Summary: From the gate, follow the service road that runs along the right side of the creek. Bear right at the dirt road that takes you up to the 2 odd looking buildings that house the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. To the right of the second building, take the Rising Sun Trail. This trail heads up the ridge, with great views of the ocean, then drops down into the somewhat mysterious Tropical Terrace. This is actually the ruins of a home build in the 1960s, and burned in 1982. There are exotic plants, lovely pools, a 30 foot waterfall, and a hidden statue of the Virgin Mary just before you cross the creek heading into the ruins. This is really a fun place to explore!
You can carefully scramble up the rocks on an extremely steep trail to get above the waterfall to a number of lovely pools. The return route is a pleasant shady service road that runs parallel to the stream. Good year round hike. Dogs okay, but may not make it if you are going to scramble the falls. The scenery changes completely every .3 miles or so and walking down into the Terrace from the top of the hill feels a little like an Indiana Jones adventure!
Highlights: | Lovely creek, 30 ft waterfall, mysterious ruins, hidden statue, ocean views | |
Near: | Malibu, CA | |
Distance: | 3 miles round trip | |
Elevation Gain: | 500 ft | |
Hike Time: | 1.5 hours | |
Difficulty: | Easy | |
Trail Condition: | Well maintained trail | |
HikeType: | Loop |
These are the rocks you need to scale to get up to the tide pools, they are on the right side of the water fall after you cross at the top past these ruins.
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