Between the middle of San Timoteo Canyon and the town of Yucaipa is Live Oak Canyon, three miles of a narrow, largely undeveloped canyon that once provided a trade route to the busy Serrano village of Yu’kaip’at. It has resisted massive residential development, remaining, instead, rural with horse ranches on either side of Live Oak Canyon Road.
Until the mid-1800s, groves of California live oak trees covered the canyon, but those have long-since been replaced by native chaparral and grasslands and non-native plants.
Serrano Indians used this canyon for harvesting acorns and for travel to trade with the village of Yu’cai’pat at the east end of the canyon.
Spanish, Mexican and American settlers, missionaries and explorers were drawn to the canyon as they moved between the foothill communities and the high desert. With a blue line creek fed by waterways in the San Bernardino Mountain foothills, the canyon is a recognized wildlife corridor. The narrow and twisty Live Oak Canyon Road, often squeezed between the toes of the hills and the creek, challenges drivers to slow down and savor a sense of place that can’t be bought.
Discovery Highlights
Vistas – San Bernardino and San Gorgonio Peaks, Yucaipa Ridge
Environment – Herngt ‘Aki’ Preserve, Gateway Ranch
Agriculture – Horse training stables, cattle ranches
Recreation – Hiking, cycling and horseback riding at Herngt ‘Aki’ Preserve and Gateway Ranch