The lure of a cool, clear and gentle stream on a broiling hot day was irresistible. Elizabeth Lopez and her husband loaded their two daughters in the car and drove some 36 miles to the banks of the Tujunga Wash from their Harbor Gateway home.
“I heard about this place because my church held a prayer service up the road,” said Lopez, 39. “I told my husband I want to come here. The water isn’t too deep, and I can watch my kids. He thinks it’s safer too.”
The ample gurgling water, the rare outpouring of a super-rainy winter, has turned a rural corner of Los Angeles into a popular — and unauthorized — recreational spot this summer. People lugging canopies, lawn chairs and barbecues are converging on a stretch of the wash accessible mainly through a private road. Along the way, they are blocking the narrow street, illegally parking and leaving behind piles of trash and waste.
Residents in the adjacent Riverwood Ranch, a gated, 37-home enclave, are fed up and are calling for a city crackdown on scofflaw visitors. Police have begun ticketing. And although a recent cleanup removed some debris, officials can’t keep up with the crowds. Signs posted on July 10 warned that the area is not for recreational use and violators will be cited for illegal parking.
Lonzo Medina of Northeast Graffiti Busters picks up trash along the Tujunga Wash for Operation Bright Spot.
Most of the city’s “no stopping any time” street signs and “no trespassing” placards have been knocked down or tagged with spray paint. No dumping signs are ignored.
“We basically can’t get in or out during the weekends,” said Michael Schaafsma, 70, president of Riverwood’s homeowner association. “It’s completely out of control.”
Much to residents’ chagrin, the area was featured in a TikTok post, celebrating a “beautiful river” area for families to picnic and showing children in brightly colored floaters playing in the water. Although it warned that visitors who illegally park will be ticketed, it erroneously said the area was part of the Angeles National Forest.
“There’s no facilities, it’s not a park. It’s not even part of the national forest,” Shaafsma said. “There’s no place for people to put their trash when they’re done picnicking so it builds up.”
To reach the stream, visitors enter Oro Vista Avenue off Big Tujunga Canyon Road which soon turns into a private street. Desperate for a parking space, visitors often double park and block the only road to their homes, residents said.
Dams of rocks and debris have been constructed by visitors of the Tujunga Wash to create swimming pools.
Tujunga Wash is represented by Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez.
Los Angeles Department of Public Works said maintenance of the area and water rights fall under city jurisdiction. The area is a mix of city and privately owned parcels, officials said.
Riverwood residents, mostly retirees, last year captured footage from 4th of July showing multiple cars blocking the entirety of Oro Vista Avenue. This year, police patrolled the road, generally keeping cars on Big Tujunga Canyon Road, a longer walk to the wash.
Rodriguez said enforcement is challenging.
“My office continues to work to resolve concerns surrounding the recreational use of Tujunga Wash, which is challenging to regulate due to combinations of private and public land ownership,” she said in an emailed statement. “We continue to seek everyone’s cooperation and encourage families to seek relief from the heat by taking advantage of the other safe recreational options in the immediate area, including the Hansen Dam Aquatic Center.”
Riverwood residents, who were behind a 2015 effort to remove a growing homeless encampment from the area, have tried to address the issues on their own. They’ve tied big trash bags to posts, asking people to clean up after themselves. They’ve spray-painted rocks with “pick up your trash.”
But it backfired.
“Some people put their trash in bags and leave them in a big pile. Animals come and shred the bags, spreading trash everywhere on the road,” Schaafsma said. “It’s like you’re driving through a dump. It’s a beautiful spot and it’s just tragic that people are treating it so poorly.”
Workers with Operation Bright Spot clean trash from the Tujunga Wash.
Rodriguez organized a community cleanup day on Sept. 9, 2023. The Bureau of Sanitation also stepped in and was scheduled to clean the area on a bi-weekly basis.
But Schaafsma and others say it’s not enough.
“My wife just phones 311 whenever it builds up down there,” he said.
Clean up crews arrived July 9. And Rodriguez visited the wash July 8 as officers issued tickets to cars parked illegally on the private road, which is closest to the stream.
Tom Luduvico is one of many residents of Riverwood Ranch, a private community, who are affected by illegally parked cars and piles of trash and debris left behind by visitors.
“We’re just asking for access,” said Riverwood Ranch resident Tom Luduvico, who has lived in the area for more than 20 years.
“We were OK when they were parking illegally and we could get through,” Luduvico said. “What we should have done is call any time we saw any infraction, because now it’s just gotten to the point where it’s so large. Nobody can control it.”
Crowds can range between 200 to 300 people during summer holidays, police said.
Senior Lead Officer Wilcer Godoy of the Sunland-Tujunga area said all city entities should help solve the problem.
“If all the entities would simply do their job, it could be resolved almost 100%,” Godoy said.
Ludovico understands that police are stretched thin, “but parking enforcement won’t go down unless the police are there.”
Leaders of the homeowners group met with Godoy and a representative from Rodriguez’s office last week to discuss the future of Oro Vista Avenue.
The city is planning to put K-rails — temporary concrete barriers — and import boulders to discourage off-road parking. LADOT officers will ticket illegally parked cars on the city’s portion of the road.
Jose Ortiz, 49, and his nephew Gavin Quesada, 12, splashed around the wash Wednesday. Ortiz, who lives 30 minutes from the wash, says he visits every summer.
“We don’t want to be indoors, we want to be outside,” Ortiz said. “A place like this is like an escape. It’s an oasis.”
Free trash bags are available to visitors of the Tujunga Wash, but are often filled by visitors and then left there, where they are later torn apart by animals.
A San Fernando Valley mother visited the wash for the first time Wednesday with her son, who played at the edge of the water as she lounged in the stream, pouring water on her shoulders on a 95-degree day.
“Why take this place away? It’s so hot and not all of us have air conditioning. Some of us can’t pay the electricity bill,” she said. “Children are on vacation and there are parents who [can’t] afford to take them anywhere because there’s no money.”
Ludovico says he isn’t trying to stop people from using the wash, but insists the road be passable and roadblocks stopped.
“If we took care of this place more, the residents wouldn’t feel bothered,” Ortiz said.
Ludovico recommends visitors drive a few miles from the wash up Big Tujunga Canyon Road to Vogel Flats, which is part of the Angeles National Forest.
This area has restrooms, paved parking and access to Big Tujunga Creek for fishing and water play.
“It would be bad if they closed it off, but the residents have their reasons,” Ortiz said.