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The northwest corner of Los Angeles’ densely populated San Fernando Valley features a huge open space area that makes it an ideal destination for weekend hiking, biking, or picnicking. The only problem? It is protected by barbed wire except for one day each year and is not open to the public.
Surprisingly, the city’s only reserve, Chatsworth’s nature reserve spans more than 1,300 acres between Topanga Canyon and Valley Circle Boulevard near Santas Sanapas. The area is home to more than 200 species of birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals, making it the largest untapped private property in Los Angeles County.
Parents like Carla Bollinger want it to stay that way.
“We have to protect it from invasion,” says Bollinger, one of the leaders of the Chatsworth Nature Preserve Coalition. “It’s exclusively for wildlife. Unfortunately, modern humans don’t have a good history.”
Visitors on a guided nature hike at an open house held by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in Chatsworth, California on Saturday, April 23, 2022, in Chatsworth, California. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times Getty Images)
The area was originally inhabited by native tribes and was known as El Scorpion de Las Salinas during the mission. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, James and Alice Thrasher’s Hay and Grain Farmers were equipped with the land until the city of Los Angeles purchased it in 1912 and built a reservoir.
Surrounded by gentle green hills and unique rocks, the new, picturesque Chatsworth Reservoir quickly attracted Hollywood’s attention.
The 1920s silent films, Mary Pickford and “Tess of the Storm Country,” and William Hart’s “Three Word Brand,” were one of the early films filmed in the area. He was then featured in the 1940s to Westerners of the 50s, including “Old California Way,” “The Palomino,” and the TV series “Rin Tin Tin.” Filming is no longer permitted in the reserve.
On February 9, 1971, a magnitude 6.6 Silmer earthquake rocked the San Fernando Valley, killing dozens of people and causing major damage to buildings and infrastructure. Concerns about the stability of the Chatsworth Reservoir Dam have led to the lake being abolished and permanently discharged.
On the left, Alan Salazar, an elder of Chumash and Tatavium, will perform a spiritual cleansing ritual at Chatsworth Nature Reserve in Chatsworth, California, during a Native American prayer held in honor of the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times Getty Images)
Recognizing the ecological and cultural significance of the region, LA City Councilman Hal Bernson and his parents fought well to establish a nature reserve that remains under the control of the Water and Power Department (LADWP) in Los Angeles.
“It was set only for scientific field research, and that was the main use of property,” recalls Bollinger.
Authorities also determined that the reserves would be closed to the public one day each year, except normally around Earth Day. This year, the Public Open House will be held on June 21st to celebrate the summer solstice. Small crowds also gather every year for the winter solstice ceremony at sunrise.
However, for the rest of the year, a diverse population of mountain lions, bobcats, road runners, salamanders, falcons, snakes and other wildlife has land on their own.
“During the Earth Day open house, we set up various booths and wildlife presentations,” Bollinger said. “It’s a great moment for kids. They’ve come and a lot of people have never seen a skunk, a possum or a turtle.”
The reserve remains a quiet and peaceful place where wildlife roams freely, but Bollinger says there is an existential threat.
Chatsworth Nature Reserve in Los Angeles will be seen on April 17th, 2025.
Land proposals include golf courses, resort hotels and youth sports fields. Another plan that was eventually killed would have transferred much of the land to the city’s Recreation Bureau and the park for hiking and equestrian trails.
“The reserves need to be protected so they don’t destroy them,” Bollinger said. “It’s a naturally beautiful area, an important home for wildlife, and represents what once the San Fernando Valley looked like before.”
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