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Backbone Trail
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Backbone Trail
The Backbone Trail is a long-distance trail extending 67.79 miles (109.10 km) across the Santa Monica Mountains in the U.S. state of California. Its western terminus is Point Mugu State Park, and its eastern terminus is Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades. The trail is open to hikers throughout its length. Dogs, mountain bicyclists and horseback riders are only allowed on portions of the trail as posted.
Construction on the backbone trail began in the early 1980s. It involved the cooperation of the National Park Service, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, and private parties interested in connecting existing trails within the Santa Monica Mountains NRA into a single trail spanning the length of the park. The range of conditions found on the trail - ranging from flat, wide fire roads to narrow single-track trails - reflects the trail's origin as a series of unconnected paths and backcountry roads, connected to form the Backbone Trail System.
In 2016, the National Park Service completed land acquisitions from former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and fitness pioneer Betty Weider to enable right-of-way for the trail. In May 2016, a new section of the trail was completed on the east side of Yerba Buena Road in support of these acquisitions.
Upon its 2016 opening, the Backbone Trail was designated a National Recreation Trail.
The official opening ceremony for the Backbone Trail was held on Saturday, June 4, 2016, at Will Rogers State Park, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held at 10:00 am. Portions of the trail were closed after the Woolsey Fire in 2018. Other trails and several parks were closed as 88% of the federal parkland within the Santa Monica Mountains burned in the fast-moving fire. The Backbone Trail fully reopened in July 2019.
As the Backbone Trail passes over the peaks and through the canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains, it climbs and falls in elevation nearly constantly. From its lowest point, the sea-level Ray Miller Trailhead at Point Mugu State Park, to its highest point, near Sandstone Peak which, (at 3,111 ft (948 m), is the highest peak in the Santa Monica Mountains), the trail is more frequently graded than level.
Scenic views of Ventura County are seen from the 6 mi (10 km) loop trail, starting at the trailhead off Yerba Buena road. The Mishe Mokwa Trail in Circle X Ranch follows Carlisle Canyon along Boney Mountain past weathered red volcanic formations. There are views of the sculpted caves and crevices of Echo Cliffs and a forested streamside picnic area by a huge split boulder known as Split Rock. The return route on the Backbone Trail leads to Inspiration Point and culminates at Sandstone Peak, the highest point in the Santa Monica Mountains. Both points overlook the Pacific Ocean, the Channel Islands, and the surrounding mountains.
Parts of the trail lie within the city limits of Los Angeles and Malibu, California; the rest sits in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and Ventura County. The following national, state, and privately administered wilderness areas are traversed by the Backbone Trail:
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Backbone Trail
The Backbone Trail is a long-distance trail extending 67.79 miles (109.10 km) across the Santa Monica Mountains in the U.S. state of California. Its western terminus is Point Mugu State Park, and its eastern terminus is Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades. The trail is open to hikers throughout its length. Dogs, mountain bicyclists and horseback riders are only allowed on portions of the trail as posted.
Construction on the backbone trail began in the early 1980s. It involved the cooperation of the National Park Service, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, and private parties interested in connecting existing trails within the Santa Monica Mountains NRA into a single trail spanning the length of the park. The range of conditions found on the trail - ranging from flat, wide fire roads to narrow single-track trails - reflects the trail's origin as a series of unconnected paths and backcountry roads, connected to form the Backbone Trail System.
In 2016, the National Park Service completed land acquisitions from former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and fitness pioneer Betty Weider to enable right-of-way for the trail. In May 2016, a new section of the trail was completed on the east side of Yerba Buena Road in support of these acquisitions.
Upon its 2016 opening, the Backbone Trail was designated a National Recreation Trail.
The official opening ceremony for the Backbone Trail was held on Saturday, June 4, 2016, at Will Rogers State Park, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held at 10:00 am. Portions of the trail were closed after the Woolsey Fire in 2018. Other trails and several parks were closed as 88% of the federal parkland within the Santa Monica Mountains burned in the fast-moving fire. The Backbone Trail fully reopened in July 2019.
As the Backbone Trail passes over the peaks and through the canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains, it climbs and falls in elevation nearly constantly. From its lowest point, the sea-level Ray Miller Trailhead at Point Mugu State Park, to its highest point, near Sandstone Peak which, (at 3,111 ft (948 m), is the highest peak in the Santa Monica Mountains), the trail is more frequently graded than level.
Scenic views of Ventura County are seen from the 6 mi (10 km) loop trail, starting at the trailhead off Yerba Buena road. The Mishe Mokwa Trail in Circle X Ranch follows Carlisle Canyon along Boney Mountain past weathered red volcanic formations. There are views of the sculpted caves and crevices of Echo Cliffs and a forested streamside picnic area by a huge split boulder known as Split Rock. The return route on the Backbone Trail leads to Inspiration Point and culminates at Sandstone Peak, the highest point in the Santa Monica Mountains. Both points overlook the Pacific Ocean, the Channel Islands, and the surrounding mountains.
Parts of the trail lie within the city limits of Los Angeles and Malibu, California; the rest sits in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County and Ventura County. The following national, state, and privately administered wilderness areas are traversed by the Backbone Trail:
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