Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Visit the Peter Strauss Ranch, a would-be Disneyland in the wilds of the Santa Monica Mountains.

The 65-acre Peter Strauss Ranch, now a postage-stamp patch of open space within the gerrymandered Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, was purchased from its former owner, actor and producer Peter Strauss, in 1983. In the 1930s and '40s, however, the property was known as Lake Enchanto, a resort and amusement park, boasting the largest swimming pool west of the Rockies, a terrazzo dance floor, and amusement rides. The upper reach of Malibu Creek (known in these parts as Triunfo Canyon) was dammed to create the lake, which then became popular for boating and fishing. During the 1960s -- long after Lake Enchanto's commercial demise -- plans were afoot to develop the property as an elaborate Disneyland-style park, but they were never realized.

Today's Lake Enchanto bears scant resemblance to the resort it used to be. The dam washed out in 1960 and has not been rebuilt. The great swimming pool lies unfilled. A picturesque stone-and-wood bath house remains. Other than guided walks, and occasional special events such as dances, plays, art shows, and musical performances held on the grounds, this quiet refuge caters to a relatively small number of hikers, picnickers, and curious folk.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Kids will find plenty to keep them busy here. From spring into early summer, the shallow, sluggish stream is alive with thousands of tadpoles. Careful investigation may reveal crayfish, newts, and possibly pond turtles. Just south of the ranch house, there's a playground in a eucalyptus grove overlooking the remains of Lake Enchanto's dam. The one-mile-long Peter Strauss Trail, one of the most attractive short paths in the Santa Monica Mountains, begins here. Shaded by live oaks and flanked by a ground-hugging carpet of ferns and poison oak, the easy-to-follow path zigzags up a hillside and loops back toward the ranch house.

Peter Strauss Ranch, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, is located three miles south of Highway 101 at Agoura Hills by way of Kanan Road and Troutdale Drive. When you reach Mulholland Highway at the end of Troutdale, turn east, cross the bridge spanning the creek, and then turn in to the large dirt lot on the south side. Go back over the bridge on foot to reach the ranch entrance -- or just make a beeline across the creek, which is not likely to carry much water this dry season.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance

The 65-acre Peter Strauss Ranch, now a postage-stamp patch of open space within the gerrymandered Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, was purchased from its former owner, actor and producer Peter Strauss, in 1983. In the 1930s and '40s, however, the property was known as Lake Enchanto, a resort and amusement park, boasting the largest swimming pool west of the Rockies, a terrazzo dance floor, and amusement rides. The upper reach of Malibu Creek (known in these parts as Triunfo Canyon) was dammed to create the lake, which then became popular for boating and fishing. During the 1960s -- long after Lake Enchanto's commercial demise -- plans were afoot to develop the property as an elaborate Disneyland-style park, but they were never realized.

Today's Lake Enchanto bears scant resemblance to the resort it used to be. The dam washed out in 1960 and has not been rebuilt. The great swimming pool lies unfilled. A picturesque stone-and-wood bath house remains. Other than guided walks, and occasional special events such as dances, plays, art shows, and musical performances held on the grounds, this quiet refuge caters to a relatively small number of hikers, picnickers, and curious folk.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Kids will find plenty to keep them busy here. From spring into early summer, the shallow, sluggish stream is alive with thousands of tadpoles. Careful investigation may reveal crayfish, newts, and possibly pond turtles. Just south of the ranch house, there's a playground in a eucalyptus grove overlooking the remains of Lake Enchanto's dam. The one-mile-long Peter Strauss Trail, one of the most attractive short paths in the Santa Monica Mountains, begins here. Shaded by live oaks and flanked by a ground-hugging carpet of ferns and poison oak, the easy-to-follow path zigzags up a hillside and loops back toward the ranch house.

Peter Strauss Ranch, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, is located three miles south of Highway 101 at Agoura Hills by way of Kanan Road and Troutdale Drive. When you reach Mulholland Highway at the end of Troutdale, turn east, cross the bridge spanning the creek, and then turn in to the large dirt lot on the south side. Go back over the bridge on foot to reach the ranch entrance -- or just make a beeline across the creek, which is not likely to carry much water this dry season.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
Next Article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.