Visitors will be able to hike the rebuilt Rivas Trail to two scenic overlooks or continue onward to Will Rogers State Historic Park. The Sunset Trail is also open
Temescal Gateway Park in the Santa Monica Mountains will reopen to the public at 8 a.m. Friday after more than 18 months of fire recovery work, officials announced.
The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority said the park was closed following damage from the Palisades Fire. While many areas have been restored, the popular Temescal Canyon Trail leading to the waterfall will remain closed indefinitely due to unsafe conditions caused by the fire.
Visitors will be able to hike the rebuilt Rivas Trail to two scenic overlooks or continue onward to Will Rogers State Historic Park. The Sunset Trail is also open, providing access to the Temescal Ridge Trail and Topanga State Park. The Sycamore Grove and Rubell Picnic Areas are available for public use.
Restoration involved removing numerous fire-damaged trees, including mature oaks, to protect public safety. Trails and visitor facilities were repaired with help from the California Conservation Corps, Los Angeles Conservation Corps, Sierra Club, Los Angeles Fire Department and other agencies.
In a separate development, a gravel overflow parking lot in the park — previously used during debris removal — will serve as a temporary staging site for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s power-line undergrounding project. The agreement between the Conservancy and LADWP has not yet been finalized, according to Conservancy representative Dash Stolarz. A Conservancy statement noted that historical photographs show the site has long been used as an unplanted dirt lot for overflow parking.
