Located in Los Angeles, California, the Sepulveda Dam is a project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, built in 1941 to withhold winter flood waters along the Los Angeles River. It is located south of center in the San Fernando Valley, about eight miles east of the river's official source in the western end of the Valley. Behind the dam, the Sepulveda Basin is home to several large recreation areas and parks, a model-aircraft field, The Japanese Garden, a wildlife refuge, a water reclamation plant and an armory. The Basin is kept free of urban over-building so that water can buildup there during the hundred-year flood.

Filming location
Due to its neomodern look and proximity to Hollywood, California and Burbank, the dam is a popular filming location for movies, television and advertisements:

• Sabotage by Alfred Hitchcock
• Escape from New York , representing the prison perimeter.
• The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension , in the end credits.
• Iron Man 2
• The Fast and the Furious
• 24
• Bones
• CHiPs
• Alias
• Entourage
• Gattaca
• S1m0ne
• The Italian Job
• They Might Be Giants' music video for " The Statue Got Me High".
• Switchfoot music video for Stars
• Knight Rider''
• The Biggest Loser
• Air Patrol, during the climax of this 1962 film.
• Profiler (TV series)
• Fear Factor has also performed some stunts here.
• The music video for R.E.M.'s song " Drive" was shot here during August 1992.
• Audioslave music video for Cochise
• The music video for "Accidents can happen" by Sixx: A.M.

Bike path
The Sepulveda Dam bike path is a loop that starts at Victory Boulevard and Interstate 405, runs westward to White Oak Avenue with an alternate loop at Balboa Boulevard, and returns to Victory Boulevard via Woodley Boulevard. The western stretch along Balboa Boulevard is frequented by soccer players and observers, which can make cycling tedious; however in that same area is some of the most beautiful scenery under bridges and along the rush of water in the narrow riverbed wooded by native, fragrant Arroyo Willows. The south run of the loop leads by parking lots, and is frequented by joggers and children. The path also has a high instance of burr-bearing plant life, which can cause catastrophic flats. Even so, the ever-present tumbleweeds are interesting, especially when they do not heap up together and block the bikepath altogether. There is abundant parking available from the Burbank Blvd. side, as well as street parking along Woodley and Balboa Boulevards. Access is continuous.