Supervisors to consider Castaicarea trails plan

The county Board of Supervisors might deliver this message to Castaic-area residents on Tuesday: Happy trails.

The supervisors are expected to consider the “Castaic Area MultiUse Trails Plan,” a master guideline “intended to guide future multiuse (hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian) trail planning and development in the unincorporated Castaic area.”

It’s basically a roadmap to improving existing trails and building new ones in the future – ultimately covering some 100 miles of pathways.

The plan would cover a 75-square mile area northwest of the city of Santa Clarita and adjacent to the southwest corner of the Angeles National Forest. Included in the area are Castaic Lake and Hasley Canyon.

It would encompass all manner of trail-related details concerning the area, from accessibility, connecting trails that are now not connected, and resolving any potential conflicts with private property.

According to a letter to the supervisors from John Wicker, director of the L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation, the plan would encompass “multi-use trails and trail related or support facilities, such as multi-use staging areas, equestrian amenities, bike skills parks amenities, and trailheads in the Castaic Area of the Santa Clarita Valley Planning Area.’’

It would also, Wicker’s letter said, “develop a complete multi-use trail system connecting user groups and local populations to desired recreation destinations and experiences, including unified transition to the trails of adjacent jurisdictions …’’

The plan is just a framework, with no specific financing schedule or timetables.

Wicker’s letter said, “should the Department (of Parks and Recreation) pursue or initiate a new trail planning, design, and/or construction project, the Department would need to work with the Chief Executive Office to determine the appropriate level of funding …”