Public Has a Clear Path at Ahmanson Ranch

Starting today, the public will get to do what environmental activists urged would-be developers of Ahmanson Ranch to do for years: Take a hike.

The sprawling ranch on the border of Ventura and Los Angeles counties was recently acquired by the state and is now open to hikers, bikers and equestrians.

In another boon for outdoors enthusiasts, three miles of trails on the Ventura River Preserve near Ojai are being opened Wednesday. The 1,591-acre preserve was twice slated for golf course developments since the late-1980s.

At Ahmanson, people have been ignoring no-trespassing signs and hopping fences onto the 2,900-acre ranch for a long time. But as of today, the new custodian of the ranch, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, is officially welcoming all comers to the 15 miles of trails and rutted dirt roads that lace great swaths of rolling grasslands and oak-studded hills.

After more than a decade of high drama triggered by the prospective $2-billion development of the ranch, the opening is expected to be as quiet as the tread of the mountain lions that roam the vast area.

There will be no ceremony today. Signs will go up warning people away from spots that harbor rare species like the California red-legged frog and the San Fernando Valley spineflower. Within a few months, there are to be additional parking areas and opportunities for volunteers to do things like hack away nonnative plants and lead nature tours.

But even with a low-key opening, officials anticipate crowds of eager hikers trooping up and down Ahmanson’s trails.

“There’s so much pent-up curiosity and excitement about the place,” said Rorie Skei, the conservancy’s chief deputy director. “We’ll probably be extremely busy initially.”

Ahmanson was the focus of a bitter development conflict that led to more than a dozen lawsuits, cost developers millions of dollars in planning and lobbying expenses and galvanized environmental activists.

In 1990, Ventura County approved a proposal for a community of 10,000 residents for the property. But this year, pressure groups that included Hollywood notables such as Rob Reiner thwarted the plan for good.

Last month, Washington Mutual, the Seattle-based bank that owned the ranch, accepted $150 million for it from the state, which will maintain it permanently as parkland.

Showing visitors around recently, Skei stopped her four-wheel-drive vehicle on a narrow dirt road that may date from a century ago when ranchers ran herds of cattle and sheep from one grazing area to the next. More recently, the ranch was used as a backdrop for such classic films as “Gone With the Wind” and “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”

“Part of the golf course was going to come right through here,” Skei said, pointing to a surrounding sea of tall, brown grasses punctuated by yellowing walnut trees and massive old oaks. “And some of the homes were going to be right up there.”

At points, hikers can see luxury homes looming over the ranch on adjoining ridges. With the land’s surprise sale, the population anticipated for Ahmanson suddenly declined from thousands to a handful -- a couple of rangers and their families bunking in trailers at the house that was once used as the Ahmanson family’s weekend retreat.

In the future, the place may be fixed up and rented out for weddings and other special events, Skei said.

Streams meander through the ranch -- nine miles of them, mostly dry. When they run, they form the headwaters of Malibu Creek and the Los Angeles River. Cottonwoods and sycamores thrive on their banks and, in a few spots, knee-deep pools spread across the trails.

“It’s incredible that we’re in the midst of a city,” said mountain biker Dave Hasson, 60, a semi-retired garment manufacturer who lives in Westlake Village. “It’s enough to make an old man feel young.”

Hasson was seeking aid for a biking buddy who had broken his ankle riding down a steep trail. On her cell phone, Skei called in a couple of rangers who, a few minutes later, transported the man out of the park.

Inevitably, emergencies will occur more often as more people hit the trails. Skei said the conservancy plans to organize radio-equipped squads on mountain bikes and horseback to help patrol the area.

Skei said park rules will be simple but vigorously enforced: No smoking. No fires. No motorized vehicles. Leashed dogs only.

“We just ask that people treat the land with respect,” she said.

For now, the easiest access to the trails is in Calabasas, at the northern end of Las Virgenes Road. In a few months, plans call for a parking area at the end of Victory Boulevard in Woodland Hills, on the San Fernando Valley side of the ranch.

Across Ventura County in Ojai, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy on Wednesday is expected to officially open its Riverview Trailhead, affording hikers access to three miles of trails that were completed last month. A second trailhead is planned for next year.

The conservancy purchased the 2 1/2-square-mile swath straddling the Ventura River last year.