Bard Lake, also known as Wood Ranch Reservoir, is a 231 acres (93 ha)[1] reservoir which is the largest lake in Simi Valley, California.[2] It is east of the intersection of Olsen Road and Moorpark Freeway, near the border between Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks.[3] Built in 1965, Bard Lake is a 416 feet (127 m) high reservoir with a capacity of 11,000 acre-feet (3.6×109 US gal). It is an earthen dam which is owned by the Calleguas Water District.[4][5]

Bard Lake
Wood Ranch Reservoir
View of Bard Lake from Sunset Hills Trail.
Location of lake in California
Location of lake in California
Bard Lake
LocationSimi Valley, California
Coordinates34°14′17″N 118°49′34″W / 34.238°N 118.826°W / 34.238; -118.826
Typereservoir
Surface area231 acres (93 ha)
Water volume11,000 acre-feet (14,000,000 m3)

Although the lake is fenced, there are numerous hiking trails in the area.[6] Sunset Hills Open Space is a 410 acres (170 ha) adjacent preserve with hiking trails. Known for its rich avifauna, some of the bird species found here include White-tailed kites, Northern harriers, Anna's hummingbirds and Red-tailed hawks.[7] Other fauna include rabbits, coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats, roadrunners, quail and vultures.[8][9]

Nearby Sinaloa Lake is situated below Bard Lake in an adjacent part of the same watershed.

References edit

  1. ^ Stone, Robert (2011). Day Hikes Around Ventura County. Day Hike Books. Page 240. ISBN 9781573420624.
  2. ^ http://www.simivalley.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=165 (page 4)
  3. ^ "Lake is highlight of hike | Thousand Oaks Acorn". toacorn.com. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  4. ^ http://www.simivalley.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=165 (page 4)
  5. ^ "Sunset Hills Trail in Thousand Oaks — Conejo Valley Guide | Conejo Valley Events". conejovalleyguide.com. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  6. ^ Riedel, Allen (2011). Best Easy Day Hikes Conejo Valley. Rowman & Littlefield. Page 57. ISBN 9780762765812.
  7. ^ "Open space areas in Thousand Oaks". conejo-openspace.org. Archived from the original on 2016-02-09. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  8. ^ "CONEJO OPEN SPACE FOUNDATION: to promote and maintain the multi-use trail and open space systems of the Conejo Valley". cosf.org. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  9. ^ Murphy, Kelly (2012). Local Multi-Use Trails. Kelly Murphy. Page 164. ISBN 9781479165599.