Day 61: Lynnmere Trail

Day# 61: Lynnmere Trail
Lynnmere Trail
Arroyo Conejo Open Space - Thousand Oaks, CA 
Tuesday, August 25th, 2015
Time:  51 minutes
Pace: 31:40/mile
Distance: 1.64 miles
Elevation Gain: 109 feet
Dogs Ok? Yes

Directions:
From the 101 freeway in Thousand Oaks:
Take the Lynn Road exit and head north on Lynn Road for 1.3 miles
Turn left onto Camino Manzanas and continue 0.3 miles to Camino Magenta
Turn Right onto Camino Magenta and continue 0.3 miles to dead end.
Park on the street, trail starts at the dead end.

Today was just a quick local hike after work.  I headed up to Lynn Ranch and did a quick mile and a half along the ridgeline on the Lynnmere Trail.  This is a great trail if you are looking for some stunning views of the city with very minimal effort.
The trail starts at the dead end of Camino Magenta and heads uphill on a paved road until you hit the trail on your left.

Following the trail left it meanders along the ridgeline on a well maintained trail that is easy for all ages and offers great views of Thousand Oaks.

I turned around at the end of the ridge, but you are able to continue down some switchbacks and connect to the main Lynnmere trail that heads toward Wildwood Park
 

Wildwood Park off the the right

Trail continues down some switchbacks here

Side blotched lizard getting some sun

Day 60: Mandalay Beach

Day# 60: Mandalay Beach
Mandalay Beach - Oxnard, CA
Monday, August 24th, 2015
Time: 41 minutes
Pace: 27:03/mile
Distance: 1.53 miles
Elevation Gain: 33 feet
Dogs OK? Yes

Directions:
From the US-101 in Ventura:
Exit Victoria Ave and head south on Victoria Ave for 4 miles
Turn right onto W. 5th St and continue for 1.5 miles to the beach.
Park on the street.

Today was another super hot day so I headed down to the beach and picked up my dog to go explore a new beach that I had not been to yet.

We parked at the end of 5th Street and followed the beach south for about three quarters of a mile and then returned along the shoreline to get our feet wet. Marlee had a great time and this was a nice way to beat the heat of the Conejo Valley for the day.

 

Day 59: Charmlee Wilderness Park Loop

Heading down the trail with the family

Day# 59: Charmlee Wilderness Park 

Potrero/Ocean View/E. Meadow Trails
Charmlee Wilderness Park - Malibu, CA
Sunday, August 23rd, 2015
Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Pace: 44:16/min per mile
Distance: 2.39 miles
Elevation Gain: 345 feet 
Dogs OK?: Yes

Directions:
From the US-101 in Thousand Oaks:
Take the Westlake Blvd/CA-23 S exit and head south on Westlake Blvd
Continue on Westlake Blvd for 7.9 miles to Lechusa Rd
Turn left onto Lechusa Rd and continue onto Encinal Canyon Rd for 1.2 miles to park entrance on the right.
Park in the lot and don't forget to pay the iron ranger.

Today I wanted to go for a hike and take my sister and my nieces over to my work at Malibu Wines to check out the animals. I have been to Charmlee before and knew that it would make a nice family hike with some ocean views and easy trails.  Our friend Jen and her mom wanted to see the animals too so they decided to come along for the hike.

We started out down the Potrero Trail toward the ocean where we connected to the Ocean View trail to loop around to the ocean overlook.  Great weather and although there was a marine layer the views of Malibu where impressive nonetheless.

My sister with my youngest niece Ella at the overlook

After the overlook we looped around to the E. Meadow Trail and headed through some beautiful oak forests and grassy meadows back to the car.

Mila climbing around on the boulders