Best the Crest

Hiking Castro Crest in the Santa Monica Mountains

A walk along the spine of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in Malibu is especially good when the days are cool and the skies so clear. Add a jaunt down into Malibu Creek State Park, and you’ve got a 7.5-mile out-and-back challenge that rewards you with wonderful views, not to mention a bit of rock-scrambling fun. After parking in the Backbone Trail’s Corral Canyon parking lot, start with a quick diversion: Take the Backbone Trail about 0.5 mile to the east to a Zionesque playground of sandstone slabs and pockmarked boulders where you can enjoy sweeping vistas of Corral Canyon down to the Pacific Ocean.

Then head back to the lot and start up Castro Motorway (a dirt fire road) along Castro Crest 0.8 mile to Bulldog Motorway—a steady incline that gains about 500 feet. The actual Castro Peak (2,825 feet) stands on private land behind the gates here, so it’s illegal to summit. Don't be bummed out. You'll still be rewarded with another epic view, this time of Malibu Creek State Park far below, before you head 2.5 miles down Bulldog. Ignore the spur trails and turn back when you reach the end of the descent, or continue to the old MASH set, 1.5 miles farther. Then comes the big push back up the 1,000 feet you descended. Head back down Castro Motorway to the trailhead. Consider taking this hike in the late afternoon for an extremely beautiful and rewarding sunset finale to your workout.

To get to the Backbone Trail’s Corral Canyon trailhead and the no-fee dirt parking lot, take the I-10 west to Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy. 1) north. After 16 miles, turn right on Corral Canyon Rd., which winds up the mountain and ends at the lot. Dog-friendly only on Castro Mtwy. section.

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Taking the Stage: Tyler Ranch

    Hike the recently opened Tyler Ranch Staging Area in Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, with 18 miles of new trails. This 6.5-mile loop up Sunol Peak is a challenge and rewards with exceptional views of seasonal iridescent hills.

    View
  2. A woman stands at Dante's View in Death Valley, looking out to Telescope Peak and Manly Lake, Badwater Basin below.

    Sunset Hike (and Manly Lake Vista!) at Dante's View

    It’s one of the world’s best places to watch a sunset. Dante’s View is a 5,476-foot vantage of the whole southern basin of Death Valley from the top of the Black Mountains. On clear days you get views of both the highest and lowest points in the contiguous U.S. 

    View
  3. Swing into Spring

    Swing into this 7.1-mile hike in the hills of Half Moon Bay! It’s got gorgeous views, fields of spring wildflowers, and a hidden rustic tree swing.

    View
  4. The Carson Show

    Carson Falls is ready for primetime. This three-tiered, 100-foot stunner is hidden back in a canyon outside of Fairfax and reached on a 3.25-mile (round-trip) hike.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. Lava Lava

    Once a land of volcanic activity, Mojave National Preserve shares plenty about its past via a quick yet adventurous hike to the Lava Tube in the Cima Dome Volcanic Field.

    View
  2. Kelso Dunes

    The hike to the top of Kelso Dunes in the Mojave National Preserve is only 3 miles (out and back), but you’ll feel like you’ve hiked much farther by the time you’re done.

    View
  3. William Kenyon Overlook

    Some of the best vistas of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park are easily accessible via a short and sweet 1.25-mile (round-trip) hike just off the CA-78. Enter your next favorite desert viewpoint: the William Kenyon Overlook.

    View
  4. Beaudry Bountiful

    There are no cars allowed on Beaudry Loop, but this 6-mile hike takes you on a wild ride. You’ll be climbing 1,500 feet up the southern Verdugos along a chaparral-lined trail with gorgeous mountain and urban vistas every step of the way.

    View