Mildred Kanipe Memorial County Park
Seasons
Checklists
Location
From I-5 going north, take exit 138 and head east 1.5 miles to Oakland. At the stop sign turn left on 1st Street. Go 0.15 miles and turn right on Oak Street, which turns into Driver Valley Road (County Road [CR] 22). Follow this road 3.9 miles to Elkhead Road (CR 50). There is a pond on the left before the junction that usually holds some waterfowl. Bear left on Elkhead Road. At 0.7 miles there is a pull-off on the right where you can view a small private wetland. At 2.6 miles is the first entrance to Kanipe Ranch on the left, which is used mainly for horse trailer parking. The main entrance is another 0.4 miles (MP 3.0) on the left.
DirectionsHabitat and Birds
The park is open for horses March 15-Oct.31, and all year for general use. This 1100 acre former ranch includes a variety of open and wooded habitats. The topography is generally rolling hills and contains 450 acres of pasture, 650 acres of woods with meadows, a couple of intermittent streams with sparse patches of riparian habitat, and a small pond. There are quite a few horse and hiking trails and some old ranch roads to walk. Some ranch animals may still graze parts of the ranch. The flock of peacocks by the entrance can be a noise nuisance.
Birds found here include Western Bluebird, Lazuli Bunting, White-breasted Nuthatch, Acorn Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker, Bullock’s Oriole, Cassin’s Vireo, Western Tanager, Yellow-breasted chat, Grasshopper sparrow and Western Meadowlark. Lewis’s Woodpecker can usually be found near the caretaker’s house. A pair of Red-eyed Vireos once nested in the oak riparian area.
Discussion