Point Mugu State Park - Point Mugu State Park

Point Mugu State Park is a state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in Southern California. Part of the Western Santa Monica Mountains, the park is located at 9000 West Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California. There is a fee-based parking lot that is open from 8 AM to 10 PM. Park gates do not permit entry after 10 PM. The park may be accessed from the eastern part of the Santa Monica Mountains from a National Park Service park, Rancho Sierra Vista in Newbury Park, CA that includes the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center, and from the western part of the Santa Monica Mountains by the Pacific Coast Highway. Point Mugu SP consists of two parklands, di stinct landside and beachside areas with different ecosystems with their own parking lots, separated by the Pacific Coast Highway. During low tide, the parks are joined by a walkway under an adjoining bridge.

FeaturesEdit

Point Mugu State Park features 5 miles of oceanfront beaches, palisades, chaparral-covered mountains, two major canyons with seasonal rivers, grassy valleys highlighted with oaks, sycamores, and the occasional native walnuts trees. A major landmark, the Boney Mountain State Wilderness Area features pinnacles visible from many areas of the park.

RecreationEdit

Opportunities for camping, hiking, swimming, mountain biking, picnicking, wildlife viewing, and horseback riding exist within the park. Horseback riding is available from the National Park Service entrance. Like all California State Parks, dogs are permitted when leashed in campsite areas. No dogs are allowed whether on or off-leash on the backcountry trails, i.e., any trail that is not paved. The western terminus of the Backbone Trail, a multi-use long-distance trail extending nearly 70 miles across the Santa Monica Mountains, is the Ray Miller trailhead at La Jolla Canyon in Point Mugu State Park. The beach offers ocean swimming and body surfing, with views of dolphins, seals, pelicans, and whales. No fishing as of 2011. Backbone Trail's Northern terminus is at the Ray Miller Trailhead, located just south of Point Mugu, in La Jolla Canyon.

GeographyEdit

Canyons/ValleysEdit

• Wood Canyon
• Sycamore Canyon
• La Jolla Valley
• Serrano Valley

MountainsEdit

• Boney Mountain â€" Boney Mountain Wilderness area, Boney Peak adjacent.
• Tri Peaks
• Mugu Peak
• Laguna Peak

External linksEdit

• Media related to Point Mugu State Park at Wikimedia Commons
• Official Point Mugu State Park website