101 Hikes in Southern California. Jerry Schad
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shipwrecked at the cove, partially buried beneath the sands.
When you reach the northeast end of Dume Cove, swing left around a lesser point and continue another mile over a somewhat wider beach to Paradise Cove, site of an elegant beachside restaurant, private pier, and parking lot (the public is welcome for a hefty parking fee unless they spend at least $20 at the restaurant). If you’ve parked a bicycle or second car here, then your hike ends here. Otherwise you can return the way you came or wend your way along the residential streets of Point Dume to return to Westward Beach.
HIKE 9
Solstice Canyon Park
Location: Santa Monica Mountains (Malibu)
Highlights: Superb oak woodland and lessons in fire ecology
Distance: 2.4 miles (out-and-back)
Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 350'/350'
Hiking Time: 1½ hours
Optional Maps: Trails Illustrated Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area or USGS 7.5-minute Malibu Beach and Point Dume
Best Times: All year
Agency: SMMNRA
Difficulty: Easy
Trail Use: Dogs allowed, good for kids
The easy-going but scenic Solstice Canyon Trail takes you through the grounds of the former Robert’s Ranch—now Solstice Canyon Park, a site administered by the National Park Service. The canyon once hosted a private zoo where giraffes, camels, deer, and exotic birds roamed. At trail’s end you come to Tropical Terrace, the site of an architecturally noted grand home that burned in a 1982 wildfire.
Live oak in Solstice Canyon
To Reach the Trailhead: From Highway 1 in Malibu 0.3 mile west of mile marker 001 LA 50.0, turn north onto Corral Canyon Road. In 0.2 mile, turn left into the park. There’s overflow parking space for several cars at the entrance, and a more spacious lot 0.3 mile farther inside at the main trailhead. Parking is free. Carpooling is encouraged since parking space is limited. Posted park hours are 8 a.m.–s unset. The trail description begins from the inside parking lot.
Description: Starting at the main trailhead, pass through a gate and continue upstream alongside the canyon’s melodious creek. The path is paved for much of the way. You travel through a fantastic woodland of alder, sycamore, bay, and live oak—the latter with trunks up to 18 feet in circumference. In 0.7 mile, you pass an 1865 stone cottage on the right—thought to be the oldest existing stone building in Malibu.
At 1.2 miles, you arrive at the remains of Tropical Terrace. In a setting of palms and giant birds-of-paradise, curved flagstone steps sweep toward the roofless remains of what was for 26 years one of Malibu’s grand homes. Beyond the house, crumbling stone steps and pathways lead to what used to be elaborately decorated rock grottoes, as well as a waterfall on Solstice Canyon’s creek. Hidden among the Tropical Terrace ruins are the remains of a concrete bomb shelter. For all its perfectly natural setting, Tropical Terrace’s destiny was that of a temporary paradise, wiped out by both fire and flood.
The steep and rugged Sostomo Trail continues up the canyon, eventually joining the Deer Valley Loop for those who want a longer trip. A beautiful but strenuous option for a loop hike is to return via the Rising Sun Trail, which adds 500 feet of climbing onto the canyon wall but offers fantastic coastline views stretching from the Palos Verdes Peninsula to Point Dume. Otherwise, you can turn around at Tropical Terrace and start an easy, gentle descent back to the trailhead.
Back at the trailhead parking lot you may want to check out the Dry Creek Trail, which goes northeast up an oak-shaded ravine for about 0.6 mile before entering private property. An outrageously cantilevered “Darth Vader” house overlooks the ravine as well as a 150-foot-high precipice that infrequently becomes a spectacular waterfall.
Tropical Terrace ruins in Solstice Canyon
HIKE 10
Temescal Canyon
Location: Santa Monica Mountains (Pacific Palisades)
Highlights: Pseudoaerial coastline views and shady riparian and oak woodland
Distance: 2.8 miles (loop)
Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 850'/850'
Hiking Time: 1½ hours
Optional Maps: Trails Illustrated Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area or USGS 7.5-minute Topanga
Best Times: All year
Agency: SMMNRA
Difficulty: Moderate
Trail Use: Good for kids
Spring lingers long on the coastal slopes of the Santa Monica Mountains, which are frequently bathed from May until July in the sopping-wet breath of the marine layer. This is quintessential coastal sage-scrub and chaparral country, a particular habitat that is fast succumbing to urban development all over Southern California. All through spring and early summer, you can enjoy the scents of sage and wildflowers on the trails of Temescal Canyon, part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and Topanga State Park. With an early start on a foggy morning, you may find yourself punching right through the mist as you ascend into the bright, sunny world above.
To Reach the Trailhead: Begin at Temescal Gateway Park, just north of the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Temescal Canyon Road in Pacific Palisades, 1 mile north of Pacific Coast Highway by way of Temescal Canyon Road. Park for a fee inside the park from sunrise to sunset. Pets are allowed on the short paths in Temescal Gateway Park, but they are prohibited on the outlying trails ahead, which enter Topanga State Park.
City views from Temescal Ridge
Description: This hike traverses the Temescal loop clockwise, climbing the scrubby west wall of Temescal Canyon on the way up and then making a nice, easy descent down through the canyon. To do this, head north up the road past several buildings that comprise the former Presbyterian conference grounds. Stay left onto a dirt path and climb to a signed junction where you can pick up the Tem-escal Ridge Trail on the left. The narrow trail immediately starts a vigorous ascent up the scrubby canyon slope to the west. After several twists and turns, the trail gains a moderately ascending crest and sticks to it. Pause often so you can turn around and look at the ever-widening view of the coastline curving from Santa Monica Bay to Malibu.
Ahead, two short trails (the Leacock and Bienveneda Trails) strike off to the left toward the end of Bienveneda Avenue. Ignore those paths and continue a junction (1.3 miles from the start) with the Temescal Canyon Trail on the right. At this juncture you have the option of making a side trip north 0.4 mile to a wind-carved, sandstone outcrop known as Skull Rock. To stay on the loop route, turn right and follow the Temescal Canyon Trail into the shady bottom of Temescal Canyon.
At the bottom you cross Temescal Canyon’s creek on a footbridge. Above and below that bridge are small, trickling waterfalls and shallow, limpid pools. You can poke around the creek a bit for a look at its typical denizens—water striders and newts. When you’ve finished sightseeing, continue down the canyon trail back to the conference buildings, a mile away. That final stretch follows the canyon bottom and then contours along a slope behind the buildings. Lots of live oak, sycamore, willow, and bay trees, their woodsy scents commingling on the ocean breeze, highlight your return.