Two Trees, Ventura’s favorite spot for vandalism, is a quick but stiff hike with an amazing panoramic view at the top. This hike is on private property and foot traffic is not allowed.
Perched on rolling hills like twin sentinels over the town, these trees have become an icon for the preservation of nature and open space. But the truth is that Two Trees aren’t natural at all. They are blue gum trees (eucalyptus globulus) imported from Australia. Thirteen of these trees were planted at the request of property owner Joseph Sexton in 1898. Sexton, who resided in Goleta, thought of California as a kind of empty canvas that needed to be filled with exotic plants from other countries. He is perhaps best known for introducing Evil Pampas Grass to the state.
In 1903 a brush fire destroyed eight of Sexton’s trees. This fire also set off a gas flare from a hidden natural oil deposit that killed Ralph Lloyd’s horse and touched off Ventura’s oil boom.
Five trees remained at the top of the hill until 1940 when a few Halloween pranksters hacked down three of the trees. Marcel “Slim” Sap, owner of the local Motor Mart and vigorous civic booster, replanted the three deceased trees and all was well until 1956 when football hooligans cut down one of the orginal trees and two of the replacements.
Even though Two Trees is on private land, a lot of Venturans seem to feel the landmark is part of the public trust. And others still see it as a blank canvas–to be painted with spray cans and fat black markers. Pen knives. Nails. Glass. And in one case I’d guess a hatchet was taken to the bark to carve “Blake + Lindson.”
A friend confessed to me today that she, too, tried to leave her mark on this spot. She and her best friend in high school struggled up the steep hillside dragging a trash bag containing a douglas fir and thirty pounds of soil, along with two shovels and a flashlight. In a sweaty fit of midnight skulduggery they planted the fir between the two gum trees.
And that’s the story of how Two Trees almost became Three Trees.
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Richard Atmore – you need to take some meds and calm down. The people who created this site say right in the opening paragraph that “the hike is on private property and foot traffic is not allowed”. I can easily understand your upset at vandals or people cutting your barbed wire fences, and the dangers your wandering cows pose to motorists, but you should realize that 99% of hikers who go up there cause no damage and even look out for your property for you. I know that if I saw anyone cutting wire up there or doing any vandalism, I’d confront them immediately and tell them to stop. Not because I like your threatening and aggressive ways, but because I respect nature and property. People are always going to go up there. Get used to it. Threatening everyone with lawsuits, subpoenas – putting notices on their cars and so on – is like some neurotic response to it. Leave the hikers and outdoorsmen alone and calm down.
@ Phil:
Hi, I found that along foothill road. But that was kind of difficult to get up there. This is much easier:
http://wikimapia.org/6595422/Two-Trees-Trail
Hello Stefan. Back in 2007 there was a large opening in the fence along Foothill road. That may be repaired now. I will say that there is no public access to Two Trees, it is all on private property. If you go up there, you do so at your own risk.
Rattlesnakes are always a danger in Southern California’s foothills. The trickiest situation is when you’re stepping over a large rock and can’t see what’s on the other side.
There have been a few reported mountain lion sightings in the foothills above Ventura. It doesn’t seem likely that a mountain lion would come this close to civilization but they do have a wide range. I don’t think there’s much chance you’d run into one in the middle of the day.
If you want to avoid crossing a fence into private property (probably a good idea) I suggest the trails behind Arroyo Verde park. A great resource for local trails is the book Day Hikes Around Ventura County
Hey there, i tried to hike up to the trees but the fence is 6 foot tall and with barbed wire. No other way? What’s about snakes? And mountain lion?
Somebody has created a wikimapia entry for the best hiking trail to Two Trees. Note that this is on private property and you should probably contact the landowner for permission before entering.
http://wikimapia.org/6595422/Two_Trees_Trail
Heh. I guess I’ve “arrived” as a blogger. I just got my first legal threat!
A couple of thoughts about the post above. For one thing, I don’t have any way to know if the poster is actually Richard Atmore, or if perhaps it’s from a spoofer. I suppose I’ll find out if I get a scare letter from Atmore’s lawyer.
That said, I don’t advocate trespassing on private property. When I posted on Stingley’s Hot Springs I intentionally left out the directions (you can easily find directions elsewhere on the web.) As a point of editorial consistency it makes sense to omit directions in this post as well, so I am removing the sentence that makes reference to the trailhead and the link to the Google map.
It should be said that there are other sites that give directions to Two Trees, and there is even a Geocache listed on http://www.geocaching.com. I advise you to follow these at your own risk.
Two Trees is on private property. When you climb through the barbed wire fence, your trespassing begins. The people that you send to the fence line above Shamrock constantly cut the fence creating a very dangerous hazard on Foothill road. If a cow were to get out on the highway and a vehicle hit it, the people would probably die. We are filing a subpoena for your domain name and information for possible prosecution at a later time, please cease this web site immediately.