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34°21′36″N119°09′00″W / 34.36000°N 119.15000°W /34.36000; -119.15000
TheConejo Valley (Spanish:Valle del Conejo,[1] meaning "Valley of the Rabbit") is a region spanning both southeasternVentura County and northwesternLos Angeles County inSouthern California, United States. It is located in the northwestern part of theGreater Los Angeles area.
Communities in the Conejo Valley areThousand Oaks,Newbury Park,Westlake Village,Oak Park,Agoura Hills,Lake Sherwood and a portion ofCalabasas.[2]
In 1803, the Spanish land grant in the area was given the nameRancho El Conejo.[citation needed]
InSpanish,conejo means "rabbit", and refers to the rabbits common to the region,[3] specifically thedesert cottontail andbrush rabbit species.[4]
TheChumash people inhabited region for thousands of years.[5] Notable Chumash villages includedSatwiwa ("The Bluffs") inNewbury Park,Sap'wi ("House of Deer") inThousand Oaks, and Hipuk inWestlake Village. Sap'wi (Šihaw Ven-632i) is located nearChumash Indian Museum inOakbrook Regional Park. This park is also home to 4-6,000 year oldpictographs, which can be observed on docent-led tours.[6][7] Satwiwa, which was first settled 13,000 years ago,[8] was located at the foothills ofMount Boney, a sacred mountain to the Chumash people.[9][10][11] TheSatwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center is available for visitors.[citation needed]
Two additional Chumash villages were found by Ventu Park Road. These had a population of 100-200 in each village, and were settled around 2,000 years ago.[12][13] These former villages, known as Ven-65, Ven-260 and Ven-261, are located on private lands near Ventu Park Road in Newbury Park.[14] A smaller village, known as Yitimasɨh, was located whereWildwood Elementary School is located today.[15][16] Artifacts retrieved in nearbyWildwood Regional Park includeshell beads, arrowheads, and stone tools.[17]
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Local villagers' first contact with Europeans came in 1770. The Spanish exploratory party led byGaspar de Portolá, returning from its journey up the coast as far asSan Francisco, entered the valley from the northwest. On the outward bound journey, the explorers had traveled up theLos Angeles River, then north toCastaic Junction, then followed theSanta Clara River back down to the coast. On the return trip, they sought a shorter route to theSan Fernando Valley, and were guided by natives up and over theConejo Grade. Franciscan missionaryJuan Crespi kept a diary of the expedition, and gave Conejo Valley one name that survives today – Triunfo (Spanish for "triumph").[18] Crespi gave the nameEl triunfo del Dulcísimo Nombre de Jesús (in English:The Triumph of the Sweetest Name of Jesus) to a camping place by a creek – today's Triunfo Canyon Road begins between Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village.
Later, explorerJuan Bautista de Anza used Portolá's shortcut on his way north in 1774, mentioning in his diary a stop at "El Triunfo".[19] On de Anza's second expedition (1775–76), diarist FatherPedro Font referred to "many watering places, like those of El Triunfo and Los Conejos".[20]
Harold and Edwin Janss purchased ten thousand acres (40 km²) of land of what is now central Thousand Oaks from the heir of John Edwards, who had purchased the land from the de la Guerra heirs (all of the land was originally a portion of theRancho El Conejo land grant) in 1910. A ranch, named theJanss Conejo Ranch, was utilized as a farm and to raise thoroughbred horses with the Santa Susanna Mountains and Simi Hills framing it. Television Westerns such asThe Rifleman,Gunsmoke, andBonanza were filmed in Janss Conejo between the 1950s and 1960s. It was also used as the filming locations for Disney'sDavy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier andWestward Ho, the Wagons! both starringFess Parker.[citation needed]
Conejo Valley is a 900-foot-high (270 m) valley.[21][22] The area is bordered by theSan Fernando Valley and the city ofLos Angeles to the east,Simi Hills to the north, Las Posas Hills and theSanta Rosa Valley to the northwest,Conejo Mountain (also known as Conejo Hills) andOxnard Plain to the west, and theSanta Monica Mountains to the south. The valley is located in the Santa Monica Mountains on an elevated area.[citation needed]
The largest non-retail employers in the Conejo Valley includeAmgen, theConejo Valley Unified School District,Los Robles Regional Medical Center, Anthem Blue Cross,California Lutheran University, Shire Biotechnology, Skyworks Solutions, PennyMac Mortgage and Sage Publications.[23] Other notable employers include Jafra Cosmetics, Teledyne, J.D. Power, Dole Food Company, Guitar Center, Bank of America and Teradyne.[citation needed]
TheVentura County Star is a daily newspaper published inCamarillo, California and serves all ofVentura County, including the Conejo Valley.[citation needed]
The Acorn is a local weekly newspaper coveringAgoura Hills,Hidden Hills,Oak Park,North Ranch andCalabasas, whileThousand Oaks Acorn covers the cities ofThousand Oaks,Newbury Park andWestlake Village.[24]
KCLU is the only public radio station inVentura County.[25][26]
In 2013 the Conejo Valley Tourism Improvement District (CVTID) was formed by the cities of Thousand Oaks and Agoura Hills.[28] CVTID is a non-profit corporation that markets Conejo Valley as a Tourist Destination.[29] Conejo Valley's two largest tourist attractions are theRonald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley and theSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.[citation needed]
The Conejo Valley Disabilities Fair in 2025 was organized by the Thousand Oaks Police Charitable Foundation, to provide individuals of all ages and abilities a chance to connect with a wide variety of resources supporting people with different needs. The vendors consisted of organizations offering services in caregiving, medical support, youth and adult activities and education.[34]
...such as those for the Conejo Valley subregion in which the City is located
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