Laurene Weste | Explore our beautiful parks and open space

Council member Laurene Weste
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Why stay cooped up in your home when there are so many beautiful parks and trails in Santa Clarita to safely enjoy? As we continue to focus more on the “CAN DOs” instead of what we can’t do, parks, trails and paseos present a great opportunity for residents of all ages. Take a break from the worries and confusion brought forth by the challenging times we are living in and make time for a refreshing trip outdoors.

The city of Santa Clarita is fortunate to have 35 amazing parks in our community. The most recent addition was Plum Canyon Park, which we welcomed to the city earlier this year. The park showcases a picturesque view of our valley, while also offering great walkways and shaded seating areas for escaping the summer heat. Plum Canyon Park joins a growing list of diverse parks, each with its own unique list of amenities. Make the time to visit them all, and you can win a prize as a part of the city’s 35 Parks Challenge! Download a free challenge checklist from Santa-Clarita.com/CANDOs, check off every park as you visit, then submit your completed sheet to [email protected] to redeem a limited-edition T-shirt.

Families hoping to get their children engaged with our beautiful parks have a challenge of their own to participate in! The recently launched Parks Passport Adventure on SantaClarita.com/VirtualRecCenter invites families to put on their detective hats to hunt down hidden letters in a group of specified parks. The adventure runs through Nov. 30, featuring a new passport edition and adventure each month. Each passport lists a group of parks where you will find a special graphic of Sammy Clarita holding a letter. Once you track all the letters on your passport, unscramble the hidden message and submit it to [email protected] to win a cool prize package. This is the perfect activity for bonding with the family while allowing kids to stretch their legs and imagination.

In addition to our community’s wonderful parks, I am also thankful for the open spaces available to us in Santa Clarita. Whether you enjoy hiking, biking or horseback riding, our open spaces accommodate many interests and varying experience levels. For example, Elsmere and Whitney canyons are a popular open space for hikers and equestrians, while also being an area of significant importance due to its connectivity to existing wildlife corridors. Central Park’s 3.1-mile cross country trail has also become a favorite to many athletes and fitness enthusiasts for casual hiking and jogging right through the center of our community. There are so many options, and I implore you to find the best open space to fit your needs. However, before you go, please remember to treat our trails like a two-lane road when possible, continue to practice social distancing and please stay hydrated during these hot days.

There is so much to do and explore outside in Santa Clarita. Make plans to hit the trails or visit our parks and enjoy the beauty our community has to offer! Doing so can be both mentally and physically refreshing, which is so important to our health during these tough times. To learn more about our parks and available amenities, please visit Santa-Clarita.com/Parks-and-City-Facilities. For more information on our trails and open space, please visit HikeSantaClarita.com.


Laurene Weste is a member of Santa Clarita’s City Council and can be reached at [email protected].

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