Placerita Canyon Natural Area and Nature Center

Like his looks??  Join our new Reptile Club!  Click for information

Storm-related pictures of Placerita  

Teachers in the Santa Claria area:  Info on our Indian presentations in your classroom

General Information

Address:19152 Placerita Canyon Road, Newhall, CA. 91321

Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM Daily. For More Information: Call (661) 259-7721  Our Rules for the Park

Location: In the Santa Clarita Valley. From the San Fernando Valley, take the SR14 north to the Placerita Canyon Rd and exit right. Proceed 1 1/2 miles and the park is on the right. Parking and admission are free. Click for Local Area Map.

Placerita is a unique east-west running canyon featuring cool, shaded oak groves, a willow and sycamore-lined seasonal stream and numerous other interesting plant and animal communities. The historic "Oak of the Golden Dream" is the site of California's original gold discovery in 1842. Another landmark in Placerita is our Walker Cabin, built by Frank Walker in 1920 for his family.

The Nature Center museum contains exhibits on the natural history of southern California, and there is a small collection of live animals. A network of self-guiding nature, history and hiking trails radiates out into the park from the Center, with longer hikes leading to a seasonal waterfall and to the top of the Santa Clarita Divide.  Picnicking is available near the Nature Center. The park encompasses oak woodland and chaparral on the north side of the San Gabriel Mountains southeast of the City of Santa Clarita. The park not only serves to conserve a slice of the wild environment but also endeavors to educate the public on the value of undisturbed flora and fauna through wild animal shows, nature hikes and educational trails.

Placerita Canyon Natural Area and Nature Center is operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation

This website maintained and sponsored by the Placerita Canyon Nature Center Associates

What is the PCNCA?

The Placerita Canyon Nature Center Associates is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to support the Nature Center.  Our baseline educational program is to give interpretive nature tours to grade school children and over 11,000 children participate each year.  Our membership consists of docents, volunteers and patrons all of whom pay membership dues.  We operate the gift shop and accept donations. PCNCA  sponsors an Open House in April and a Holiday Craft Faire in December as well as our monthly bird walks. Although many of our members are docents and other volunteers, anyone wanting to help may join.  Benefits include a subscription to the Rattler and a 10% discount at our gift shop.  Various choices of membership are offered, from our special rate for seniors for $15.00 per year to our Golden Oak level at $250 - $1,000. 

Want to donate your time or money to help Placerita stay open?

Many opportunities exist for volunteers.  From phone duty and staffing the information desk to feeding our animals and park maintenance.  If you could help out, please call the Nature Center at (661) 259-7721.  

Regarding our need for contributions, our small organization is now required to support Placerita directly at of rate of over $5,000 per month.  That money goes for many things, including direct salary support for our staff as well as animal food and care.  Our volunteers also contribute money in addition to their time and we have some fundraising activities such as the Holiday Craft Faire.  The financial crisis forced us to ask the school children for a $2.00 donation to participate in our school tour program and the City of Santa Clarita has also made a substantial contribution this year.  These help but we are still in need of more funds.  If you are interested, you should call or email us for more information.  Our organization's purpose is help children learn about nature and to help our visitors, but we must recognize this crisis..   

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All rights reserved, Placerita Canyon Nature Center Associates (c) Views expressed on this site are those of the Placerita Canyon Nature Center Associates and do not necessarily represent the views of the County of Los Angeles