Photos: Inside the Rosemont Preserve

To step inside the Rosemont Preserve resembles a scene from The Secret Garden, only the California version with giant oak and walnut trees. 

Chumash Indians inhabited the mountains at the mouth of Goss Canyon where yerba santa, sacred herb, blooms violet.

The land has long sat locked to the public, behind a barbed wire fence above Rosemont Avenue, but could serve a public space for children's local field trips, hiking or bird watching.

The Arroyos and Foothills Conservancy is an Altadena land trust that aims to leave open space available to San Gabriel Mountain communities. The group invites the public on docent-led hikes through the Rosemont Preserve. 

The 7.5-acre, $450,000 Rosemont Preserve project has raised about $31,944.48 from the community and a pledged $350,000 from Los Angeles County – but still has additional fundraising to complete before the Arroyos and Foothills Conservancy can make the purchase.

To learn more about the project, donate or see the space for yourself visit the Arroyos and Foothills website.