Cave of Munits — Attraction in Westhills

Since when do they call this "cave of muntis"? I've grown up in west hills (back then Canoga park) right off Corie lane since the late 70s and this cave was always and still known to me as "bats cave". In fact, there used to be a little man-made lake about 1/2 inland which was the little lake in the original planet of the apes from the 50s (and a few other low budgets). We used to go lake jumping there with our mongoose supergoose bmx bikes. In the summer of '86 it was dried out and stuffed with rocks and dirt because across it was an old Indian burial site where some kids found some washed up Indian skeletal remains (that's why there is a gate 40 feet from "bats cave" aka cave of mucous or whatever it's called now.. Fond memories of SFV. I wish people realized heading to the caves in the 90s was a murder suicide, 2 drugged out teens popped one two many pills and shot themselves by the big hill going up to west hills II (daryn drive and all those houses). Can't forget about the swing made out of a firehose there too. Unfortunately, a poor little girl flew off the swing and landed over the trees puncturing her left lung and died on site (circa 1988) , bottom line, the caves are a trendy haven for tourists alike , but rest assured it was a very freaky place when I was young. Fights would go DOWN there from rival schools,, el Camino, canoga, and chaminade. Gangs and drugs too. There used to be a bee hive inside and we knew this kid who through a rock and unfortunately perished from his injuries. Other than...

Beware no shade on the way up or down. Not recommended for inexperienced hikers, small kids (because you'll need both your hands to keep yourself from falling), people with knee issues, or afraid of heights if you plan to go to the cave or Castle Peak. The last bit of climb into the cave was challenging for me as I'm 5'-2" and the rock was smooth about that height with nothing to grab or step on to boost myself up other than some nylon rope that was there. Once you climb out of the cave at the top, you will need to scramble up some steep sections with loose dirt and gravel all the way to the trail on the other side of the ridge. Be sure to hydrate yourselves before starting this climb as you might no be able to stop for a drink until you reach the top, because you will need both hands free to keep balance all the way to the top. There was some shade on the other side of the ridge and it was pretty easy to get to Castle Peak. View was gorgeous for a spring day. Full of wild flowers. Coming back down was again steep all the way without switchbacks. It's step step slide on loose dirt and small rocks all...

Love the easy hike to the Cave of Munits on El Escorpion Trail. In getting to the trail, Google map erroneously directed me to the wrong street called Bell Canyon Road, which is a newly paved private road to a gated community. The accurate entrance to El Escorpion Trail is on Sunset Ridge Ct. Parking is along the residential street where available. Just be respectful of the neighborhood to avoid littering as there are trash receptacles at park entrance. There are few large, I believe, oak trees that offer generous shades along the hike. Otherwise, it's wide open space leading to the mouth of the rock cave. I will definitely return for better exploration of the cavern the next time without children as they limited my climb. The climb is rather steep to get up into the cave. I am sure the view is wonderful based on other visitors' posts of images looking out from the cave. Because this is a popular hiking destination, there will be people flocking to this main cave waiting to take turn to climb up after someone climbs down. There's only 1 way up and...