The Backbone Trail is a

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

extending 67.79 miles (109.10 km) across the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses this mountain range. Because of its p ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Its western terminus is Point Mugu State Park, and its eastern terminus is

Will Rogers State Historic Park Will Rogers State Historic Park is a California State Historic Park in the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. The park was established in 1944 to preserve the estate of American humorist Will Rogers, includi ...

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.

History

Construction on the backbone trail began in the early 1980s. It involved the cooperation of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, the

California Department of Parks and Recreation California State Parks is the state park system for the U.S. state of California. The system is administered by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, a department under the California Natural Resources Agency. The California State ...

, 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 National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

. 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.

Topography and geography

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 Sandstone Peak, also known as Mount Allen, is a mountain in Ventura County, California. It is the highest summit in the Santa Monica Mountains, with an elevation of . Located near the western edge of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreatio ...

which, (at , 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 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 Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

; the rest sits in unincorporated areas of

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

and

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises ...

. The following national, state, and privately administered wilderness areas are traversed by the Backbone Trail: *

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is a national recreation area containing many individual parks and open space preserves, located primarily in Southern California's Santa Monica Mountains. Located in greater Los Ange ...

* Topanga State Park *Cold Creek Canyon Preserve ''- owned by the Mountains Restoration Trust.'' * Malibu Creek State Park * Zuma and Trancas Canyons * Point Mugu State Park

Environment

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, Indigenous languages of California See also

* Pentateuch (dis ...

villages once stood throughout the Santa Monica Mountains. The

California chaparral and woodlands The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is a ...

and

California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion The California coastal sage and chaparral () is a Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregion, defined by the World Wildlife Fund, located in southwestern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico). It is part o ...

s supported

Indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

for tens of thousands of years. A wide range of flora and fauna can be observed from the trail.

Flora

For the majority of its length, the Backbone Trail passes through terrain occupied by the ground-hugging bushes and shrubs that characterize the

coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...

and

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

ecosystems. Relatively few trees line the trail, an essential consideration for travelers looking for shade.

Fauna

More than 450 vertebrate species have been observed within the Santa Monica Mountains NRA, including more than 380 species of birds. Lizards, seven species of which inhabit areas surrounding the trail, are particularly numerous, and can be easily found on or alongside the trail. Southern Pacific rattlesnakes can be numerous in early spring, particularly along Temescal Ridge in the eastern section of the trail. Mountain lions have been observed in the western section near Sandstone Peak trailhead in June 2008. At least eight mountain lions are believed to remain from Pt. Mugu to Topanga State Park. Notable species that can found along the Backbone trail include: *

Bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...

* California Kingsnake *

Coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

Mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

* Pacific treefrog *

Peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

Red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members of ...

* Southern Pacific rattlesnake

Hiking

The Backbone Trail follows a well-maintained, single-track path with some dirt fire roads along the route. The trail is very well designed with climbs and descents occurring on well-graded trails full of switchbacks. The trail can be hiked in either the westbound or eastbound direction. There are no major differences between the two directions. Hiking westbound, you will progress towards more remote territory and can end your hike at the Pacific Ocean, but transportation may be more difficult from the Ray Miller Trailhead. There is no permit required for hiking the BBT. Camping along the Backbone Trail is restricted to established campgrounds. These include group campsites that can be reserved in advance and walk-in campsites that are available on a

first-come, first-served Queueing theory is the mathematical study of Queue area, waiting lines, or wikt:queue, queues. A queueing model is constructed so that queue lengths and waiting time can be predicted. Queueing theory is generally considered a branch of operatio ...

basis. There are still relatively few established campgrounds right on the BBT, and they are not evenly spaced out, posing a logistical challenge for an end-to-end hike. Backpacking the full length of the BBT with reasonable daily mileages may require the use of off-trail camping and lodging options, which are available within a reasonable distance from the trail.

References

External links

Official Backbone Trail WebsiteBackbone Trail Mountain Biking Reviews from MTBR.com
{{authority control Hiking trails in California Long-distance trails in the United States Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Parks in Los Angeles County, California Parks in Ventura County, California Regional parks in California Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Trails in California