JAUNTS : Walk on the Wild Side for the Disabled, Blind : Final touches are being put on special quarter-mile trail in Thousand Oaks. It’s also ideal for strollers and young hikers too.

For wheelchair users and the blind, a simple walk in the woods is usually out of the question. But a special trail in Thousand Oaks is changing all that.

After a series of setbacks and delays, the Oak Creek Canyon Whole Access Trail is getting its final touches. Sixteen signs in Braille are expected to be in place along the quarter-mile trail this week.

Hopefully, it will be in time for a docent-led hike on the trail Monday, Presidents’ Day, from 9 to 10 a.m. The group will meet at the trail head, near the Arts Council Center, at the end of Greenmeadow Drive off Moorpark Road.

This isn’t a jaunt just for wheelchair users or the blind. The trail is ideal for strollers or for little hikers who get tuckered easily. Nor is it a hands-off experience. Along the way, the group will touch the acorns of the scrub oak tree, for instance, or smell the leaves of the black sage bush.

The trail is like a shady glen, canopied by big oak trees that let the sun peek through. Here, grass and bushes thrive between the canyon walls. Birds sing and animals skitter through the woods.

The trail is designed to give disabled people a sense of independence in a kind of mini-wilderness setting. The four-foot-wide trail looks and feels like a hard, dirt path, but actually it’s a special kind of granite that gives wheelchair users a smooth, stable ride.

“You can’t appreciate this unless you’re in a wheelchair,� said Mike Taylor of Thousand Oaks, who relies on one because of a spinal problem. Without such a trail, there is no way for wheelchair users to go into the woods, he said. Here, “you feel like you are in the wilderness.�

Bordering the trail is a split-rail fence. Just below the top rail is a guide cable for blind people to grasp as they walk. Along the way are Braille signs that tell hikers what trees, plants and animals inhabit the area. They even tell hikers how many feet they must walk to reach out and touch an oak tree--or where they should not reach out because of poison oak.

There are two picnic tables--wide enough for wheelchairs--on the trail. A restroom for wheelchair users is at the trail head, along with a special drinking fountain and four slots for handicapped parking.

People with disabilities and organizations that assist them participated in design of the trail, which ultimately cost $80,000 to construct, said Mark Towne, an assistant planner with the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency. COSCA, which developed the trail, is a joint powers agency of the Conejo Recreation and Park District and the city of Thousand Oaks.

“It’s been a challenge, but we’re happy with the final product,� Towne said.

Challenge is an understatement. First, 300 feet of the vinyl-wrapped steel guide cable for the blind walkers was stolen in April and had to be replaced. Then the restroom was sent back because it wasn’t suitably equipped for the handicapped. Heavy rain last spring further delayed opening of the trail.

Then the Green Meadow fire late last year blistered the restroom and scorched some of the trees at the bottom of the trail. Finally, the Braille signs had to be redone because the dots were flaking off.

Nonetheless, the trail has been open to hikers for months. Horseback riders and bicyclists are permitted to use the trail, but they must stay on the unimproved side of the fence. The trail links up with Los Robles Trail, which stretches from Newbury Park on the west almost to Westlake Village on the east.

Details

* WHAT: Hike along the Oak Creek Canyon Whole Access Trail, which is specially designed for wheelchair users and the blind. Half-mile round-trip hike is led by Conejo Recreation and Park District docent.

* WHEN: Monday, 9 to 10 a.m.

* WHERE: Trail head is at the end of Green Meadow Avenue in Thousand Oaks, near the Arts Council Center. Take the Moorpark Road exit off the Ventura Freeway.

* COST: $3. Preregistration is required. Call 494-8301 to sign up or for information.

* FYI: The district is looking for volunteers to be trained to lead handicapped people on outings at the trail.