Just around 20 or so miles northwest of Los Angeles, out the 101 freeway in Agoura Hills, there’s a park that takes you back in time.

Cheeseboro Canyon is hidden away among the horse properties that line the edge of Old Agoura, a part of town where you still occasionally see a horse and buggy going down the road. We live close to the park, and I’ve been going there for years as it offers some of the best mountain biking trails around.

If you’re wondering if we’ve made a spelling error, we double checked. The exit off of the 101 Freeway is Chesebro Road, while the park itself is officially called Cheeseboro Canyon. Spelling aside, either way, it’s a great park.

The “El Modelo” Trail

Photo by Gabe ~ Fuji X-E2

Comprised of about 4,000 acres, Cheeseboro Canyon Park offers trails for all skill levels.  If you’re interested in a beautiful day hike – they’ve got that.  A more challenging mountain bike single track trail – they’ve got that too.  If you park in either the upper or lower lot off of Chesebro Road, the park looks straight out of an old western. In fact, parts of the television show “Little House on the Prairie” filmed here, and there are remnants of some old farmhouses still standing on the property. I’m not sure if it’s true, but I heard that long ago, Bob Hope purchased this land with the hopes to turn it into a golf course and housing development. When that plan didn’t go through, he donated the entire parcel to the state.

Today, it offers all visitors a chance to get away from the city and enjoy this beautiful park.  Along the floor of the canyon, the trails take you past centuries-old oak trees, wide open meadows and a babbling brook as you head back further into the canyon. The gently rounded hills here are high, and several trails lead upwards, where you get incredible views of the entire area, windswept and grassy vistas in every direction.

Trails that extend out of the park take you up to Simi Peak and China Flats, out to Bell Canyon and beyond.  But there’s enough to do within the confines of this park itself to keep even a skilled hiker or biker satisfied.  One of my favorites is the Modelo Trail, a single track trail that starts right from the parking area and leads you up – and in a short time, you’re high atop the hills with a fantastic 360-degree view.  The Cheeseboro Canyon Trail, which starts as a fire road and turns into a single track, leaves from the parking area and runs up the entire canyon to Shepherd’s Flat and the Sheep Corral Trail. If I’m biking, I often start at the far end of the park, entering at the Palo Comado Canyon Trail where the pavement ends. I make a loop of it by coming back down the Sheep Corral Trail to the main canyon road.

Centuries’ old oak trees thrive in this area

Photo by Gabe ~ Fuji X-E2

The parking areas are open from 8:00 AM to sunset daily, and in the park, you’ll find a mix of day hikers, mountain bikers, dog walkers, horseback riders and more. We’re lucky to have such a scenic park so close to home but even if I had to make a drive to get here, I know I’d do it. Check out Cheeseboro Canyon – you’ll love it!