Socal Hiking - Hummingbird Trail Hike

Hummingbird Trail

Ranking :

County : Ventura

City : Simi Valley

Terrain : Mountain

Difficulty : Average

Camping : No

Fishing : No

Historic : Yes

Length : 4.00 miles

MountainRange : Simi Hills

TrailType : There and back

Access : Dogs Allowed, Family Friendly

Water : Creek

Exposure : Some Trees and Shady Areas - Not much

Description :
The Chumash Indians used to call this area "The Hummingbird's Nest" and it was considered to be sacred place to them. True to its name when we hiked here there were hummingbirds everywhere. We spotted a half dozen in the first hour alone. I've hiked here a number of times in the past and have never seen so many hummingbirds before. This is place is incredible. You can tell by the number of caves and sandstone rock formations that this area was once covered by ocean. In fact 68 million years ago in the Cretaceous age the whole entire Simi Valley was covered by ocean. This is definitely evident once you starting poking your head into some of the caves and looking at unique patterns on the sandstone walls that could have only been etched by moving water over a long period of time.

This hike starts in the parking area just outside the fence line. Make sure you checkout the GPS trail on Google Earth. On the day of our hike there was a two foot opening in fence that we went through, otherwise you need to walk a bit north to get to the entrance. You'll cross a field heading east and then begin your ascent up the hummingbird trail through a series of switchbacks. About a third of the way up the mountain you'll be walking on a massive sandstone formation that is part of what geologists call the Chatsworth Formation. Continuing eastward, you will come to an area where you'll want to be a bit careful (especially if you have kids) because there's a section where there is a 15 foot deep crevasse that is maybe just a foot or two wide on the right hand side... see the photos. It's in this section where you'll find a number of really interesting rock formations and a few caves. There are plenty of places to explore along this hike so keep you head up and you'll be sure to spot them. Check out the pictures! You can turn this hike into a loop by taking the Wilderness Trail under the freeway and into Corriganville. Take a look at the hike Hummingbird - Wilderness - Corriganville Loop for further details.

Directions :
From the 118 Freeway get off at Yosemite and head north for just a quarter of a mile. You'll park in a dirt lot on the right hand side, next to the fence line.