LA’s Open Space Parks

Scott Regberg
Mirror contributing writer

   The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy recently released a new Parkland and Open Space Map, which is an excellent guide to the local park areas. You can get a free copy by calling (310) 589-3200, or visiting www.smmc.ca.gov.
   The Conservancy’s mission is to acquire strategic pieces of land to create an interlinking network of parks and open spaces in Southern California that is easily accessible to the general public. When you look at the map, with the parklands in contrasting green, it is startling how many different park areas there are, many of which are greatly unused.
   The Open Space Map isn’t a hiker’s guide. With the exception of the 65-mile long Backbone Trail, which amazingly gerrymanders from Will Rogers north to Point Mugu, there are no specific trails noted, just blocks of green. But only from a map’s aerial view can you appreciate the juxtapositions in the park system —- that Topanga, for example, connects to Malibu Creek via the Cold Creek Preserve — and its myriad jigsaw like patterns.
   There are also a variety of interesting sounding parks, like Satwiwa Park, Ladyface Mountain, or Castro Canyon. I’m tempted to go explore them just for the intrigue of their names.
   On a local basis, there are the Sheila Agnes Nature Preserve, Deervale Park and Fossil Ridge Park, all of which are, according to the map, near Mulholland and Beverly Glen. If I’ve ever been in any of them, I didn’t know their proper names, or somehow I may have missed them altogether. Even the Getty Museum has a small green patch on the map called Getty Open Space — which I’d like to know more about, such as whether it’s accessible and hikable.
   In the coming weeks, our regular hikers will try to sample a few of these sites and report their appeal as hiking destinations. Readers are welcome to give me a call with insights or recommendations.
   Fearless readers who are interested in free Monday and Wednesday night hikes should contact Scott Regberg at (310) 475-5735.