Name: Backbone Trail
Rating: 4.4

Conditions

Unknown

History

Getting forecast...

“The entire long-distance trail between the Ray Miller Trailhead and Will Rogers State Historic Park.”

— Zander Göpfert

Driving Directions GPX File

Dogs Unknown

Features Birding · Views · Waterfall · Wildflowers · Wildlife

Description

A Santa Monica Mountains ridgeline trail has been a goal for more than 50 years. Originally, it was set to stretch between Griffith Park to Point Mugu, but that concept never came to fruition. In the 1970s, with the start of state parks in the mountains, the idea began to gain momentum. The Backbone Trail would connect from Will Rogers State Historic Park to Point Mugu, heading right through the middle of Malibu Creek State Park.

During the 1980s, a number of supporters began to work on the project with California State Parks, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and the National Park Service. By 1990, 43 miles of the trail had been completed. It climbed ridges, cut across chaparral-covered hillsides, dove into oak woodlands, and forded creeks and valleys.

Like Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the Backbone Trail System has grown inch by inch across a collage of public lands. It has been constructed by volunteers, the California Conservation Corps, and professional staff from various parkland agencies. Sections of the trail were old animal paths that turned into singletrack trails; other segments were adopted fire roads. Only the most recently built sections have been created to modern trail standards.

Because of this trail-stitching process, some sections have different names and not every section is open to each user. For example, biking is limited to fire roads and is not permitted on singletrack trails—unless that trail is sanctioned and signed for bikes.

With the finishing touches being completed in the summer of 2016, the trail is now completely connected from end to end, stretching an uninterrupted ~67 miles through breathtaking coastal California scenes. Stay tuned for a possible National Recreation Trail designation in the months to come.

Contacts

Land Manager: NPS - Santa Monica Mountains

Full Details

Trail Ratings

4.4 from 5 votes

#1

in Point Mugu State Park

#4476

Overall

4.4 from 5 votes

5 Star		40%
4 Star		60%
3 Star		0%
2 Star		0%
1 Star		0%

Rankings

126 Views Last Month

2,055 Since Oct 13, 2016

Intermediate/Difficult

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Photos

Amazing view of Santa Monica, you can see Catal…

Owl's Clover: Found some nice patches along the…

Chasing the sun rise from Rogers Road. View of…

A gorgeous day and spectacular views make for a…

Echo Cliffs

Good morning Los Angeles!

View of Catalina Island

Eagle Rock.

Steepest hill climb of the trail.

At the top of the trail right before the Overlo…

Great view even with the low clouds.

Admiring the view at the inspiration point at W…

Rest area at the hub. Amazing views there!

One of the first vistapoint views on the trail…

Clouds begin to fill the sky looking north from…

There's little shade in some areas along the tr…

Eagle Rock in Topanga State Park. with permissi…

Beautiful vistapoint before turning onto Sandst…

The view from Inspiration Point is pretty stellar.

View

Coastal fog and low clouds helps keep some wild…

Popular trail on a July 4th. he trails personality changed every few minutes due to the patchy low clouds.

Take in the awesome lunchtime views atop Sandst…

Nice views

View of the Pacific Ocean

The Topanga Microwave Tower.

The Hub at Backbone Trail

View from Inspiration Point on a cloudy day

Heading up the Backbone Trail toward Sandstone…

Best way to see Los Angeles. Downtown LA on th…

Length 68.8 Miles 110.7 Kilometers	12,338' 3,761 m Ascent -11,948' -3,642 m Descent
7% Avg Grade (4°) 39% Max Grade (21°)	2,975' 907 m High 56' 17 m Low

Backbone Trail

Length

68.8 Miles 110.7 Kilometers

12,338' 3,761 m

-11,948' -3,642 m

7%

39%

2,975' 907 m

56' 17 m

Shared By Zander Göpfert

Conditions