The land later was split between the Del Valle's son and his wife. The land was later sold to a petroleum company and then to Henry Newhall. Henry Newhall granted the land to Southern Pacific Railroad and which led to the town of Newhall and later Saugus. The plaque inscription reads: NO. 556 RANCHO SAN FRANCISCO - Approximately one-half mile south of the point was the adobe headquarters of Rancho San Francisco, originally built about 1804 as a granary of Mission San Fernando. The rancho was granted to Antonio de Valle in 1839. Here, in January 1850, William Lewis Manly and John Rogers obtained supplies and animals to rescue their comrades in a California-bound gold-seeking emigrant party that was stranded and starving in Death Valley, some 250 miles to the northeast. Location: SW corner of 'The Old Road' and Henry Mayo Drive, 0.2 mi S of I-5 and State Hwy 126 interchange, Valencia