The Iron Horse Trail

We had big news last Friday, here in Santa Clarita.

The latest trail was opened in our Valley. It is called the Iron Horse Trail. What makes it so unique, is that residents can now hike over a bridge on our Santa Clara "River". The bridge has been closed since they tore out the tracks in the late 80's, so when my husband heard about this opening, he decided to attend. The bridge dates back to the late 1800's and was originally built for a river in Colorado. After the St Francis Dam Disaster in 1928, this bridge was brought over, to replace the one we lost in the downstream flooding. If you never read about the second worst natural disaster, please click the link above.

This second photo is of a piece of unique artwork, highlighting the many local sites around the Santa Clarita Valley. Mentryville (first oil well), Melody Ranch Gene Autrey's Movie Ranch), Newhall Ranch (the Newhall Family Homestead), Oak of the Golden Dream (first gold found in California, predating the gold found up north), Tataviam (the Native Americans who lived here), Lyons Station (Butterfield Stage Coach Stop) and the Golden Spike (West Coast Version). It reminds my Husband and I of the pole in the old M*A*S*H* episodes, with the many cities on it.

It sits at the entrance to the bridge itself, by the new parking lot. This new section, is a short section that crosses the "river" and then connects into an existing trail area that winds through our Valencia Industrial Center. For trivia buffs, that section of trail shows up in a "Unit" episode called Hill 60.

My Husband can't wait to show it all to me. :-)