The Potrero Ridge Open Space is a passive recreation area in the southwestern portion of Newbury Park, CA and 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 ...

that encompasses eastern parts of the Potrero Ridge. The open-space area contains a total of , and is owned and operated by the

Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency Conejo Recreation and Park District (CRPD) is the park management agency for most of the parks in the Conejo Valley, California. Established in 1962, CRPD later established Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA) in 1977 through a joint e ...

(COSCA). It is adjacent to the

Dos Vientos Open Space Dos Vientos Open Space is a open space area in western Newbury Park, California. 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 ...

in the west, which provides further access to the

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is a national recreation area containing many individual parks and open space preserves, located primarily in Southern California's Santa Monica Mountains. Located in greater Los Ange ...

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 ...

, as well as the Alta Vista Open Space, Los Vientos Open Space, and Los Robles Trail which leads to Los Robles Open Space in Thousand Oaks, CA and further into

Westlake Village Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County, California, on its western border with Ventura County. Upon its incorporation in 1981, Westlake Village became the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks We ...

. Conejo Valley’s longest creek, the

Conejo Creek Arroyo Conejo (Spanish for “Rabbit Creek”) carries part of the longest creek in the Conejo Valley which sprawls past the cities of Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, and the communities of Newbury Park, Casa Conejo and Santa Rosa Valley. Arroyo ...

(

Arroyo Conejo Arroyo Conejo (Spanish for “Rabbit Creek”) carries part of the longest creek in the Conejo Valley which sprawls past the cities of Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, and the communities of Newbury Park, Casa Conejo and Santa Rosa Valley. Arroyo ...

) runs through the western parts of the Potrero Ridge Open Space. Some of the

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

here includes

mountain lions The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, '' KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild ...

, bobcats,

coyotes The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely relat ...

mule deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whit ...

golden eagles The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of p ...

, American black bears, and reptiles such 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 freshwater fish species in the Arroyo Conejo. There are more than ten trailheads to access the open-space area, and some of the flora includes oak woodlands,

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 ...

and chaparral. It is home to a wide variety of rare or endangered plant species as well, including Verity's liveforever,

Conejo dudleya ''Dudleya parva'', known by the common name Conejo dudleya, is a species of deciduous succulent plant native to the Conejo Valley and surrounding regions. It blooms from May to June, and has vernal leaves. It is only found from the western end of ...

, and Conejo buckwheat. “Potrero” means a farm for rearing horses or pasture ground in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

.Brundige, Donald G. and Sharron (1994). ''Bicycle Rides: Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties''. Bd Enterprises. Page 253. .

Sources

{{reflist Newbury Park, California Parks in Ventura County, California