Explore a Canyon of Rugged, Rustic Beauty

Rustic Canyon is every bit as woodsy and secluded as its name suggests. The surprisingly rugged little enclave is located in the Pacific Palisades section of the Santa Monica Mountains.

To the concern of conservationists, the greater part of Rustic Canyon is owned by the Los Angeles County Sanitation District. That means--you guessed it--the canyon could become the site of Rustic Sanitary Landfill.

More dump sites are needed, says the county.

Don’t fill beautiful canyons like Rustic with garbage, say conservationists.

But Rustic Canyon and neighboring mountain canyons have a lot of friends and supporters. Because a proposed garbage dump can be the hottest of political issues, the canyons are far from doomed. As you ramble through Rustic Canyon, you might contemplate the words of Aldous Huxley: “In the course of human evolution, man is supposed to have sacrificed the greater part of his olfactory center to his cortex, his sense of smell to his intelligence. Nevertheless, it remains a fact that in politics, no less than in love and social relations, smell judgments continue to play a major role.”

For the hiker, Rustic Canyon and neighboring Sullivan Canyon provide an interesting contrast. Sullivan is a gently sloping canyon with a wide flat floor shaded by sycamores. Rustic is wild, narrow, steep, with dramatic rock walls. One way to reach Rustic Canyon is to descend via Sullivan Canyon; another way (this day hike) is via Will Rogers Park.

Rustic Canyon has a storied past. A hundred years ago, the Santa Monica Forestry Station was established next to the canyon. The many eucalyptus trees in and around the canyon are a result of the efforts of tobacco millionaire Abbot Kinney, developer of Venice and forestry pioneer. The eucalyptus, an Australian import, thrived in Southern California but, to Kinney’s disappointment, proved to be a miserable source of timber.

Most of Rustic Canyon remained undeveloped until the early 1920s, when it became the woodsy retreat of a group of Los Angeles businessmen know as The Uplifters.

The group, at first an offshoot of the Los Angeles Athletic Club, was chartered to “uplift art, promote good fellowship and build a closer acquaintance among its members.”

L. Frank Baum, author of the “Wizard of Oz” books, came up with the name “The Lofty and Excellent Order of the Uplifters.” Cabins, clubhouse buildings and an outdoor theater were built in the canyon. The club was strong during the 1920s, slowed during the Depression years, and came to an end after World War II.

This day hike begins in Will Rogers State Historic Park. You’ll follow the trail to Inspiration Point, march a mile or two up the Backbone Trail, then descend into Rustic Canyon and loop back to Will Rogers.

One highlight of Rustic Canyon is Rustic Creek. Most streams in the Santa Monica Mountains flow only after rains, but Rustic Creek is one of the few that is spring-fed and thus usually flows all year round.

About a mile of the trail through Rustic Canyon is right next to, and even in, Rustic Creek. It’s wet going, it’s poor trail and not for beginning hikers.

Directions to trailhead: From Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, turn north on the access road leading to Will Rogers State Historic Park. There is a state park day use fee of $3. Park near the polo field or Rogers’ house. A tour of the cowboy philosopher’s home is well worth your time.

The Hike: From Will Rogers home, on the east side of a wide field, take the paved road leading past a line of eucalyptus trees to a riding ring. Soon you’ll intersect a dirt road. Turn left on this road (actually, right is OK too because the roads join). If you head left, be sure to stay on the main fire road and ignore rightward turns on lesser roads.

The fire road ascends to a place just below Inspiration Point, where you’ll spot an information kiosk. Continue to Inspiration Point for inspiring clear-day views of the city if you wish, but our hike joins a trail to the left of the information kiosk (which used to have information and a nice map, but is usually empty these days).

Climbing Chicken Ridge, the trail offers great views of downtown, Century City, the sweep of Santa Monica Bay and Catalina Island. The trail you’re following is the beginning of the Backbone Trial, a 65-mile path that when completed will travel the spine of the Santa Monica Mountains from Will Rogers Park to Point. Mugu State Park.

After a mile’s climb along the ridge, the trail crests, then descends another quarter-mile to an unsigned three-way junction. The two leftward trails are high- and low-route continuations of the Backbone, but you’ll turn sharply to the right and begin a steep descent on a connector trail. This manzanita-lined trail wastes no time descending half a mile over a slippery slope to the bottom of Rustic Canyon. Ahead is a white barn and an unsigned intersection with Rustic Canyon Trail. Left up Rustic Canyon leads to Camp Josepho, a Boy Scout camp. You bear right, down-canyon.

Rustic Canyon Trail stays at the canyon bottom, crossing and re-crossing the creek. You’ll pass the ruins of homes that have suffered the ravages of fire and flood. Rustic Canyon flora includes the usual riparian growth plus some stray exotics such as cactus, aloe, jade and periwinkle. German ivy, a pretty but invasive plant with little yellow flowers, has really taken over in some spots.

You’ll pass a small dam. The trail narrows, the canyon walls close in. A trail sign tells you it’s 0.3 mile back to Will Rogers Park. You’ll follow an elaborate trail, fashioned with enough wooden trestles to support a freight train, then cross a white bridge over a culvert and spy the parking lot and Rogers’ house, where this hike began.

RUSTIC CANYON TRAIL

Loop through Will Rogers State Historic Park, Rustic Canyon; 6 miles round trip; 900-foot elevation gain.