Carlisle Canyon
Carlisle Canyon is the rural canyon on the south side of Lake Sherwood in unincorporated Ventura County. Carlisle Road leaves Westlake Boulevard (State Route 23) and runs about four miles west through it, serving roughly 35 addressed parcels, most of 2 to 10 acres. County records show no tract map here; the land was divided piece by piece through small parcel maps recorded from 1967 onward.
Updated · Sources at the bottom of the page · Corrections: send a correction
Carlisle Canyon quick facts
| Also called | Carlisle Road |
|---|---|
| Where | Canyon on the south side of Lake Sherwood, along Carlisle Road (East and West Carlisle Road), which leaves Westlake Boulevard (State Route 23) and runs west; Carlisle Creek drains north into the lake's Carlisle Inlet. |
| City / jurisdiction | Unincorporated Ventura County · ZIP 91361; about a dozen addresses, mostly on West Carlisle Road, use Malibu 90265 |
| Built | No tract subdivision; land divided through parcel maps recorded 1967–2009, homes built individually |
| Homes | About 35 addressed parcels on Carlisle Road (county address points); roughly 30 carry assessed improvements |
| Home types | Single-family homes on rural parcels, mostly 2 to 10 acres, with a handful of 40 acres or more |
| Parks nearby | Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (the canyon lies within its boundary), Circle X Ranch (to the west) |
| School district | Conejo Valley Unified School District |
Pins are approximate centers.
Living in Carlisle Canyon
Ventura County's Lake Sherwood/Hidden Valley Area Plan splits its planning area into the Lake Sherwood Community and Hidden Valley/Carlisle Canyon, the rural remainder outside the community boundary. The plan sets out to limit development in Carlisle Canyon until adequate services and access are in place, aims to keep land outside the community in Open Space, and asks any discretionary project here for a water-availability study. It also restricts new connections onto Carlisle Road to tactical emergency-access gates.
The canyon lies in a CAL FIRE Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone within the State Responsibility Area. State fire-perimeter maps show the 1985 Sherwood Fire across the eastern part of the canyon and the 1993 Green Meadows Fire across the western reach. Carlisle Canyon also sits inside the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, though most land along the road is privately owned. Mailing addresses split between Thousand Oaks 91361 and Malibu 90265, and the area belongs to Conejo Valley Unified School District.
The lay of the land
Rural and thinly settled: homes spread along a long canyon road on hillside lots of several acres, Carlisle Creek running down toward the lake, and high wildfire exposure.
The county area plan's "Hidden Valley/Carlisle Canyon" subarea covers everything outside the Lake Sherwood community boundary; this page covers the Carlisle Road corridor only.
Schools near Carlisle Canyon
Public schools nearby
- Westlake Elementary School
- Colina Middle School
- Westlake High School
Being nearby doesn't mean a school is assigned. Attendance goes by address and boundaries change; confirm with the district.
- Conejo Valley Unified School District: find the assigned schools for an address
Services, representation & fire safety
These are Lake Sherwood & Hidden Valley's area-wide providers; some vary by street.
| Police | Ventura County Sheriff's Office, East County (Thousand Oaks) station, 2101 E. Olsen Rd., Thousand Oaks 805-494-8200 · This station also serves as the Thousand Oaks Police Department, and it patrols nearby unincorporated areas. Its page names Hidden Valley among them. |
|---|---|
| Fire | Ventura County Fire Department, Station 33 (Lake Sherwood), 33 Lake Sherwood Dr. 805-371-0474 (station line; call 911 in an emergency) · Built in 1949 on the lakeshore. It serves Lake Sherwood, Hidden Valley and the southern part of Westlake, with Engine 33, Brush Engine 333 and Patrol 33. Station 32 (830 Reino Rd., Newbury Park) covers western Thousand Oaks and the Potrero Valley areas. |
| Water (Lake Sherwood community) | Ventura County Waterworks District No. 38 It began on March 28, 1989 as the Lake Sherwood Community Services District and became WWD 38 after voters passed Measure N in May 2015. The district covers about 2,048 acres. All of its water comes from the State Water Project. Metropolitan Water District filters and disinfects it at its Jensen plant in Granada Hills, and Calleguas MWD delivers it to the district. The district's 2025 water quality report counts 792 service connections, two reservoirs, two booster pump stations and about 19 miles of water lines, and a 2020 district presentation also lists four pressure-reducing stations. The district runs as an enterprise fund with no tax revenue, so customers' water rates and charges pay all of its costs. The Board of Supervisors is its board of directors, and a citizens' advisory committee, which meets quarterly, reviews policy, budget and rate recommendations before they go to the board. |
| Water (Hidden Valley & Carlisle Canyon) | Private wells Homes here rely on wells. The Hidden Valley Municipal Water District provides recycled water only, not drinking water. In 2020, District 38 staff reported that three Hidden Valley homes whose wells were falling in level and quality had asked to connect to district water through a private line the owners would maintain. The request needed LAFCo action to go forward. The area plan requires a water-availability study for new development in Hidden Valley and Carlisle Canyon. |
| Sewer | Triunfo Water & Sanitation District (Lake Sherwood community); private septic systems elsewhere The area plan limits the sewer system to the Lake Sherwood community. Outside it, homes use septic systems under County Environmental Health rules. |
| Electric | Southern California Edison (delivery); Clean Power Alliance (default power supplier for unincorporated Ventura County) |
| Gas | Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) The California Energy Commission's service-area map places the area in SoCalGas territory. Owners of rural parcels should confirm with SoCalGas that a gas line serves their property. |
| Trash & recycling | E.J. Harrison & Sons (County 'Southwest' residential service area) 805-647-1414 · The county's hauler service-area map shows Lake Sherwood, Hidden Valley and Carlisle Canyon in E.J. Harrison's Southwest area. |
| Parks district | Conejo Recreation & Park District Most of the Lake Sherwood community joined CRPD through LAFCo 81-26, the Lake Sherwood Annexation, recorded October 22, 1981. The southern and western estate lands followed through LAFCo 88-15, the Lake Sherwood Reorganization, recorded August 9, 1989, and a small 1990 addition. County GIS places Hidden Valley and Carlisle Canyon outside the district. |
| Library | Ventura County Library (Oak Park Library); City of Thousand Oaks libraries nearby, including Newbury Park Library at 2331 Borchard Rd. |
| Animal services | Ventura County Animal Services |
| Emergency alerts | VC Alert (Ventura County emergency notification system, run on Everbridge) 888-772-4482 · Free. It sends alerts in English and Spanish by phone, text, email or TTY. More information: ready.venturacounty.gov |
| Street lighting | Ventura County Service Area No. 14 County GIS shows Lake Sherwood annexed to CSA 14 in 2005 (LAFCo 04-26). The service area provides street lighting in developed unincorporated areas. |
Who represents you: District 2: Jeff Gorell, in office since January 2023 and chair of the Board of Supervisors for 2026. He won re-election outright in the June 2, 2026 primary with 52.6% of the vote, so his new term begins in January 2027. Website: https://supervisorgorell.venturacounty.gov Full list for Lake Sherwood & Hidden Valley.
Fire safety: Fire hazard zones: The whole area is in the State Responsibility Area. CAL FIRE's current Fire Hazard Severity Zone map (effective 2024) rates the Lake Sherwood community, Carlisle Canyon and most of Potrero Road Very High, and parts of the open Hidden Valley… More.
Other neighborhoods in Lake Sherwood & Hidden Valley
Homes for sale in and around Carlisle Canyon
Every MLS listing here, with photos, prices and details, is on Properkey.
Browse homes for sale in Thousand Oaks, Lake Sherwood and Hidden Valley on Properkey
Real estate information provided by Properkey (CA DRE #01979718 · NMLS #1438783), which is not the listing broker unless stated.
Where these facts come from
- Lake Sherwood/Hidden Valley Area Plan (Ventura County 2040, September 2020): Hidden Valley/Carlisle Canyon subarea, Carlisle Canyon development goal, policies LS-16.4, LS-31.3 and LS-64.1 — rma.venturacounty.gov
- Ventura County Planning Director staff report, Lake Sherwood PD Permits PL22-0160/0161/0162 (June 22, 2023): Lake Sherwood inlet in Carlisle Canyon; Carlisle Creek — rma.venturacounty.gov
- Ventura County GIS: Master Address Points (Carlisle Road addresses and ZIP codes) — maps.ventura.org
- Ventura County GIS: Parcels (Carlisle Road lot sizes, improvements, no tract numbers) — maps.ventura.org
- Ventura County GIS: Recorded Maps (parcel maps 1967–2009 along Carlisle Road; no tract maps) — maps.ventura.org
- CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zones in State Responsibility Areas — services1.arcgis.com
- CAL FIRE historic fire perimeters — services1.arcgis.com
- National Park Service Land Resources Division: boundary and tract data (Santa Monica Mountains NRA) — services1.arcgis.com
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb: roads (Carlisle Road alignment and Westlake Boulevard/SR 23 junction) — tigerweb.geo.census.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb: school districts (Conejo Valley Unified) — tigerweb.geo.census.gov
Something wrong or missing on this page? Residents know their streets best. Send a correction and we'll check it against the records and fix it.