RECREATION : Don’t Wander Far : February Is a Great Time of Year to Take a Hike, but After the Rain, Stay on a Beaten Path or Three

The Super Bowl is but a memory, and for that matter so is the Pro Bowl. It’s time to climb out of that easy chair for some fresh air and exercise.

Need a familiar cue to spring into action?

Ready, set . . . hike!

For now, the word hike will hold a different meaning. Think of it as an extremely long post pattern.

A hike through the nearby Santa Monica Mountains is an invigorating escape, especially on one of these gorgeous, sunny days following a rainstorm. Water rushes through creek beds and cascades down waterfalls. Small animals scurry about, and the hills are as green as, well, as green as a patch of artificial turf.

Park rangers advise caution when hiking along the swollen streams, and a few trails are closed because of mudslides. But the rewards of a February hike are great: Several normally parched areas have been transformed by rainwater into lush wonderlands.

“This is a popular time for hikers because the weather is cool and there is lots of water, but there are lots of potential hazards,” said Jean Bray, a spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Mountains recreation area. “Be patient and do not hike until 48 to 72 hours after rain.”

Hiking immediately after rainfall causes trails to erode. “Stay on trails, don’t create new pathways,” Bray said. “They contribute to erosion.”

Rockslides and mudslides pose dangers--and opportunities. Rocks are washed clean and often are dislodged, revealing gemstones, Indian artifacts and even fossils. Admire them, but leave them alone.

“Do not take anything out of the park,” Bray said.

The Santa Monica Mountains offer a variety of hikes along streams and creek beds. Your route can be short and safe, it can be a crossing pattern through the mountains, or you can go deep, taking a strenuous journey that will have you huffing and puffing upon your return.

Many of the hikes can be taken by children and senior citizens in addition to those beer-swilling, football-watching pals.

Three hikes for starters:

REAGAN RANCH TRAIL

“Planet of the Apes” was filmed here. The movie sets are gone, but a long row of majestic, shady oak trees lining the first mile of the trail leading from the Malibu Creek State Park are not.

To reach Reagan Ranch Trail, drive west on the Ventura freeway (101) and take Las Virgenes Road south. Enter Malibu Creek State Park, one-quarter mile south of Mulholland Highway. A fee of $5 is required for parking. Go west and park in the second parking lot. The trail begins there.

On a recent morning, nearly a foot of water is rushing over a concrete creek bed crossing early in the hike. Removing your shoes and socks and splashing across is annoying on the way out, but restorative upon your return from the seven-mile loop--a nice way to cool and wash your aching dogs.

Another half-mile takes you to a mild switchback up a hill, offering a panoramic view of Las Virgenes Valley. The trail leads to man-made Century Lake, where several fisherman are having no luck.

A Boy Scout troop from West Hills is building steps from the trail down to the lake. The dirt is moist, having been covered with rushing rainwater only a week earlier, and the scouts are pounding in steel reinforcing bars and setting wood planks without much trouble.

And what do you know, a football player is found.

“This is a service project for one of our troop members to become an Eagle Scout,” said Robert Kranz, a lineman at Calabasas High. “Two park rangers have helped us but we’ve been out here all day.”

The scouts know better than to swim in the lake because the rapid rain runoff has carried poison oak with it, contaminating the water. They also know that drinking any water in the Santa Monica Mountains is unsafe because of the presence of bacteria that can cause stomach disorders.

From Century Lake, veer northwest toward Mulholland Highway and hike to the grassy meadows of Reagan Ranch, once owned by the former President. Along the way, you pass the site of the old M*A*S*H set.

Ronald Reagan owned the ranch from the 1950s to 1966, when he sold it to a movie company after being elected governor of California. Today only a barn stands and it is used for offices by state park employees. An oak grove set among the grasslands was used by Reagan as a barbecue area; now it is a nice place for a nap.

On the way back, a stop at the visitors’ center is a must. Staring menacingly from behind glass partitions are a stuffed coyote, a bobcat, a mountain lion and two horned owls. Kids can pet another stuffed coyote, feel the texture of rattlesnake skin and examine Indian artifacts.

The last stop is a quarter-mile detour on the Gorge Trail, leading past 450-foot volcanic rock cliffs to a boulder-strewn pool. Rock climbers rappelling up the cliffs are out in force, including students from a Pepperdine climbing class.

LA JOLLA VALLEY LOOP TRAIL

The turf meets the surf at this trail that begins at the Pacific Coast Highway south of Pt. Mugu Naval Air Station. It takes hikers past waterfalls and shell fossils to a spectacular V-shaped view of the Pacific Ocean before dropping into a serene valley covered in native grasslands.

Driving from Malibu, take Pacific Coast Highway west for 21 miles to the La Jolla Canyon parking lot, which is on the right, one-quarter mile east of Mugu Peak. Walk north from the parking lot to the trail head.

La Jolla Canyon, set in the heart of Pt. Mugu State Park, is less crowded than Malibu Creek State Park; two solitary hikers and a Sierra Club group of about 20 are the only people seen along a 10-mile trail.

“We take conditioning hikes a couple times a week,” said Ken Klementis, a Sierra Club member. He also serves on the Santa Monica Mountains task force, which organizes hikes and keeps abreast of political issues affecting the Santa Monica Mountains.

The hike begins with a short walk to a series of three waterfalls. Now is the time to see them; during the summer they are reduced to a trickle. Rock-hopping across the stream under a waterfall in the days after rainfall is an experience to be savored this close to home.

A switchback quickly ascends hikers 250 feet to a ridge above the stream. This is where young children must be careful: A misstep could cause a long tumble through thick brush.

Indented in rocks on the hillside are a series of shell fossils in clear view.

Farther along is a stark reminder of the damage from the 1993 fires. The bark of large oaks is as evenly charred as a Cajun steak, and laural sumac eerily point skyward in black and silvery hues, a jarring contrast to the lush foliage on all sides.

The only wildlife seen on the trail are a small king snake, a gopher snake and numerous alligator lizards.

Walking around a bend, the La Jolla Valley is unveiled in its subtle splendor. Somebody might see the wide, grass-covered plains as the perfect location for a mall or a retirement village. Another might find it ideal for leaving it exactly the way it is for eternity.

Beyond a small pond are a dozen campsites for pitching tents. There is running water and a portable toilet.

Hikers have a choice of looping back through the valley to the stream or taking the more-strenuous route of climbing the Ray Miller Trailhead for a breathtaking view of the Channel Islands to the northwest and Catalina Island to the South.

STUNT HIGH TRAIL

Trusting souls must frequent this trail, which begins from Stunt High Road less than a mile south of Mulholland Highway near Calabasas.

Driving west on Ventura freeway (101), take Las Virgenes Road south. Go east on Mulholland Highway to Stunt Road. Go south on Stunt Road one mile to a parking area on the right. The trail intersects Stunt Road at three locations.

Dangling from a rusty nail from the wooden sign announcing the trail head are a set of car keys. There is only one car in the small lot.

Fire took a major toll on this area, and the charred foliage leading to Cold Creek creates a darkening effect because less light is reflected.

Although the variety of plants on this trail are unsurpassed in the Santa Monica Mountains, the fire took a heavy toll. A sign at the beginning of the trail warns hikers to stay away from the creek bed because the arroyo toad population is struggling to survive.

“There might be some truth to the toad problem but I think the real reason they want people out of there is to protect Indian artifacts that might be visible after the fires and rainstorms,” said Klementis, the Sierra Club official.

The four-mile hike gains about 1,000 feet and intersects Stunt Road three times.

The trail begins along Cold Creek before heading across the dilapidated buildings of the old Stunt Ranch and into a chaparral forest.

After crossing Stunt Road, another forest of charred chaparral is hiked through. Poison oak is also prevalent here.

Sandstone formations are visible through the scrub oak and redshank, including one that looks like a seal.

At the top of the trail, the view is tremendous. Huge sheets of sandstone on Calabasas Peak are to the north and the Topanga watershed is to the east.

A way to shorten the hike is to take two cars, park one at the second or third crossing of Stunt Road, and shuttle back to the beginning of the trail.