Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
The Santa Monica Mountains offer easy access to surprisingly wild places. Experience the famous beaches of Malibu or explore more than 500 miles of trails. The park abounds with historical and cultural sites, from old movie ranches to Native American centers. What will you and your family discover?
About under an hour from Los Angeles by car.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| Park Sites | Daily · All Day |
When to go
May draws the most visits here and December the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Campgrounds
| Circle X Ranch Campground - CLOSED | 1 site | |
| $9 a night · Open year round. | ||
Every campground here has its own page on Campsite Atlas, with site counts, hookups, rig limits and booking windows. All of them on one page → How park camping works
Visitor centers
- Santa Monica Mountains Anthony C. Beilenson Interagency Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The Anthony C. Beilenson Interagency Visitor Center features a bookstore managed by Western National Parks Association. You can purchase memorabilia, guidebooks, puppets and more. It also features interactive exhibits and has a small theater where a park film is shown.
- Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center ↗
Located at the southern end of the community of Newbury Park, this site reflects the heritage of both Native Americans and local ranching. The Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center is open on weekends from 9am to 4pm. Native American workshops and programs occur throughout the year.
Explore
Things to do
- Mishe Mokwa Trail to Split Rock1-3 Hours
Traversing riparian, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral, this trail offers wonderful views of Carlisle Canyon and Balanced Rock. Split Rock’s oak grove offers a shaded spot for picnicking.
Opens on the Park Service site - Solstice Canyon Trail2-3 Hours
Travel through a beautiful, shaded riparian environment on the Solstice Canyon Trail alongside a year-round creek.
Opens on the Park Service site - Satwiwa Loop Trail1-2 Hours
This area was set aside for the preservation and celebration of Native American cultures.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Historic landmarks nearby
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Guidebooks for California's national parks
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthEastern Fox Squirrel 16× · Coyote 13× · Great Horned Owl 10× · Osprey 10× · Brown Pelican 8× · Belted Kingfisher 7× · California Sea Lion 2× · Gray Fox 2×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 400 birds, 54 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Barn Owl · Broad-winged Hawk · Burrowing Owl · Cooper's Hawk · Crested Caracara · Ferruginous Hawk · Golden Eagle · Great Horned Owl · Long-eared Owl · Merlin · Northern Harrier · Osprey · Peregrine Falcon · Prairie Falcon · Red-shouldered Hawk · Red-tailed Hawk · Rough-legged Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Short-eared Owl · Swainson's Hawk · Turkey Vulture · Western Screech-Owl · White-tailed Kite · Zone-tailed Hawk
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican Bittern · American Coot · American White Pelican · American Wigeon · Arctic Loon · Black-crowned Night-Heron · Blue Goose · Blue-winged Teal · Brandt's Cormorant · Brown Pelican · Bufflehead · Canada Goose · Cattle Egret · Cinnamon Teal · Clark's Grebe · Common Goldeneye · Common Loon · Common Merganser · Double-crested Cormorant · Eared Grebe · Emperor Goose · Eurasian Wigeon · Great Blue Heron · Great Egret · Greater Scaup · Greater White-fronted Goose · Green Heron · Green-winged Teal · Harlequin Duck · Hooded Merganser · Horned Grebe · Least Bittern · Lesser Scaup · Little Blue Heron · Long-tailed Duck · Northern Pintail · Pacific Loon · Pelagic Cormorant · Pied-billed Grebe · Red-breasted Merganser · Red-necked Grebe · Red-throated Loon · Reddish Egret · Ridgway's Rail · Ring-necked Duck · Ross's Goose · Ruddy Duck · Sandhill Crane · Snowy Egret · Tricolored Heron · Tufted Duck · Virginia Rail · Western Grebe · White-faced Ibis · Wood Duck · Yellow-billed Loon · Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Avocet · American Golden-Plover · Arctic Tern · Ashy Storm-Petrel · Baird's Sandpiper · Bar-tailed Godwit · Black Oystercatcher · Black Skimmer · Black Storm-Petrel · Black Tern · Black Turnstone · Black-bellied Plover · Black-tailed Gull · Black-vented Shearwater · Bonaparte's Gull · California Gull · California Least Tern · Caspian Tern · Cassin's Auklet · Common Murre · Common Tern · Curlew Sandpiper · Dunlin · Elegant Tern · Forster's Tern · Franklin's Gull · Glaucous Gull · Glaucous-winged Gull · Greater Yellowlegs · Heermann's Gull · Herring Gull · Hudsonian Godwit · Killdeer · Laughing Gull · Least Sandpiper · Least Storm-Petrel · Lesser Black-backed Gull · Lesser Yellowlegs · Long-billed Curlew · Long-billed Dowitcher · Magnificent Frigatebird · Marbled Godwit · Masked Booby · Mottled Petrel · Mountain Plover · Pacific Golden-Plover · Parasitic Jaeger · Pectoral Sandpiper · Pink-footed Shearwater · Pomarine Jaeger · Red Phalarope · Red-necked Phalarope · Rhinoceros Auklet · Ring-billed Gull · Royal Tern · Ruddy Turnstone · Sabine's Gull · Sanderling · Sandwich Tern · Semipalmated Plover · Semipalmated Sandpiper · Short-billed Dowitcher · Short-billed Gull · Short-tailed Shearwater · Solitary Sandpiper · Sooty Shearwater · Spotted Sandpiper · Stilt Sandpiper · Thayer's Gull · Upland Sandpiper · Western Gull · Western Sandpiper · Western Snowy Plover · Willet · Wilson's Phalarope · Wilson's Plover · Wilson's Snipe
Gamebirds & dovesBand-tailed Pigeon · California Quail · Common Ground Dove · Eurasian Collared-Dove · Mountain Quail · Mourning Dove · Pigeon Guillemot · Rock Pigeon · Spotted Dove · White-winged Dove
WoodpeckersAcorn Woodpecker · Downy Woodpecker · Hairy Woodpecker · Lewis's Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Nuttall's Woodpecker · Red-breasted Sapsucker · Red-naped Sapsucker · Williamson's Sapsucker · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsAllen's Hummingbird · Anna's Hummingbird · Black Swift · Black-chinned Hummingbird · Calliope Hummingbird · Costa's Hummingbird · Rufous Hummingbird · Vaux's Swift · White-throated Swift
Also on the checklistAmerican Crow · American Dipper · American Goldfinch · American Pipit · American Redstart · American Robin · Ancient Murrelet · Ash-throated Flycatcher · Baltimore Oriole · Bank Swallow · Barn Swallow · Bay-breasted Warbler · Belding's Savannah Sparrow · Bell's Sparrow · Belted Kingfisher · Bewick's Wren · Black Phoebe · Black Scoter · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-chinned Sparrow · Black-headed Grosbeak · Black-legged Kittiwake · Black-necked Stilt · Black-throated Blue Warbler · Black-throated Gray Warbler · Black-throated Green Warbler · Black-throated Sparrow · Blackburnian Warbler · Blackpoll Warbler · Blue Grosbeak · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Bobolink · Brant · Brewer's Blackbird · Brewer's Sparrow · Brown Creeper · Brown Thrasher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bullock's Oriole · Bushtit · California Gnatcatcher · California Horned Lark · California Scrub-Jay · California Thrasher · California Towhee · Canada Warbler · Canvasback · Canyon Wren · Cassin's Finch · Cassin's Kingbird · Cassin's Vireo · Cedar Waxwing · Chestnut-sided Warbler · Chipping Sparrow · Clark's Nutcracker · Clay-colored Sparrow · Cliff Swallow · Common Gallinule · Common Poorwill · Common Raven · Common Yellowthroat · Connecticut Warbler · Craveri's Murrelet · Dark-eyed Junco · Dickcissel · Dusky Flycatcher · Dusky-capped Flycatcher · Eastern Kingbird · Eastern Phoebe · Eastern Yellow Wagtail · European Starling · Fox Sparrow · Gadwall · Golden-crowned Kinglet · Golden-crowned Sparrow · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray Flycatcher · Great Crested Flycatcher · Great-tailed Grackle · Greater Pewee · Greater Roadrunner · Green-tailed Towhee · Hammond's Flycatcher · Harris's Sparrow · Hermit Thrush · Hermit Warbler · Hooded Oriole · House Finch · House Sparrow · House Wren · Hutton's Vireo · Indian Peafowl · Indigo Bunting · King Eider · Large-billed Savannah Sparrow · Lark Bunting · Lark Sparrow · Lawrence's Goldfinch · Lazuli Bunting · Least Bell's Vireo · Least Flycatcher · Lesser Goldfinch · Lesser Nighthawk · Lincoln's Sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Lucy's Warbler · Macgillivray's Warbler · Magnolia Warbler · Mallard · Marbled Murrelet · Marsh Wren · Mitred Parakeet · Mountain Bluebird · Mountain Chickadee · Nanday Parakeet · Nashville Warbler · Nelson's Sparrow · Northern Cactus Wren · Northern Fulmar · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Parula · Northern Red Bishop · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Shoveler · Northern Waterthrush · Northern Wheatear · Oak Titmouse · Olive-sided Flycatcher · Orange-crowned Warbler · Pacific Wren · Pacific-slope Flycatcher · Painted Redstart · Palm Warbler · Phainopepla · Philadelphia Vireo · Pine Siskin · Plumbeous Vireo · Prairie Warbler · Prothonotary Warbler · Purple Finch · Purple Martin · Pygmy Nuthatch · Red Crossbill · Red Knot · Red-breasted Nuthatch · Red-crowned Parrot · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-whiskered Bulbul · Red-winged Blackbird · Redhead · Rock Wren · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Rose-ringed Parakeet · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Ruff · Rufous-crowned Sparrow · Rusty Blackbird · Sage Thrasher · Savannah Sparrow (nevadensis) · Say's Phoebe · Scaly-breasted Munia · Scarlet Tanager · Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Scott's Oriole · Scripps's Murrelet · Song Sparrow · Sora · South Polar Skua · Spotted Towhee · Steller's Jay · Summer Tanager · Surf Scoter · Surfbird · Swainson's Thrush · Swamp Sparrow · Tennessee Warbler · Townsend's Solitaire · Townsend's Warbler · Tree Swallow · Tricolored Blackbird · Tropical Kingbird · Varied Thrush · Vermilion Flycatcher · Vesper Sparrow · Violet-green Swallow · Virginia's Warbler · Wandering Tattler · Warbling Vireo · Western Bluebird · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · Western Tanager · Western Wood-Pewee · Whimbrel · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-crowned Sparrow · White-throated Sparrow · White-winged Scoter · Willow Flycatcher · Wilson's Warbler · Worm-eating Warbler · Wrentit · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-chevroned Parakeet · Yellow-green Vireo · Yellow-headed Blackbird · Yellow-headed Parrot · Yellow-rumped Warbler · Yellow-throated Warbler
Small mammalsBlack Rat · Black-tailed Jack Rabbit · Botta's Pocket Gopher · Broad-footed Mole · Brush Mouse · Brush Rabbit · Cactus Mouse · California Ground Squirrel · California Mouse · California Vole · California pocket mouse · Deer Mouse · Desert Cottontail · Desert Shrew · Desert Woodrat · Dusky-footed Woodrat · Fox Squirrel · House Mouse · Merriam's chipmunk · Norway Rat · Ornate Shrew · Pacific Kangaroo Rat · Pinon Mouse · Western Gray Squirrel · Western Harvest Mouse
PredatorsBadger · Bobcat · Coyote · Gray Fox · Long-tailed Weasel · Mountain Lion · Raccoon · Red Fox · Ringtail · Spotted Skunk · Striped Skunk
Hoofed mammalsMule Deer
BatsBig Brown Bat · California Myotis · Fringed Myotis · Hoary Bat · Long-eared Myotis · Long-legged Myotis · Mexican Free-tailed Bat · Pallid Bat · Pocketed Free-tailed Bat · Red Bat · Silver-haired Bat · Small-footed Myotis · Townsend's big-eared bat · Western Mastiff Bat · Western Pipistrelle · Yuma Myotis
Also on the checklistVirginia Opossum
Activities
Activity guides for this park Camping in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Horseback riding in the national parks · Rock climbing in the national parks
All 14 activitiesHide
Weather & climate
Summers are hot and dry while winters are cool and wet.
Questions people ask
Does Santa Monica Mountains charge an entrance fee?
No. Santa Monica Mountains is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
Is Santa Monica Mountains open year-round?
Yes. The grounds are open 24 hours a day, year-round.
Source: National Park Service
Can I camp in Santa Monica Mountains?
Yes. The Park Service lists 1 campground in Santa Monica Mountains: Circle X Ranch Campground - CLOSED. 1 takes reservations through Recreation.gov.
Do any Santa Monica Mountains campgrounds have hookups or showers?
No. None of the 1 listed campgrounds report showers, electric hookups, or a dump station.
Source: Campgrounds
How busy is Santa Monica Mountains?
722,626 recreation visits in 2025, number 94 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Santa Monica Mountains?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 4G LTE and AT&T 5G. No reported coverage for T-Mobile. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
When was Santa Monica Mountains established?
1978. It covers about 245 square miles.
Source: Wikipedia
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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