Located in Santa Clarita, at the base of Pico Canyon’s chaparral-dominated slopes, Mentryville was an 1880’s oil boom town built around its oil well, Pico No. 4.  Named for Charles Alexander Mentry, the oil well’s tenacious driller—and later superintendent of the company that would become Chevron, Mentryville was home to over 100 families until the early 1930’s. Pico No. 4 went on to become the longest continually operating oil well in the world, closing in 1990. Historic buildings still stand including Charles Mentry’s grand thirteen-room mansion, a one-room school house, and a period barn. Mentryville and Pico No. 4 are registered as California State Historical Landmarks.

Walk past the Superintedent's house and the schoolhouse to pick up a paved road for an easy stroll into the canyon. Follow this as it winds past pepper, oak, aspen and sycamore trees, gaining elevation slightly as the canyon narrows. At a split in the road, bear right to Johnson Park. Here you will find picnic tables, barbecue grills, running water, and the remains of Pico No. 4 . From there you can take another trail up for a view of the canyon.