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Lake Piru

Artificial lakes of the United StatesDams in CaliforniaLos Padres National ForestPages including recorded pronunciationsReservoirs in California
Reservoirs in Southern CaliforniaReservoirs in Ventura County, CaliforniaSanta Clara River (California)Santa Paula, CaliforniaTopatopa MountainsUnited States local public utility damsUse American English from July 2025Use mdy dates from July 2020
Lac Piru
Lac Piru

Lake Piru ( ) is a reservoir located in Los Padres National Forest and Topatopa Mountains of Ventura County, California, created by the construction in 1955 (1955) of the Santa Felicia Dam on Piru Creek, which is a tributary of the Santa Clara River. The reservoir is widely known for celebrity incidents: in 1999, actor Harrison Ford crashed his helicopter by the lake, and in 2020, actress Naya Rivera died by drowning. Several other people have drowned in the lake as well. Due to these incidents, swimming at the lake is permanently banned.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Lake Piru (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Lake Piru
Piru Canyon Road,

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Wikipedia: Lake PiruContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 34.4775 ° E -118.755 °
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Address

Piru Canyon Road

California, United States
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Lac Piru
Lac Piru
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Rancho Camulos
Rancho Camulos

Rancho Camulos, now known as Rancho Camulos Museum, is a ranch located in the Santa Clara River Valley 2.2 miles (3.5 km) east of Piru, California and just north of the Santa Clara River, in Ventura County, California. It was the home of Ygnacio del Valle, a Californio alcalde of the Pueblo de Los Angeles in the 19th century and later elected member of the California State Assembly. The ranch was known as the Home of Ramona because it was widely believed to have been the setting of the popular 1884 novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson. The novel helped to raise awareness about the Californio lifestyle and romanticized "the mission and rancho era of California history."The 1,800-acre (7 km2) working ranch is a prime example of an early California rancho in its original rural setting. It was the source of the first commercially grown oranges in Ventura County. It is one of the few remaining citrus growers in Southern California. State Route 126 bisects the property, with most of the main buildings located south of the highway, and a few buildings on the north. The main adobe is one of the few extant Spanish Colonial buildings left in the state. Most of the other buildings are done in Mission Revival or Spanish Colonial Revival styles, both of which are derivatives of the original. Rancho Camulos is designated a National Historic Landmark, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and has also been designated as a California Historical Landmark. Many of the buildings and grounds are open to the public as a museum of this period in California history.

Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge
Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge

Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge is located in the Topatopa Mountains of Ventura County, in southern California. It is bordered by the Los Padres National Forest and the Sespe Condor Sanctuary to the north. The 2,471-acre (10.00 km2) refuge was established in 1974 to protect the endangered California condor, its habitat, and other wildlife resources. The refuge is in rugged, mountainous terrain. Primary habitats include annual grasslands, interspersed with oak and California black walnut groves, with chaparral on the steeper slopes, natural water springs and riparian habitat, and a freshwater marsh. The California black walnut community is considered to be a unique habitat in California, and is recorded in the State Natural Heritage Database. The refuge provides habitat for more than 130 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles, including the southwestern pond turtle—a California species of special concern--black bear, bobcat, mule deer, golden eagle, and California tree frog. More than 200 plant species have also been documented on the refuge. Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge plays an integral part in the California Condor Recovery Program, providing foraging and roosting habitat for the bird. The refuge shares information about the Condor Recovery Program through an outreach program that extends to local, national and international publics. The refuge is closed to public use to protect habitat for the endangered California condor and to support ongoing efforts to reintroduce California condors to the wild. The road to the refuge runs through private lands, and the road itself is inaccessible to the general public. The U.S. Forest Service maintains two observation points in Los Padres National Forest. As of July 2014, there is a total population of 437 condors living in sites in California, Baja California and Arizona. This includes a wild population of 232 and a captive population of 205. 68 free-flying condors are managed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service in Southern California.