Recreational opportunities abound in Encino including fishing and boating, hiking, jogging, bicyling, golf, and tours of a Japanese garden and a state Park.

Bicycling

The Encino Velodrome is located at Oxnard and Louise. There are bike paths in the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area and Lake Balboa.

Boating
Lake Balboa
Access is on Balboa Blvd. between Victory and Burbank Blvds.
(818) 756-5798

Anthony C. Beilenson Park is an 80 acre water recreation facility within the Sepulveda Flood Control basin. The centerpiece of the park, Lake Balboa, is a 27 acre lake. Recreation activities include fishing, boating, remote-control boating and jogging/walking.

Community Center
4935 Balboa Blvd.
Encino

Dog Parks
Sepulveda Basin Dog Park
(818)756-8060
Victory Boulevard between White Oak Avenue and Encino Avenue.
A full five acres of fenced off-leash dog park; one acre separate for small dogs.

Calabasas Bark Park
(818) 878-4242
4232 Las Virgenes Rd.
Calabasas

Laurel Canyon Dog Park
8260 Mulholland Dr. (west of Laurel Canyon Blvd).
Large fenced areas for both small and large dogs.

Reseda Park Lake is located at the corner of Victory and Reseda Boulevards.
Reseda Park Lake Information

Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant
(818) 778-4121
6100 Woodley Ave.
Van Nuys
Tours by reservation only

Golf
Balboa Golf Course
16821 Burbank Blvd.
Encino
(818) 995-1170

Woodley Golf Course
6331 Woodley Ave.
Van Nuys
(818) 780-6886

Parks
Encino Park
16953 Ventura Boulevard (one block west of Balboa Blvd.)

The park is the site of the re-founding of the Encino Chamber of Commerce in 1936. It has tennis courts and a children's play area.  A block away is the Encino Community Center (see below).

Lake Balboa Sporting Complex
17015 Burbank Blvd.
Encino
(818) 756-9642

Los Encinos State Historic Park (CA State Park Web Site)
Los Encinos Docents Association

Just east of Balboa Blvd. where there is a pedestrian entrance. The main entrance is on Moorpark St., a block north of Ventura Blvd.
Encino
(818) 784-4849

Until the late 19th Century, the hub of activity in the Southern San Fernando Valley. Surrounding a lake are a number of historical buildings including those from the Garnier brothers who established the Encino Roadhouse, a twice a day stop for both the Butterfield Stage and the Overland Mail Stage between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The park is open from 10 .m. to 5 p.m. - Wedesday through Sunday. The park can be rented for private parties.

Woodley Park
(818) 756-8060
Woodley Ave. (between Victory and Burbank Blvds.)

Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area
Bicycle Trails
A series of connecting paved bicycle trails in the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area. There is a main loop following Burbank Blvd., Balboa Blvd., Victory Blvd., and Woodley Ave. Extensions go west along Victory Blvd. and Oxnard St to White Oak Ave. These can be connected using White Oak Ave. Extensions also go east along Burbank Blvd. and Victory Blvd. until the 405 freeway. These can be connecte using a dirt trail along the top of the dam. There is also a paved trail from Balboa Street to Woodley Ave, that passes along the southern and eastern sides of Balboa Lake. Trailhead: Parking Lots can be found along Burbank Blvd and Balboa Blvd.

Hiking Trails
Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area Trails (north)
The main area is northeast of Woodley and Burbank Blvds and consists of a series of groomed dirt trails. The trails pass a pond and open areas that attract birds. This area is not open to dogs or bicycles. Trailhead: The entrance to the parking lot is on Woodley at the Japenese Gardens.

Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area Trails (south)
A system of dirt trails forming two main circuits in an wooded area south of Burbank Blvd. There are a number of disappearing trails leading into the woods besides the main circuit trails. These trails are open to bicycles. Trailhead: There is a small parking lot on Burbank just west of the 405 Freeway.

Sepulveda Dam Trail
A dirt trail that traverses the top of the Sepulveda dam north of Burbank Blvd. This trail connects with paved trails along Burbank and Victory Blvds. The dam south of Burbank is gated at Burbank, but is accessible from the southern wildlife area trails. Trailhead: There is a small parking lot on Burbank just west of the 405 Freeway and the trail is accessible from the parking lot for the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area off of Woodley.

Sepulveda Basin Rail Trail
This is an unmaintained trail along the old railroad that traverses from Oxnard and White Oak to Victory and Balboa. The trail pases some of the few remaining farm land in the Valley.
Trailhead: Parking can be found along Oxnard Blvd.

Sepulveda Basin River Trail
A dirt trail paralleling the Los Angeles River connecting the paved bicycle trail on Balboa and Burbank Blvds. Trailhead: Parking can be found at Balboa lake on Balboa and at the Encino Municipal Golf course on Burbank.

Wild Life Preserve
Ringed by mountains, rivers and streams, the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve is haven of rest for wildlife and humans alike, a welcome oasis within an urban setting. It is here where the visitor of today can get a sense of what this part of the San Fernando Valley might have been like before agriculture and urban settlement forever changed the Valley floor.

Photos on this page are by Harvey Branman, Photography As An Art, (818) 954-9294.