Tapo Canyon, Natural canyon in Simi Valley, United States.

Tapo Canyon is a series of canyons and a wildlife corridor in the western Santa Susana Mountains, north of Simi Valley. Tapo Canyon Regional Park, at 4651 Tapo Canyon Road, is an open-space park and campground with rolling hills, oak trees, and vegetated creek beds. Trails climb to 2,300 feet, and the park has sixteen RV hookups and picnic areas.

Tapo Canyon takes its name from Ta'apu, the largest of three Chumash villages in the Simi Valley, alongside Kimishax and Shimiyi. The village stood beside Tapo Creek for thousands of years before colonization; its last chief, Zalasuit, was baptized Salvador at Mission San Fernando in 1804. In the 1850s winemaker José De La Guerra moved his Rancho Simi base to Tapo Canyon, and from 1910 oil wells drew up to 300 barrels a day.

The name derives from Ta'apu, the Ventureño Chumash village beside Tapo Creek; it was the largest of three Chumash villages in Simi Valley, with Kimishax and Shimiyi. Its last chief, Zalasuit, was baptized Salvador at Mission San Fernando in 1804. A Chumash effigy tablet found here in 1900 by Philip W. Gillibrand, ten inches long, is thought to be a calendar.

The best time to visit is during cooler months when trails are easiest to navigate and visibility is good. Bring plenty of water and wear sturdy shoes, as paths can be uneven and the terrain gets very dry in summer.

Tapo Canyon served as the main filming location for the 1970s television series Little House on the Prairie. The canyon's rolling hills and oak-lined creeks stood in for the American Midwest on screen.