Hidden Valley
Hidden Valley is the unincorporated horse country along Potrero Road between Lake Sherwood and Newbury Park, in the Santa Monica Mountains foothills. No tract builder developed it. Starting in the late 1960s, county parcel maps split former Rancho El Conejo land into ranches and estates, usually 20 acres or more, and owners built the houses one at a time. The census does not count the valley separately.
Updated · Sources at the bottom of the page · Corrections: send a correction
Hidden Valley quick facts
| Where | The valley along Potrero Road between Lake Sherwood (east) and Newbury Park's Wendy Drive (west), in the Santa Monica Mountains foothills. Main streets are Potrero Road, Hidden Valley Road and White Stallion Road. |
|---|---|
| City / jurisdiction | Unincorporated Ventura County · ZIP 91361 |
| Built | The ranch land was split by county parcel maps from 1967 onward, and the homes were built individually. There are no recorded tract subdivisions on the valley floor. |
| Home types | Horse ranches and custom country estates, mostly on parcels of 20 acres or more |
| Gates | Partly gated (some enclaves have gates) |
| Tracts | 1 named tracts and sub-neighborhoods (list) |
| Parks nearby | Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa (NPS), Point Mugu State Park / Boney Mountain, Los Robles Trail (Potrero Road trailhead near Wendy Drive) |
| School district | Conejo Valley Unified School District |
Pins are approximate centers.
Living in Hidden Valley
Ventura County's Lake Sherwood/Hidden Valley Area Plan was adopted in 1987 and updated in 2020. It keeps land outside the lake community in open space, mostly with minimum parcel sizes of 20 acres or more, and it encourages horse ranching and farming. Ranch owners have included David Murdock, who bought Ventura Farms on West Potrero Road in 1978 and made it an Arabian horse-breeding farm. The valley has been a filming location for Seabiscuit, Knots Landing, 24 and the 2020 Perry Mason. Its only named subdivision is White Stallion Estates.
Most homes draw water from private wells and use septic systems. The county plan keeps the Lake Sherwood water and sewer systems sized for the lake community and allows only limited private-lateral hookups for existing homes outside it. In 2020 the owners of three existing Hidden Valley homes, whose wells were dropping in level and quality, asked to connect to Waterworks District No. 38, the county water district that serves Lake Sherwood, through a private lateral line they would maintain at no cost to the district. Moving it forward required help from Ventura LAFCO, the county's boundary commission. County Fire Station 33 is on Lake Sherwood Drive, and the Ventura County Sheriff's Thousand Oaks Station on Olsen Road provides police service. The valley is in Conejo Valley Unified and State Senate District 21, while the lake community is in District 27.
The lay of the land
An open valley of horse pastures, oak savanna and long private drives. The Los Robles Trail starts on Potrero Road near Wendy Drive. Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa and Point Mugu State Park lie to the west and south, and wildfire exposure is high.
Hidden Valley is a community name, not a city. Its homes are in unincorporated Ventura County, but most mail is addressed to Thousand Oaks or Westlake Village, 91361.
Tracts & sub-neighborhoods of Hidden Valley
The named tracts, villages and gated enclaves residents, HOAs and the MLS use inside the neighborhood, each with its own page.
Missing a tract? Tell us its name and we'll research it.
Schools near Hidden Valley
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 Hidden Valley
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
- Wikipedia: Hidden Valley, Ventura County, California — en.wikipedia.org
- Ventura County: Lake Sherwood/Hidden Valley Area Plan (September 2020) — rma.venturacounty.gov
- Ventura County GIS: recorded maps on the Hidden Valley floor (Rancho El Conejo 1885; parcel maps 1967-1995) — maps.ventura.org
- Ventura Farms (235 W. Potrero Rd.; Murdock, 1978) — venturafarms.com
- Ventura Farms: About Us (1978 purchase; Arabian breeding program) — venturafarms.com
- Wikipedia: David H. Murdock (ranch in Hidden Valley) — en.wikipedia.org
- Ventura County Planning staff report, Lake Sherwood PD permits PL23-0125/0126 (Fire Station 33 at 33 Lake Sherwood Drive) — rma.venturacounty.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau geocoder at 34.148, -118.912 (Conejo Valley USD; State Senate District 21) — geocoding.geo.census.gov
- NPS: Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa (Wendy Trailhead at Potrero Road) — nps.gov
- Conejo Open Space Foundation: Los Robles Trail (from Potrero Road near Wendy Drive) — cosf.org
- Ventura County Sheriff's Office: Thousand Oaks Station, 2101 E. Olsen Rd. (police services for unincorporated Hidden Valley) — sheriff.venturacounty.gov
- Ventura County Waterworks District No. 38 (Lake Sherwood) Citizens Advisory Committee, Sept. 8, 2020 agenda packet (July 30, 2020 minutes: Hidden Valley annexation update) — publicworks.venturacounty.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.