After a century as privately held land, Vasquez Rocks became a Los Angeles County Park on August 1, 1964, after years of delayed interest and negotiations that were finally supported at local, state, and federal levels, including a lease-to-purchase agreement with the Toney family. Interest in acquiring the Rocks had begun before 1950, negotiations with landowners took place in the early 1960s, and the new 14 Freeway opened next to the park in August 1963. In 1965, park improvements were funded by visitor admission, filming permits, and camping reservations, and the park remained popular with 14,000 tickets sold from March to May of that year. During 1970 and 1971, most of the Asher family's scenic Triple-A Ranch was purchased and added to the park. In the 1960s and 1970s, interest developed in creating a nature center, along with historic and archaeological studies. In 1992, the Vasquez Rocks Nature Center Associates organized volunteer support for an Interpretive Center, and in the early 1990s the park expanded nature-based educational opportunities and began an animal ambassador program. From the 2000s through the 2010s, the park grew to 945 acres, and in 2009 the Interpretive Center project advanced into collaboration and physical work before its grand opening and dedication on May 30, 2013. From 2021 to 2023, the park-wide Interpretive Signage and Wayfinding Project improved mapping and signage. Functioning today as a protected ecological and cultural preservation site, the lands of the village of Mapipinga again serve as a place of gathering, enjoyment, and protection.
