Every Trail Tells a Story
Point Mugu State Park S
To experience both rugged canyon and serene valley in a single hike.
To start (or finish) at the Backbone Trail’s wild Pacific terminus.
To savor spring wildflowers and wide-open grasslands that feel like Southern California’s answer to Big Sky country.
Point Mugu is the wild west end of the Santa Monica Mountains, a sprawling state park that offers what few places in Southern California still do: genuine room to roam. More than 14,000 acres and 70 miles of trail stretch from wave-battered coast to ridgeline grasslands, making this not only the largest state park in the Santa Monicas but also the most varied. Start at sea level with the Pacific Ocean at your back, and within a few miles you can be wandering through canyons lined with coreopsis, cresting chaparral ridges, or exploring upland valleys where deer graze and hawks circle in silence.
For me, Point Mugu is forever linked with the Backbone Trail, the 67-mile pathway across the spine of the range. The Ray Miller Trailhead, where this hike begins, marks the western terminus of the Backbone. I’ve walked every mile of that trail many times, but there’s always something satisfying about stepping off from here, where ocean breezes follow you inland and the sense of connection to a bigger landscape is immediate.
The real reward of this particular hike is how it strings together two very different landscapes: narrow, dramatic La Jolla Canyon and broad, peaceful La Jolla Valley. The canyon is rugged, intimate-a place of tumbling water and steep volcanic walls. The valley, by contrast, is expansive, ringed by ridges and filled with open grassland. It feels like a secret meadow dropped in the middle of the mountains, a natural amphitheater that has hosted everything from migrating birds to Boy Scout campouts to wildflower displays that will stop you in your tracks.
Spring is prime time here. Coreopsis-also known as the “tree sunflower”-explodes in yellow bursts, while ceanothus paints whole slopes in blue and hummingbird sage adds crimson brushstrokes. The aroma of black sage fills the canyon air, and if you’re lucky you’ll spot a chocolate lily or two in the grasslands above. This seasonal spectacle is as much a feast for the nose as it is for the eyes.
Even outside wildflower season, La Jolla Canyon carries year-round charm. A reliable creek trickles through, feeding a 15-foot waterfall and a cattail pond where red-winged blackbirds flash their scarlet epaulets. Ducks and coots paddle the water, and mule deer wander out of the valley grasslands to graze at dusk. Coyotes sing here too, their calls echoing off the canyon walls.
It’s remarkable to think that just a mile or two away, the Pacific Coast Highway hums with traffic, surfers wait for waves, and beachgoers sprawl on towels. But step into La Jolla Canyon and the world changes-you’re in one of the great natural sanctuaries of the Southland.
Point Mugu State Park is located at 9000 W. Pacific Coast Highway, some 30 miles upcoast from Santa Monica. Park at the signed Ray Miller Trailhead, 1.5 miles north of Big Sycamore Canyon. Restrooms, water, picnic tables, plenty of trailhead info. Day use fee.
From the yellow gate, follow the old fire road as it enters La Jolla Canyon. Cross and re-cross the creek, pausing at the 0.8-mile mark below the 15-foot waterfall. Past the falls, the trail climbs through stands of giant coreopsis, then threads between ceanothus and sage. Stay on La Jolla Canyon Trail, and in another 0.6 mile detour to the cattail pond, alive with birds in spring. Continue into La Jolla Valley, skirting open grasslands, until you reach La Jolla Valley Camp-picnic-perfect beneath oaks, with tables and quiet corners.
For variety, make a loop return via La Jolla Valley Loop Trail. It climbs gently to the hike’s high point, then arcs across the valley before bending south toward the canyon rim. Watch for deer in the grasses and wildflowers along the slopes. Soon you’ll rejoin La Jolla Canyon Trail and descend 1.2 miles back to Ray Miller Trailhead.