There was a time when Sespe Creek lacked the protections it now enjoys as a designated National Wild and Scenic River surrounded by the 219,700-acre Sespe Wilderness. Ojai Valley lore has it that rock stars in the 1970s rode in limousines down a dirt road to wild parties at Sespe Hot Springs, which today requires a 32-mile roundtrip hike to sit in its tranquil waters, with the occasional bighorn sheep gazing down from surrounding cliff sides as company.