Malibu Creek State Park Hike

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Date:           April 29, 2012

Time:           9:00 am
Near:           Calabasas                                                       
Distance:     8 miles round trip                                                     
Elevation:     300 ft                                                                      
Hike Time:    41/2 hours                                                             
Difficulty:     Easy to Moderate                                                     
Trail Type:   Well maintained trail                                                 
Hike Type:   Out and Back                                                           
 

Before land for Malibu Creek State Park was acquired in 1974, it was divided into three parcels belonging to Bob Hope, Ronald Reagan, and 20th Century Fox. Although the park is still used for moviemaking, it’s primarily a haven for day hikers and picnickers.

Malibu Creek State Park is a sprawling chunk of parkland in the Santa Monica Mountains, hugging the Malibu Creek as it flows into the ocean, while also stretching east along the Backbone Trail. There are several distinct sections of the park, and we will hike the “lower canyon” area, along the trails that follow Malibu Creek through a striking section of the mountains known as the Goat Buttes.

Century Lake: We will start the hike with a leisurely stroll through the Grassland trail and meet up with Crags road. We will see a prominent concrete bridge crossing the creek that leads to the visitor center. We will veer right, keeping on Crags Road, and will cross Malibu Creek on another bridge, just north of Century Lake. Here, the landscape is more like a wetland, and during the spring months there are many migratory birds that make a stop in this area of the canyon. After crossing the creek, the road narrows considerably, and eventually turns into a single-track trail over some very rocky terrain.

M*A*S*H Movie site: The trail continues in this shaded section between the Goat Buttes, then comes upon the site of the M*A*S*H set. There’s not a whole lot left from the show, but there are two rusted but fairly well preserved vehicles.  We will have a nice view of the prominent Goat Buttes that tower above the site and were featured in the opening shot of each episode.

We will then turn back and at the 4.7-mile mark we will reach the Forest Trail junction. It isn’t marked with a sign like many of the other side trails, but it’s a very clear path cut through the grass, just before we cross the bridge over the Creek.

The Forest Trail is a short stretch of track that hugs the southern banks of Century Lake, another artificial lake formed by a dam. The trail here is shady and cool, the result of some non-native trees such as Redwoods that were planted here some time ago. The trail is only a half-mile to the edge of the dam, where we will have to turn around and hike back the way we came. But the views from the dam and the reflections on the lake water are worth the short side-trip.