Trail Review: Rocky Peak
Trailhead: Rocky Peak Rd, Simi Valley, CA 93063
Parking: Free parking either in the very small lot at the trailhead or on the other side of the highway overpass.
Distance: 5.6 miles out & back
Difficulty: Challenging
The trailhead to Rocky Peak, in Simi Valley, literally starts at an exit ramp for the 118 highway. The parking area right in front of the trail is extremely small so if there aren't any spots available, there is more parking on the other side of the highway overpass, which is where we ended up parking.
Once you walk around the gate, the initial hill, which is paved, quickly becomes a dirt path. You'll be able to see the highway pretty clearly at this point but as you get further in, the view and sounds of the highway will fade away.
(check out some drone footage!)
The trail is mostly all uphill so it's certainly a workout to get to the top. It's a fairly wide trail until the end so passing other hikers isn't an issue. The topography of the area is your typical southern California desert: dirt, rocks, bushes and brown grass. The rocks are, in fact, the most interesting thing to look at on this trail because there are some unique outcrops and formations. Two that specifically show up on Google Maps as points of interest are "Turtle Rock" and "Oven Mitt Rock". It's debatable how much these rocks actually look like the object in their names... but it's fun to find them, none the less.
There is one turn off that you'll pass about a third of the way up which is for the Hummingbird Trail. While you don't want to take this trail to get to Rocky Peak, the intersection does include a bench and a "Park Tool" stand which looked like it could be used to fix a bike. And speaking of bikes, this trail definitely is used by mountain bikers. We saw a whole group of them, probably about a dozen bikes, that took advantage of the first section of the trail.
After the Hummingbird Trail intersection, the number of people we saw really thinned out to almost no one. It wasn't a busy trail at all. So if you are looking for a hike that isn't crowded, this one certainly wasn't.
The second half of the trail has some flat areas and even a couple spots that go downhill. But one of the tougher sections is actually toward the end when the trail turns west/northwest. That section is definitely steeper. We had to make a couple stops to rest along the way.
At the top of this uphill section is where you'll want to make a sharp turn to the right to continue to Rocky Peak. There isn't any signage indicating the turn, but the narrow path on the right is the only way to the Peak. The main trail just continues north and heads toward Rocky Peak Park and beyond.
The trail narrows considerably from this point and for the remainder of the hike. It's single file the rest of the way. But we didn't pass anyone on this section of the trail so it wasn't an issue. In fact, we only saw two other people who came by as we were sitting at the peak.
Toward the end of the trail, it's a little unclear where Rocky Peak actually is because there are a couple small peaks that all look similar. We stopped at the first one because it had a nice view of Simi Valley and was a good place to launch my drone. It did look like the trail continued on to two more small peaks so one of those was probably the official "Rocky Peak".
(Here's some more drone footage from the peak!)
Once you are done hanging out at Rocky Peak, just head back the way you came!
Bottom Line: A moderately difficult trail right off the 118 Highway in Simi Valley. It's a quiet hike that brings you away from the hustle and bustle of the city but still gives you nice views of the valley from the peak.
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