Classic Landscape in Malibu Creek Park

Crags Road, Malibu Creek State Park’s most popular path, is a mellow ramble through the heart of the Santa Monica Mountains. The route from the park entrance on Las Virgenes Road to a visitor center and the former set of the TV series “MASH” is a classic Southland hike.

Many folks already have made this trek. But for a lovely variation, hike the usual route backward. Enter through the park’s rear entrance and start from a rarely used trail head at Malibu Lake. For those who can arrange a car shuttle, this is a good one-way hike.

Malibu Lake was created for a country club and real estate development in the early 1920s, when a dam was built for Malibu Creek. The Mountain Club, established on the lake shore in 1922, still stands and is available for rent on weekends. During the 1930s and ‘40s, the lake was a popular location for movies. “Wells Fargo” (1937) and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” (1938) are among the movies filmed here.

Although the lake is a nice place to start a hike, it doesn’t have much to offer, and it looks better from a distance than it does up close. So the “no trespassing” signs you see aren’t an issue; you’ll be hiking away from the lake, not around it.

Directions to the trail head: From U.S. 101 in Calabasas, exit on Las Virgenes Road and drive three miles south to Mulholland Highway. The main state park entrance is straight ahead, farther south on Las Virgenes; instead, you want to turn right (west) on Mulholland and drive 31/4 miles to an intersection with Cornell Road (extending north) and Lake Vista Drive (which you follow west).

Follow Lake Vista a short distance to Malibu Lake and Crags Road. Turn left on Crags Road and continue about three-quarters of a mile to a vehicle gate and the state park boundary. If you want to park, stop about a quarter-mile back on Crags Road.

Park legally and courteously in the neighborhood along Crags Road.

The hike: From the trail head, walk east on the dirt road one-third of a mile to an unsigned junction. (For a nice place to have lunch, detour left, or north, along Malibu Creek and past handsome rock-framed pools. This path ends in a quarter-mile at a picnic table perched near Malibu Dam.)

Continue on Crags Road past a signed intersection with Bulldog Road, then go one-third of a mile more to the “MASH” site, marked by the charred skeleton of an old jeep. The prominent Goat Buttes that tower above Malibu Creek were featured in the opening of each episode.

Another mile of easy hiking brings you to Century Lake, made in the early 1900s by the Crags Country Club, a group of wealthy businessmen who had a nearby lodge. Hills of porous lava and topsy-turvy layers of sedimentary rock tell of the violent geologic upheaval that formed Malibu Canyon.

Continue three-quarters of a mile more past the lake to the visitor center, open weekends, where you’ll find interpretive displays and a picnic area.

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For more of John McKinney’s tips, visit www.thetrailmaster.com.