City of Santa Clarita officials commemorated the opening of the new San Francisquito Open Space Trail with a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday morning.

Santa Clarita Valley outdoor enthusiasts were invited by City officials to come help them celebrate and be the first to hike the newest local trail.

Santa Clarita Mayor Laurene Weste stood at a podium before the audience and expressed her enthusiasm for the new trailhead, as well the City’s continued commitment to open spaces.

“Today we are going to celebrate another milestone as we add these beautiful 176 acres to our nearly 9,500 acres of (already) preserved open space,” said Weste. “It’s pristine, it’s natural and it’s our newest addition to (the) open space preservation district, which was formed in 2007.”

Weste then shared previous development plans for the area, which would have drastically changed the landscape in the San Francisquito Canyon. However, those areas are now protected due to the City’s efforts to preserve the green belt and undeveloped land in and around the Santa Clarita Valley.

“We are expanding our existing open space and parkland programs,” said Weste. “We want to protect natural lands from development, create more parks and ensure native plants and wildlife continue to grow and flourish in our area.”

The Cullen’s original residents of the San Francisquito Canyon area.

Chuck Cullen, long time resident, discussed the history of the land surrounding the San Francisquito trail, its connection to his family and his appreciation to the City for preserving the land.

“We’re a branch of the Ruiz family, the first landowners … and we go back over 200 years on this property,” said Cullen. “We are grateful to the City for preserving the most beautiful part of this canyon (as) it helps preserve our heritage as opposed to driving across the river bed with a bunch of homes.”

45 year-old Yellow Ribbon still tied to oak tree near San Francisquito Canyon.

Cullen said that he was touched when “Tie Ribbon Around The Ole Oak Tree” was played at the beginning of the ceremony, and that it brought tears to his 85-year-old father, Fred Cullen.

“One of the oak trees here is a tree from when the dam broke in 1928,” said Cullen. “One of our great uncles (named) Leonard was found at the top of the tree, and he lived (up there) for two days.”

Following the speeches, Kristina Jacob,  recreation and community services staff for the City, then led residents on the inaugural hike for the open space trail.

For more information on open space trails in Santa Clarita, click here.

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