Backbone Trail — Ray Miller to Sycamore
Point Mugu / Santa Monica Mountains · near Malibu / Oxnard · Los Angeles / SoCal
Trail Running
At a glance
- Difficulty
- strenuous
- Distance
- 12.5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 2,200 ft
- Best season
- Nov–May (cool & green) · dangerous summer heat
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No permit. Santa Monica Mountains NRA / Point Mugu State Park — $ parking at some lots (Ray Miller/La Jolla Canyon). The full Backbone Trail is 67 miles across the range.
What is here
- Features
- Ray Miller Trail — legendary ocean-view singletrack · Fire roads, shaded canyons, ridge lines · Part of the 67-mile Backbone Trail · Point Mugu wildflowers in spring
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Trail Running detail
- Surface
- singletrack
- Race
- Sections used by Bulldog 50K & many SoCal ultras
- Intl tip
- The Ray Miller trailhead (La Jolla Canyon, Point Mugu SP) is on PCH north of Malibu — paid parking, or free roadside spots fill early. The Bulldog 50K and other SoCal ultras use Backbone sections. Combine with a Malibu beach cool-down. Carry far more water than you think in warm months.
The guide
The Backbone Trail runs 67 miles along the spine of the Santa Monica Mountains, and its western end — the Ray Miller Trail out …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Backbone Trail — Ray Miller to Sycamore — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.079, -119.023