Franklin Canyon Park

Franklin Canyon Park

Franklin Canyon Park rests on 605 acres near the center of Los Angeles between the San Fernando Valley and Beverly Hills. Within the park boundaries are chaparral, grasslands and oak woodlands, a three-acre lake, an ADA-accessible duck pond, expansive picnic grounds, and over five miles of hiking trails. The lake and pond serve as a permanent and seasonal homes for birds in the Pacific flyway. Park features include the Sooky Goldman Nature Center, the Sam Goldman Amphitheater, and the Eugene and Michael Rosenfeld Auditorium.

The park has a history steeped in the forces that created the bustling metropolis of Los Angeles—oil and water. In 1914, William Mulholland and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) began construction of a reservoir in upper Franklin Canyon to distribute water newly brought from the Owens Valley. The family of oil baron Edward L. Doheny used the canyon as a summer retreat and a place to graze and water their cattle. The Doheny family built the Spanish style home in lower Franklin Canyon in 1935.

During the 1970’s the canyon was set for development when conservationist Sooky Goldman and Congressman Howard Berman encouraged the Department of Water and Power and the National Park Service to make Franklin Canyon a park. The National Park Service purchased the Franklin Canyon Ranch in 1981 as part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. That year, the William O. Douglas Outdoor Classroom—named for the Supreme Court justice and environmentalist whose eloquence on behalf of America’s wildlands will long be remembered—began the continuing service of providing educational programs to the public and local schools. Today, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority manages daily park operations in Franklin Canyon.