New 67-Mile Hiking Trail Opens in Los Angeles

There’s a new hiking trail that just came to the city of Angels and it is probably a lot longer than you’d expect. The 67-mile Backbone Trail is now open to the public for hiking—running from Will Rogers State Park in Pacific Palisades to Point Mugu State Park in Malibu. While not nearly as long as the Pacific Crest Trail, another long distance trail that also passes through California, the Backbone Trail awards hikers the opportunity to see some of the most beautiful views California has to offer.

A Hiking Trail 40 Years in the Making

The long-awaited Backbone Trail has been a project in the works for nearly 40 years. The reason for the long delay had less to do with sculpting the trail into trail-ready shape, but more with problems over land ownership. Close to 180 parcels of land—costing upwards of $100 million— in several different cities had to be purchased in order to bring this dream to fruition. Part of that included a 703-acre parcel purchased from Academy Award-winning director James Cameron, who sold his land to the National Park Service in 2014 for $12 million. Another 40-acres of the land was donated by the former “governator” of Califonria, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Work first began on the trail in the late 1960s, when the Park Service, California Department of Parks and Recreation, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority began purchasing parcels of land to develop the trail. Flash forward to 2016 and the land has officially been developed into a long-distance hiking trail.

Thru-Hike Future

Unlike other longer trails, the Backbone Trail isn’t intended to be a thru-hiking trail. This trail rather should be completed in sections as camping options are limited due to the small strips of public land the trail travels along. The plan is to eventually make thru-hiking a possibility by adding camp sites along the trail to allow hikers to complete these long stretch in one trip. NPS communications fellow Zach Behrens told LAist , “We want to create a small number of backcountry campsites for use with permits. Right now, we as the National Park Service only operate one camping spot in those mountains. It’s our goal to start making thru-hiking a reality for more people.”

What the Backbone Trail does have to offer over the Pacific Crest Trail is that it is easier access to civilization—the trail is never more than a few miles from the 101 Freeway. Gas stations, restaurants, food markets, and even wineries are close to the trail to help hikers stay replenished during their trip. Many portions of the trail are also easily accessible—with the eastern trailhead accessible by LA’s 2 bus.

Despite 40 years of hard work and unwavering dedication, the Backbone Trail still has ambitious dreams in the works. The plan is to eventually connect it with over 500 more miles of nearby trails, which gives SoCal residents no excuse to take a hike on weekends with easy access to what will become one, long trail. Another dream is to extend the Backbone Trail eastward, which would require tampering with more urbanized parts of the city. The trail would need to find its way across two freeways to connect with Griffith Park and around several mansions. Then the Backbone Trail would be connected with the soon to be 51-mile Los Angeles River Trail , which is scheduled for completion by 2020.

Be on the lookout for posts along the Backbone Trail in the very near future from me. Do you plan to check out the Backbone Trail?

Photo Credit: IrishFireside , Ben Townsend