Mugu Peak Trail (Malibu, CA)

Ray Miller Trailhead

Mugu Peak at last! My hip was finally feeling well enough for a longer hike so we decided to head to Santa Monica State Park in Malibu. We combined the La Jolla Canyon Trail with the Mugu Peak Trail for a nice 6.5 mile (round trip) trek to Mugu Peak. It was about 20 minutes farther up Pacific Coast Highway than the Escondido Falls trailhead, but it was definitely worth the drive.

We started the hike at the Ray Miller Trailhead and headed straight onto the La Jolla Canyon Trail toward the La Jolla waterfall. The trail is very well-maintained, but it was evident that a large fire had just recently routed the area. We headed past the remains of a pubic bathroom into the canyon area. Our first waypoint was the seasonal La Jolla canyon waterfall. It's about 6-7 feet high, and if we had been here in the spring, we would have needed to ford the small creek to continue along the trail.

La Jolla Canyon Waterfall

Just after the seasonal falls was a very small set of switchbacks (there were only two or three). We gained a little altitude and kept heading back into the canyon. This was a nice part of the trail because it is heavily shaded as you hug the hillside. Soon after we hit the main elbow in the trail. Head right to continue on the La Jolla Canyon Loop Trail, but veer left like we did to head to Mugu Peak. Both trails will get you to the top, but the Mugu Peak trail is a bit shorter.

Ocean View

We wound around the hillside and came out of the canyon and were met by sweeping views of the ocean and surrounding mountains. It was an interesting time to be hiking in the area because of the recent fire. The landscape was barren, charred and seemingly lifeless but still beautiful in a very unique way.

We wound through the valley like area down toward a dry creek bed. This creek bed is a good marker for the final stretch up the mountain. Unfortunately, we picked a day with extremely high winds (we didn't notice the weather advisory before we headed out) and were unable to make it to the top of the mountain. Yeah, the winds were that strong! The view from the trail near the peak was incredible though. We could see for miles in every direction. I can't wait to go back when the winds aren't so bad and there is a little more green in the hills.

Looking Toward Mugu Peak

Overall, this was a wonderful hike and only moderately strenuous. It took us just about 2 hours factoring in the winds and a couple of picture breaks. I would strongly recommend it. The views from the top are well worth the thousand feet of elevation gain. We will post a .gpx file of the trek from our new Garmin very soon! And once again, another shout out to hikepeak.com for helping us map out this hike!

Government Shutdown

Well it looks like we are going to have to shelf our backpacking trip to Joshua Tree in a couple weeks unless the government can get itself together. I would encourage everyone to start writing their respective congressmen and women. Get involved because this is just downright silly.