Castaic Creek

View of Castaic Lake from the Trailhead

Had a couple hours to kill this morning so I headed out to Castaic Creek. I have been wanting for some time to explore Cienega Canyon. While I did not get to go near as far as I would have liked to (Due to my hiking buddy being chased out by angry bees), too his credit he is allergic to them so I forgave him and the extremely hot temperatures we have been experiencing lately did not help. I did at least get a chance to a scope out the general terrain and now I have a good Idea of the areas I will be focusing on next time I head out there. For the 2 miles I got in there was no water, which is to be expected this time of year. My agenda was mainly to find certain waterfalls that I would go back and visit during the spring. A bonus would be to find any evidence of ancient Indian activity in the area. It's said these hills were once inhabited by the Allikliks a branch of the Shoshonean tribe. There is also a  lot of lore surrounding this place that includes talk of Indian burial grounds, gold mines, spanish gold, and even ghosts. What more could you want. Castaic Creek drains southerly down Cienega Canyon from Liebre mountain along the Sierra Pelona Ridge into lake Castaic. Located right next door is the even more popular Fish Canyon. After the rains this creek flows the better part of the year and has some nice spots for wading and relaxing creekside.

Park Here along the road

To get to the trailhead Exit the 5 Freeway at Templin Hwy and head East or turn right if your travelling North from Santa Clarita. Follow the road until it dead ends at the gate shown in the picture above. PARK HERE. Make sure you display your adventure pass in the car window. If you do not have one you can purchase one at Big 5. Walk through the gate and head downhill on the old Paved road. Shortly you will cross a footbridge. Immediately after crossing the bridge turn left this is your trail up Cienega Canyon.

Turn left after crossing the bridge

The trail is not spectacular but it is followable. A map and compass or GPS is recommended as the trail vanishes at times, especially after creek crossing. It would be very hard to get lost as your heading up a narrow canyon however it does help knowing what side of the creek the trail should be on. There is definitely going to be a degree of bushwhacking and route finding. I found it much easier to at times just head straight up the middle of the creek bed. 

Although the trip was cut short it was still nice to get out. On the plus side I was able to find one of the waterfalls that I came too see. 

A look down the falls

My Next trip out here will warrant further investigation deeper in the canyon. with possible even a stop at the the now old abandoned Knapp Ranch. This ranch is steeped in history, and the previous owner Frank Knapp was one heck of an interesting character. The signal wrote a very descriptive article in 1983 about it's history that you can read HERE. I have also included its location on the map below.

GPX File Download (GPS Units)

KMZ File Download (Google Earth)