FElton
Mentryville is a company town that rose up around oil-rich Pico Canyon in the late 1800s. Fragments of the community remain, and you can take it all in from a tree-shaded bench across from the one-room schoolhouse, named for Pacific Coast Oil President (and future U.S. Senator) Charles Felton. Nearby is the “big house,” a restored 13-room mansion built for the superintendent and foremen and their families. At one time, there was also a dance hall, workers’ dormitories, machine and blacksmith shops, a barn, even a bakery.
In the distance, you’ll see old tools and drilling machines embedded into the surrounding lawn and hillsides – as much a part of the landscape as the oak trees and chaparral. The West Coast’s oil industry began and thrived here at the base of the Santa Susana Mountains.
Bench coordinates: 34°22'41.3"N 118°36'42.9"W
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Mentryville’s exterior buildings (now abandoned) are open to the public daily from sunrise to sunset and can be explored before or after a hike in Pico Canyon.
If you park in the small dirt parking lot outside the road gate, there is a .4 mile hike to the Felton bench ae by the red schoolhouse. An easy 3-mile round-trip hike follows a paved creekside trail past old mining equipment and oak woodland to a clearing with a second bench, Pico, at the site of California’s first commercial oil well.
The majority of the trail is exposed; bring a hat, sunscreen, and plenty of water. Avoid the trail in summer, when temperatures can reach triple digits.
The trail is mostly easy to navigate, but patches of sand and loose gravel are present. Sturdy shoes are recommended.
WiFi and cell service are limited throughout the property. Download offline maps before you go.
The property attracts families with small children, hikers, and mountain bikers on its upper slopes.
California sycamores, oaks and cottonwoods dwell year-round in the lower canyon.
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There is a small dirt parking lot beside the road gate at Pico Canyon Service Road. There is no fee, and it’s a 0.4 mile walk along a paved road to the trailhead. The road gate is open from sunrise to sunset.
Alternatively, you can continue driving on Pico Canyon Service Road past the gate and park in the paved parking lot to the left of the Mentryville entrance for $5 (cash or check). Look for the kiosk with envelopes near the bridge.
There are portable public toilets in the parking lot.
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From the paved parking lot, cross the bridge and look for the Felton schoolhouse, a restored red building that served as Mentryville’s school from 1885 to 1932. The bench sits directly across from it under a large peppertree.
Many visitors opt to explore Mentryville, then follow the paved fire road up the canyon as it parallels a seasonal creek (typically flowing in winter and early spring).
After about 1 mile, you will see Johnson Park across a small bridge on your left. This was once a picnic and recreational area for the residents of Mentryville. The smoker, grills and tables are surprisingly intact, as if ready for people to show up for a big Sunday BBQ.
Continue up the canyon another half-mile to a clearing with concrete markers memorializing Pico No. 4, the well that struck oil back in 1876. A second bench, the Pico bench, sits across from it beside the creek.
From here, you can return to the parking lot.
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Take the Golden State Freeway (I-5) north toward Santa Clarita and Valencia. Take exit 167 (Pico Canyon Road) and turn left (west) on Pico Canyon Road. Follow it 2.5 miles to a fork in the road and bear to the left on Pico Canyon Service Road.
There is a no-fee dirt parking pullout here, just outside the road gate. If you park here, it’s a 0.4 mile walk to the trailhead. Or you may continue driving 0.4 miles to the fee parking lot to the left of the Mentryville property entrance.
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