Every Trail Tells a Story
Leo Carrillo State Park S
To experience the rare gift of a sea-to-sky hike in just a few miles.
To wander through some of the Santa Monica Mountains’ best spring wildflower displays.
To savor the serenity of Nicholas Pond, a hidden oasis above Malibu’s famous beache
Leo Carrillo State Park is best known for its coastline-tidepools, caves, and sandy beaches where generations of families have played in the surf. But as much as I admire the park’s shore, I treasure the uplands even more. The Nicholas Flat Trail begins at sea level and steadily climbs from the crash of the waves into a world of sage-scented breezes, blooming slopes, and oak-dappled meadows. It’s a rare journey in Southern California: a trail that lets you feel the full sweep from ocean to mountain in just a few miles.
This isn’t a trail to blitz through. I’ve led groups of every stripe along this path-California State Parks Foundation supporters, Rotary Club hikers, and even a pair of visiting African Bushmen who marveled at our chaparral as much as I marveled at their desert stories. Every group, no matter their background, ended up doing the same thing: slowing down, pointing out flowers, trading “oohs” and “aahs” over the views. Nicholas Flat is that kind of trail-it insists you pay attention.
The spring bloom is the trail’s finest season. Lupine, poppies, monkeyflower, and yucca blossoms put on a show as you ascend. But even in the drier months, there’s color if you look closely: the dusty lavender of sage, the red berries of toyon, the waxy blooms of buckwheat. Deer browse the open slopes; hawks wheel overhead. Every step brings another reason to pause.
And then, after all the climbing, the trail opens to the gentle surprise of Nicholas Flat. Here a quiet meadow frames the modest Nicholas Pond, a man-made basin that somehow feels natural, shaded by oaks and backed by a jumble of sandstone boulders. On the right day, the pond mirrors the sky; on another, frogs croak from the reeds while dragonflies dance across the surface. A rocky perch above the pond offers one of those quintessential Malibu moments: coast and canyon spread below, ocean stretching into haze.
It’s easy to imagine lingering here for hours with a picnic, a journal, or just your thoughts. And if you’re with a group, Nicholas Flat always has a way of softening the chatter and deepening the conversation. A trail that begins in surf and ends in stillness has that effect.
From Santa Monica, head up Pacific Coast Highway about 25 miles to Leo Carrillo State Park. Leo Carrillo State Park is located at 35000 West Pacific Coast Highway, about 25 miles upcoast from Santa Monica. Free parking along PCH, or you can pay to park in the park’s day-use lot. The trailhead is just past the entry kiosk, across from the day-use parking.
Join Camp 13 Trail from the entry road. Almost immediately, it splits-go left for the direct Nicholas Flat Trail, or save the right fork (Willow Creek Trail) for your return. The climb begins at once, switchbacking up grassy slopes. At the saddle, pause for sweeping views of Point Dume and the Malibu coastline. From there, the trail follows the ridgeline inland, rising through chaparral until it levels off near 2.6 miles. Keep right at a junction and continue 0.4 mile to reach Nicholas Flat. Two short paths lead to the pond’s north and south ends; a connecting trail circles the water. When ready to descend, retrace your steps to the saddle and return via Willow Creek Trail, which contours through canyon shade and loops back to the start.