Boney Mountain in

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

is one of the highest peaks in 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 ...

. The prominent mountain visible from

Newbury Park, California Newbury Park is a populated placeReal Estate Communications, Inc. (1984). ''California Real Estate Directory''. Page 201. in Ventura County, California, United States. Most of it lies within the western Thousand Oaks, California, Thousand Oaks ...

is high. It is also known as Boney Peak. The mountain contains four of the highest peaks in the coastal range of the Santa Monica Mountains: Boney Peak,

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 ...

Exchange Peak Exchange Peak is, after Sandstone Peak and with Tri-Peaks, one of the highest points in the Santa Monica Mountains with an elevation of . See also * Santa Monica Mountains * Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area * Backbone Trail ...

, and Tri Peaks.Stone, Robert (2011). ''Day Hikes Around Ventura County''. Day Hike Books. Page 136. . The highest summit in the Santa Monica Mountains is Sandstone Peak (Mount Allen), situated less than a mile northeast of Boney Peak along the same ridge of volcanic rock. It is the top section of a mass of volcanic rock which solidified around 15 million years ago, and was later uplifted to its dominant position, overshadowing western

Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle del Conejo'', meaning "Valley of the Rabbit") is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County, California, Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles C ...

. It is located in the Circle X Ranch Park, within the

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 ...

. The surrounding Boney Mountain State Wilderness Area lies within the eastern portion of

Point Mugu State Park Point Mugu State Park is a state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in Southern California. The rugged, nearly impassible shoreline of the western Santa Monica Mountains gives way to tidal lagoons and coastal sand ...

. Boney Mountain State Wilderness includes trail access to the rest of Point Mugu State Park, as well as

Big Sycamore Canyon Big Sycamore Canyon, often shortened to Sycamore Canyon, is a major feature of Point Mugu State Park, in Ventura County, California, United States. Sycamore Canyon is situated in the northernmost region of the Santa Monica Mountains National Re ...

and

Rancho Sierra Vista Rancho Sierra Vista in Ventura County, California, United States, is one of the last intact ranches from the first half of the twentieth century in the Santa Monica Mountains. The majority of the landscape is much as it was 100 years ago. The ...

Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center Satwiwa (Chumash: "the bluffs") was a former Chumash village in the Santa Monica Mountains of Newbury Park, California. The current Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center is operated by the National Park Service in cooperation with the Fri ...

. Hiking trails from Satwiwa Native American Cultural Center in southernmost Newbury Park reach Boney Mountain and Peak, and feature views of the Pacific Ocean, Channel Islands, and Mount Baldy. Nearby trails lead to Danielson Monument and the

Sycamore Canyon Waterfall Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

. The

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 ...

Native Americans have a long and deeply spiritual history of interaction at and near the mountain, and the peak is considered a sacred mountain to the Chumash people.Riedel, Allen (2008). ''100 Classic Hikes in Southern California: San Bernardino National Forest, Angeles National Forest, Santa Lucia Mountains, Big Sur and the Sierras''. The Mountaineers Books. Page 118. . Boney Mountain was described by

Chumash Indians The Chumash are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the central and southern coastal regions of California, in portions of what is now Kern County, California, Kern, San Luis Obispo County, California, San Luis O ...

to anthropologist John P. Harrington around year 1900:

Early one morning in 9080 B.C., the ancestral grandfather from whom I took my name, headed west on one of his most adventurous hunting trips ever... As the group climbed Old Boney, they looked back to the north and could see the pleasant openings of the Conejo- and Hidden Valleys. There, there appeared to be good grazing ground for the mammoth herd and they proceeded thence.

The story may be a lore related to the

Paleo-Indians Paleo-Indians were the first peoples who entered and subsequently inhabited the Americas towards the end of the Late Pleistocene period. The prefix ''paleo-'' comes from . The term ''Paleo-Indians'' applies specifically to the lithic period in ...

, the distant ancestors of the Chumash. An ancient Chumash village known as ''

Satwiwa Satwiwa (Chumashan languages, Chumash: "the bluffs") was a former Chumash people, Chumash village in the Santa Monica Mountains of Newbury Park, California. The current Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center is operated by the National Par ...

'' was located at the foothills of the mountain, which remains sacred to the Chumash people. Satwiwa is believed to be first inhabited 13,000 years ago, and was still a Chumash inhabitation site as of 2,000 years ago. In 2019, newspaper photos showed the peak was frosted with snow. Long time Newbury Park residents stated that it was the first time they had seen snow on the peak.

References

External links

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area: Circle X Ranch Park trail website

{{authority control Santa Monica Mountains Mountains of Ventura County, California Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Mountains of Southern California Sacred mountains of the United States