I have lived within an hour’s drive of Conejo Valley Botanic Garden for decades. How is it that I never visited until the other day? What a lovely place! What other nearby natural joys am I missing out on?
It was a delight to come upon an unfamiliar, yet local, oak tree, Quercus tomentella. This species is a relict. Though it is now limited to the offshore islands, it was once widespread in mainland California, as evidenced by the many late Tertiary fossils of the species found here. The tree in the gardens is young (planted 1995). All going well, it should grow two and a half times this high. Live long and prosper, Island Oak!
hashiworks 
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And I live just a few miles from this lovely place, and visit almost weekly! So glad you enjoyed it!
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😊 Maybe you help can answer my question: “What other nearby natural joys am I missing out on?” Do you have other favourite local places to be in nature?
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Wildwood Park is a great place. If you take 101 to Lynn Rd., get off to the right (north). Go down Lynn about 3 miles to Avenida de los Arboles and turn left. Go to the end of the road and park on your left. You will find long trails and short. Paradise Falls is nice, and you can also hike into Hill Canyon over in the Santa Rosa Valley. Another spot is the Los Robles (name?) area off Moorpark Rd. That is the off ramp before Lynn. Get off and turn left, go to the end and park. This leads into another section of the Santa Monica mountains. Finally, best to go with someone as it is more remote, is Hill Canyon in the Santa Rosa Valley in the Camarillo area. You can access it from either Camarillo or T.O. T.O. has a lot of areas which are nice – designed in many ways after Santa Barbara with open space and such – I met the original major from 1969-1971 when the area was first being built up. He told me this, and also mentioned that the area where the botanical garden is was given by Janss, the developer, to the city for the garden as it was not suitable for houses. Our gain for sure!
Hope this helps!
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