PASTORAL CHARMS WALK AWAY FROM CITY LIFE IN THE SEPULVEDA DAM AREA.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

Leave Ventura Boulevard and things can get rural, even pastoral.

Yes, really. Farmland, cricket, archery, man-made lakes and bunny- bedecked wildlife trails are just a few short blocks north of a busy Gelson's in the heart of Encino.

Truthfully speaking, the Sepulveda Dam Basin -- with its nearby athletic fields, golf courses and recreation centers -- hasn't exactly been a Valley secret for quite some time. Anybody with even a grain of sense knows to avoid Balboa Boulevard like 12-day-old meat on a weekend when Lake Balboa picnickers and soccer players are cooking and kicking up a frenzy.

That's why our Sepulveda Dam Basin walk begins on less-populated Hayvenhurst Avenue, moving away from Balboa and into the relative seclusion of Woodley Park's Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve.

Fair warning here: Whether your aim is fitness or ambling through scenery, the dam basin and its environs go on for quite some distance and merit more time than we've given it here. The walk we've outlined totals 4 miles round trip, but we've laid out a ``turn back'' spot along the way to trim the distance for those who get weary.

As for you hearty souls who are up for the full distance, as always, we recommend comfortable walking shoes and plenty of water. You'll pass an occasional drinking fountain but not much else in the way of fortification.

We begin at Hayvenhurst Avenue just south of the 101 Freeway underpass. Leave your car either at the park-and-ride lot or along Hartsook Street. Either way, you'll want to start on the west side of the street to take yourself past -- and possibly through -- the Sepulveda Garden Center, a community garden with sunflowers towering like armed guards. Some 800 plots are spread out over 20 acres, with more available for rent to aspiring green thumbs.

The underpass mural by Sandy Bleifer (1975) whimsically depicts an assortment of trashed cars crunched into a sardine tin. You might want to give this a minute or two of perusal, since it's pretty much the only cultural thing you'll see on this particular jaunt.

Directly past the underpass sits the retail site of Tapia Brothers Farms, a popular produce and vegetable stand that becomes the West Valley's pumpkin hub as Halloween nears. The farm has been in business some 35 years. Strawberries should still be very much in season, along with peppers, basil, eggplant, squash and tomatoes.

The demonstration garden is pretty much just for show, since ``some people don't know where a green bean comes from,'' says co-owner Tom Tapia. Most of the Tapia fields lie adjacent along Burbank Boulevard and over by the West Valley Little League fields.

``You can see them from the Orange Line bus,'' says Tapia.

Hayvenhurst ends at Burbank Boulevard. Cross to the east side of the street, then cross Burbank and turn right. You'll spend the next 1.3 miles paralleling the Encino Golf Course. Depending on the hour, you may be sharing your walk with in-line skaters, dog walkers, joggers and, yes, the busy Burbank Boulevard traffic. The golf course itself has a dirt path that you can also travel -- and which ultimately loops around the course back to Balboa Boulevard, but we're staying on the bike path.

As you reach the end of the golf course, continue straight ahead to a narrow bridge that takes you over a stretch of the Los Angeles River that actually contains water. And fish, and shore birds. The bridge also affords a decent view of the Sepulveda Dam itself.

When you reach the intersection of Woodley and Burbank less than 1/2 mile later, you might rest a bit on one of the shaded benches (no drinking fountains, alas) on the northwest corner. It's a frequent stop for the cyclists as well as a quiet spot to watch the model airplanes buzzing in the sky over the Apollo II Model Aircraft Field.

Had enough? You've journeyed about 1.5 miles and could easily retrace your steps and head back along Burbank Boulevard to Hayvenhurst. Nature- and seclusion-wise, however, the best is very much still ahead if you continue forward.

Apollo II is accessible if you turn the corner and proceed down Woodley along the bike path on the west side of the street, but we're crossing to the east side of Woodley and hanging a left. There's no footpath or trail here, but you can cut into the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area in less than 1/4 mile.

The entrance will be on the right; go down the path and you're on the trail, with assorted flora, fauna and the ever-present sound -- night and day -- of crickets. By coming from Woodley rather than through the Woodley Park entrance, you're traveling the route backward.

Follow the trail for just under 1/2 mile. If you need a bathroom break, you can cut up into Woodley Park proper. Otherwise, wend your way along the trails, running into an occasional pond and eventually emerging (at about 0.6 of a mile from where you entered) at the trail end, which also serves as the entrance to the park. The wildlife basin area meanders over 200 acres, and you might find yourself glancing over a duck pond at a multilevel parking structure in the distance.

Once you're back in Woodley Park, follow the dirt path up a short incline to the right, where a cluster of large stone pillars (conveniently located near a group of bathrooms) announces that the Wildlife Basin offers ``A Symphony of Sounds.'' There's also an information kiosk that provides data on bird walks.

Once you've explored a bit, follow the concrete road back toward the parking lot. Up to the right is the Woodley Park Archery Range. Proceed along the road toward Woodley Avenue, and you'll encounter the Leo Magnus Cricket Complex, home to what the Southern California Cricket Association dubs the ``four leading cricket fields in the nation.'' (That's right, you've proceeded from crickets to cricket.)

The fields are indeed green and pristine and are home to regular matches on weekends. Note also the ``soccer prohibited'' signs. Nowhere else in the Valley -- particularly in the vicinity of Lake Balboa -- will you spot a sign like this.

The same road eventually returns you to Woodley Avenue. On the right, just before you exit the park, you'll pass the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant and the Japanese Garden. The 6.5-acre garden offers docent-led tours and open strolling, but reservations are required. It's a lovely spot which -- unless you've allocated the entire day for this journey -- we recommend you explore during a separate excursion.

Back on Woodley, turn left and retrace your steps to Burbank, and from there, back to Hayvenhurst. If you really want to leave the rural Valley behind, you might continue your walk up to Ventura Boulevard for a bite to eat.

Or else go by car. Oh, go ahead, you've walked four miles. You've earned it.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

[e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

8 photos, box, map

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Elfi Roger, left, and Jiwon Innes walk along the path at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

(2 -- 5 -- color) Clockwise from top left: Think British at the cricket fields; walkers will find miles of trails in the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve; Sandy Wilk buys strawberries from Yolanda Nester at the Tapia Bros. produce stand; there actually is water flowing toward the Sepulveda Dam.

Photos by Tina Burch and Tom Mendoza/ Staff Photographers

(6 -- 7 -- color) A welcoming plot at the Sepulveda Garden Center, above, where Annelies Kasselik of Encino works on a tomato plant, above right.

(8 -- color) no caption (TAPIA BROS Fresh Produce sign)

Box:

ALONG THE WAY

Map:

Walking in L.A. Tour -- Sepulveda Basin