Malibu Creek State Park

Malibu Creek State Park is one of our new favorite hiking parks in Los Angeles! Hiking in Malibu? Isn't it just private beaches and expensive estates? Well no. Yes, there is that, but there are also hundreds of acres running through the Santa Monica mountains of beautiful wildlife and miles of hiking trails. This vast expanse of hillsides and mountains northwest of Santa Monica and sandwiched between the beach and Pacific Coast Highway to the south and the 101 to the north (running through the San Fernando Valley, Calabasas and Agoura Hills; see the map at the bottom of the page) is beautiful and much of it is open to the public for hiking, fishing, horseback riding and more.

To the east is Topanga Canyon, another great area for hiking. The Malibu Creek State Park is just another hop and skip further up the coast. Like Topanga, this hilly, canyon-filled has quite a diverse ecosystem, from arid Chaparral like you see throughout the southern California area to more verdant areas with lots of green growth following winding streams.

Before we move on to the Malibu Creek specifically, for those of you who don't know Malibu, don't just ignore it as a "playground of the rich" as it is often viewed. Sandwiched between the private beaches are several state beaches that feel secluded and exotic yet are open to the public, including our favorite, Leo Carrillo. In addition, inland from the beautiful beaches are all those beautiful hills which have hundreds of miles of hiking trails and more fun to be explored.

While we had been in the general area many times before, we had never gone specifically to the Malibu Creek park. We wanted to explore a new hiking area recently and we chose this. We are very glad we did! This huge area has lots to explore and turned into an amazing homeschooling day with the whole family. We can't wait to go back and explore more.

From the entrance to the park off Las Virgenes Rd (parking in the park lots is $12 for the day) we parked in the main lot and headed down the main road (a dirt road that runs through the park). Almost immediately we started passing over beautiful running streams, surrounded by old oaks and sycamores.

A ways in you'll find the Malibu Creek State Park Visitor Center. We had high hopes that we would find some interesting displays for our 4 year old to explore and we weren't disappointed. The friendly staff answered questions (we learned what oak galls were!) and there were dozens of cool displays of local wildlife and history.

Many of the displays are interactive and educational, like examples of tools used by the local natives in the past, animal hides and shells and animal prints in a sand box. Our son spent almost an hour in there, never getting bored. We had just started talking about how snakes shed their skin that morning and by a weird coincidence, sure enough, they had snake moltings on display to touch and explore!

The main fire roads that wind through the park are easy hiking. For those who are more adventurous (and don't have little kids) there are plenty of other smaller hiking trails taking off in all directions. The Malibu Creek State Park has lots of history. Beyond its Native American and wildlife history, it has been the site of filming of countless TV shows and movies. Most notably, the TV series MASH was filmed here and you can hike to the site (a few miles in from the main parking lot).

We didn't make it that far with two little kids in tow but have it as a goal for a future trip. After leaving the Visitor Center we crossed the large bridge spanning the creek and turned left immediately to follow along the creek. We saw groups of people rock climbing along the volcanic cliffs. This trail eventually brought us to the Rock Pools seen below with beautiful rock formations all around.

On our first trip we just barely touched the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot more to explore and do in Malibu Creek and we look forward to visiting again soon!

Malibu Creek State Park
Open Dusk till Dawn