Happy Trails to You: Sampling Santa Monica Mountain Vistas

Acre by acre, the Santa Monica Mountains National Park Lands are slowly expanding. One park, Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa, on the northern boundary of Point Mugu State Park, was purchased by the National Park Service in 1980.

Twenty miles of trail wind through the park, connecting to about 70 miles of trail in Point Mugu State Park. You can trek from Rancho Sierra Vista to the ocean.

This day hike, which explores state and national parkland, offers a variety of scenery--a Santa Monica Mountains sampler--including chaparral-covered slopes, oak woodland, a waterfall and giant Woodwardia ferns.

The name Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa reflects the park’s history as a 1940s horse ranch and as the longtime land of the Chumash Indians. Part of the park has been designated as the Satwiwa Native American Indian Natural Area. The Native American Indian Cultural Center is a short walk from the parking lot. It has exhibits of Chumash, Gabrielino and Hopi crafts and culture and is open Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Directions to the trailhead: From U.S. 101 in Newbury Park, exit on Wendy Drive. Head south for 4 miles, then turn west on Potrero Road and drive for 2 miles. Follow the signs to Rancho Sierra Vista’s parking lot on your left.

The hike: From the parking lot, begin hiking on the dirt road. In a mile you’ll reach an overlook above upper Sycamore Canyon. Turn left, heading east here, on the Fence Trail, which follows a barbed-wire fence.

The trail reaches Old Boney Road, which you’ll follow to the right as you begin ascending the north slope of the canyon. After dropping down to a creek, the road leads beneath oaks and sycamores.

Cross the Creek

When you reach the first switchbacks to the right, enjoy a brief diversion by following a trail leftward. You’ll soon cross a creek, which can be followed a short distance to the waterfall. Woodwardia ferns thrive in the cool, moist canyon. Half a dozen tiny falls cascade from pool to pool.

Return to Old Boney Road and continue your ascent. On a clear day, the upper reaches of the road offer views of the Pacific and the Channel Islands. The road forks, and you’ll continue straight ahead.

A little farther along, you’ll spot a stone chimney among some oaks. The cabin that once stood here was used by ranch hands when cattle and sheep grazed these hills. When a 1956 fire burned from the valley side of the mountains to the ocean, the cabin was destroyed. Near the cabin site, a year-round spring offers drinking water. If the bugs aren’t biting, the area makes a nice lunch stop.

You’ll notice a trail that leads up Boney Mountain, but continue another mile on the road that brought you here. You’ll come to a steep, 1-mile connector trail branching right; take it a mile back to the paved park-service road, which returns you to the trailhead.

Rancho Sierra Vista Trail

Loop through Rancho Sierra Vista, part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Park Lands: 8 miles round trip; 1,000-foot elevation gain.