Dos Vientos Open Space is a open space area in western

Newbury Park, California Newbury Park is a populated placeReal Estate Communications, Inc. (1984). ''California Real Estate Directory''. Page 201. in Ventura County, California, United States. Most of it lies within the western Thousand Oaks, California, Thousand Oaks ...

. It contains more than of trails used for cycling, hiking and equestrians. Originally a part of the Rancho Guadalasca Spanish Land Grant of 1836, the area is now an important wildlife movement corridor into the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses this mountain range. Because of its p ...

through the Point Mugu State Park. It provides a habitat for a variety of wildlife, including bobcats, mule deer, coyotes, eagles, hawks, barn owls, mountain lions, and more. It provides regional and internal trail connections, many trails offering panoramic views of the

Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle del Conejo'', meaning "Valley of the Rabbit") is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County, California, Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles C ...

Oxnard Plain The Oxnard Plain is a large coastal plain in southwest Ventura County, California, United States surrounded by the mountains of the Transverse Ranges. The cities of Oxnard, Camarillo, Port Hueneme and much of Ventura as well as the unincorpo ...

Topatopa Mountains The Topatopa Mountains are a mountain range in Ventura County, California, north of Ojai, Santa Paula, and Fillmore. They are part of the Transverse Ranges of Southern California. Etymology A name for the mountains was first inscribed within t ...

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

, and the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Some of the endangered plant species found here include Conejo buckwheat, Verity's liveforever, and Conejo dudleya.http://www.conejo-openspace.org/meeting%20Folder/13-01-09%20Agenda/8E.pdf The landscape is undeveloped, and dominated by

coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...

, grassy hillsides, oak woodlands, and chaparral habitats. The only developed area by Dos Vientos is the adjoining Dos Vientos Ranch neighborhood, which was a 2,350-unit housing development approved by the Thousand Oaks City Council in April 1988. It is a master-planned and upscale community. The master plan for the neighborhood was approved in the 1980s, but took off after major infrastructure was built to support the homes in 1998. Wildfires in the area led to evacuation of homes in 2013.

Recreation

Besides numerous trail access points from the Dos Vientos Ranch neighborhood, the primary trailhead and parking lot are located at the Dos Vientos Community Park. Following the Park View Trail at the far end of the community park, one can either cross Via Ricardo to access the Powerline Trail (Edison Road Trail) across the road, which leads to the

Conejo Mountain Conejo Mountain is a in Ventura County, California, near Camarillo on the eastern boundary of the Oxnard Plain. At the western edge of the Conejo Valley, it is adjacent to the Santa Monica Mountains. Crossing what was once a formidable barrie ...

, or one can follow Via Ricardo to the left for before entering the Vista Del Mar Trailhead. The Vista Del Mar Trail climbs up the Conejo Hills with overlook points with panoramic views of the Santa Monica Mountains, Boney Peak, Camarillo, Topatopa Mountains, Pacific Ocean, and the Channel Islands. It leads to Twin Ponds, which is two secluded ponds functioning as a designated conservation area for various migrating

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

species, birds such as mallards and ducks, freshwater fish species, as well as the

western pond turtle The western pond turtle (''Actinemys marmorata''), also known commonly as the Pacific pond turtle is a species of small to medium-sized turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the western coast of the United States and Mexico, r ...

and the two-striped garter snake. The ponds were originally built in the 1920s as part of an irrigation system for ranching and agriculture. Dos Vientos Open Space is adjacent to the south with Rancho Sierra Vista (

Satwiwa Satwiwa (Chumashan languages, Chumash: "the bluffs") was a former Chumash people, Chumash village in the Santa Monica Mountains of Newbury Park, California. The current Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center is operated by the National Par ...

), Rancho Potrero, Point Mugu State Park, and the Boney Wilderness. To the east are adjacent open-space areas such as the Alta Vista Open Space, Potrero Ridge Open Space, and the Los Vientos Open Space. The adjoining open-space areas encompasses more than of open-space land. The weather here is cooler compared to most areas in the Conejo Valley, as a result of being closer to the coastal ocean breezes coming from coastal regions.Murphy, Kelly (2012). ''Local Multi-Use Trails''. Kelly Murphy. Page 84. .

References

{{Coord, 34.1689, -118.9808, display=title Newbury Park, California Nature reserves in California Protected areas of Ventura County, California Parks in Ventura County, California Conejo Valley