Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

SYNOPSIS: Title of park unigrid with park name. 

DESCRIPTION: A vertical black bar with white text running front he bottom to the top. The text is turned 90 degrees counter clockwise so that the bottom of the letters face to the right of the page. The text in the bottom third is bold and takes up most of the bar, it reads Santa Monica Mountains. The middle third of the bar is left blank, showing only black. On the top third, there are two white blocks of text side by side. The first from the bottom reads, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area California. The block of white text on the top reads, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. At the end of all the text, there is a National Park Service Arrowhead turned 90 degrees clockwise pointing to 3 o'clock, the same orientation of the previous text. 

The arrowhead is the symbol for the National Park Service, and it brown, green and white in color. The arrowhead is mostly brown and illustrated to depict hand carving marks. On the arrowhead there is a landscape where grass and sequoia tree represented in green. A mountain is in the distance and bison in the foreground are in white. There is white text in the middle that reads, National Park Service in all caps. 

CAPTION: National Park Service black bar branding for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. 

CREDIT: NPS / SAMO. 

SYNOPSIS: This graphic color illustration includes a city skyline of Los Angeles, a car driving on a winding road, and hikers on a trail. 

DESCRIPTION: In the background is The City of Los Angeles viewed on the horizon, showcasing buildings of different sizes and mountains behind the buildings. On the foreground there's green Chaparral grassland vegetation on the left and the right. In between the vegetation is a curved road and a red convertible driving through it. On the right side there is a group of 5 hikers, two of them are holding walking sticks and one has a backpack, On the top right corner is a Red -Tailed Hawk flying over the hikers on the foreground. 

CAPTION: A portion of an illustration depicting the Los Angeles skyline. 

CREDIT: NPS/Chris Turnham 

SYNOPSIS: This graphic color illustration includes a hawk flying in the upper left corner, a sunset colored sky, a mountain scattered with rocky outcrops and hikers on a trail. 

DESCRIPTION: At the top left flies a Red-Tailed Hawk, a large bird with brown feathers with spots of white, and prominent red tail feathers. Below hikes a group of five, likely a family, on a dirt trail that passes through a hilly terrain spotted with rocky outcrops and other large rock formations. The people are simply drawn, with no facial features that appear to be hiking on a trail. Leading this group is another older individual, likely an adult, with no hiking stick or backpack. The two of the hikers in the front/middle appear to be adults based on size and they both carry with them a walking stick and wear a backpack. The hiker behind two adults looks like younger and also wears a backpack. The one in the back is the smallest of them all, likely a child, with black hair worn in a bun.

The hill they are hiking up looks like it is at a high elevation due to the presence of low lying fog or clouds below them. The trail ahead of them looks very long, following a long ridge line that leads to the right a little ways before going directly up to a high summit that almost touches the clouds at the top of the image and overlooks Los Angeles City to the left. The sky above the city has clouds that are orange and pink colored showing that is is around sunset. 

CAPTION: A portion of an illustration depicting hikers on a trail in the mountains.

CREDIT: NPS/Chris Turnham 

SYNOPSIS: This graphic color illustration includes a car driving on a winding road in a vegetated area. 

DESCRIPTION: In this section of the drawing there is no sky shows. It is a cropped image only showing road, vegetation, a car and some hikers in the distance. There is a two lane highway known as Mulholland Highway, the road goes in opposite directions winding around a small pocket of light green bushes. There is a red convertible car driving on one lane of the road. The road goes around the green chaparral vegetation. In the distance there is a row of small hikers slightly cut off. These hikers are part of another described section of the collage.

CAPTION: A portion of an illustration depicting a car driving on a twisting road. 

CREDIT: NPS/Chris Turnham

SYNOPSIS: This graphic color illustration includes three parts: a fire on the left side, a coyote in the middle of the image, and vegetation on the right. 

DESCRIPTION: On the left, yellow and orange flames rise up from dark colored ground. The flames bend to the right as if moved by winds. Brown smoke or ash licks the top of the flames. In the center of the image, a coyote stands facing away from the fire on a small hill. Puffs of brown smoke drift by. His head is lifted up, with pointy ears back, and his mouth open towards the sky as if howling. Its fur is light brown across the torso and darkens to deep brown at the tip of the fluffy tail. It's throat and chest area is white. In front of the coyote and stretching to the right edge of the image, orange California poppy flowers are in full bloom. The wide-petaled blooms are interspersed with spiky light green and dark green stems. In the upper right corner of the image, three rosette shaped plants, called Dudleya succulents, are perched on a rock. These plants are not drawn to scale compared to the coyote and the poppies and are much larger, thus providing more details of their structure. These succulents have a tight grouping of smaller leaves in the center, spiraling out to larger leaves. The leaves are wider at the base and come to a point. The leaves are light green with light grey or white along the leaf edges.  

CAPTION: A portion of an illustration depicting fire alongside wildlife. 

CREDIT: NPS/Chris Turnham 

SYNOPSIS: This graphic color illustration includes mountain lions in the foreground on the bottom left with large trees and people biking on a trail in the background.  

DESCRIPTION: In the bottom left, an adult mountain lion is in profile, walking towards the left, with its head turned towards the viewer. The mountain lion has golden fur with a white underbelly and wears a bulky grey tracking collar. Its left paw is raised as if to take a step. A tiny kitten pops up to the left of the adult mountain lion. Behind the kitten, a sage bush with tall bristly spears fans out in greater height and width than the kitten.  

In the distance from the mountain lion, a mature coast live oak tree fills the center of the image and the right side. It stands on a hill with short grasses underneath. The tree has a wide, multi-stemmed trunk with knobby thick branches that reach out to the right and left. The dark brown trunk is relatively short with an expansive leaf canopy. The depth and volume of the leaf canopy is achieved through color with the lower and innermost leaves in grey and dark green. Yellowish-green leaves on the top right side of the tree are in the sunlight. A blue jay with wings outstretched crosses in front of the tree's upper branches. Two cyclists are traveling to the right on a narrow path that circles the tree. Both cyclists wear helmets and lean forward on their bikes, raising themselves off their seats. 

In the upper left side of the image even further in the distance, a tree surrounded by tall grasses and shrubs provides shade while a person reclines on a rock below. Two birds with wings outstretched fly in front of the tree. Blue sky peeks through the branches. 

CAPTION: Trees and Wildlife are Interdependent 

CREDIT: NPS/Chris Turnham 

SYNOPSIS: This graphic color illustration includes an adult mountain lion, two kittens, and vegetation.  

DESCRIPTION: The central image is an adult mountain lion in profile, walking towards the left on a narrow elevated path, with trees and shrubs in the background. Its head is turned towards the viewer. It wears a bulky grey tracking collar. The mountain lion has a heart-shaped face with golden fur on the top of the head, around the penetrating green eyes, and across the bridge of the nose. The golden fur blends into white on the sides of the face and around the mouth. Below the rounded nose, black markings accentuate the shape of the mouth. Stiff white whiskers poke out on both sides of the mouth. The mountain lion has golden fur with a white underbelly in shadow. Bulging muscles in the hind leg suggest its strength and power. Its narrow tail is nearly the same length as its torso and extends out with a slight curve upwards at its tip. Its left paw is raised as if to take a step.  

A tiny kitten pops up to the left of the adult mountain lion. The kitten's head is facing the viewer and has spotted markings in a similar color palette as the adult mountain lion. A white sage bush with bristly spears rises behind the kitten's head.  

A second kitten follows closely behind the adult and walks along the same pathway. Spotted markings cover the kitten's body. The kitten's tail mirrors the shape of the adult's tail.   

In the foreground on the lower left and lower middle, purple sage branches are depicted in detail. Three of the branches have leaves only. The grayish green leaves emerge from a central stem in star-like clusters. The remaining seven branches are in bloom. The delicate tiny purple flowers are located at intervals along the stem, with small clusters starting at the tip of the stem leading to a main cluster of purple flowers. In this main cluster, white flowers burst out of the purple ones in a showy display. 

CAPTION: Mountain Lion and kittens lurk in sage bushes 

CREDITS: NPS/Chris Turnham 

SYNOPSIS: This artistic scene depicts a riparian environment with a creek, oak trees, visitors, and animals in muted colors. The people are simply drawn with no facial features. 

DESCRIPTION: A Valley Oak tree can be seen in the upper left section of this scene. It is growing out of a small grassy hill. The base of the tree is at the foot of the hill and against a dirt trail below. Two mountain bikers are riding on this trail, following it as it passes to the right and vanishes behind the hill. The dirt trail is at the top of a sharp cut bank that immediately drops down below and to the right of the trail. 

 At the bottom of this cut bank is a creek with only a little bit of water in it. The water channel isn't much wide, indicating there used to be a lot more water in the creek. The channel has rocks and boulders of various sizes scattered throughout along with smaller plants growing within. The water in the creek flows from the bottom left of the scene and upward, towards distant oak trees where is vanishes. 

 The opposite side of the bank is below and on the right side of this scene with another trail at the top. A jogger with a water bottle in her right hand is running along the trail towards the viewer. Behind her and to the left a short distance along this same trail is a kid and their parent. The kid is pointing to the upper left, in the distance of the mountain bikers on the opposite side of the creek. The parent is looking the same direction through a pair of binoculars. 

Immediately above the jogger is a large rock with a frog sitting on the top. The rock and frog are artistically drawn in and not to scale. The frog is an animal that lives in the riparian habitat exhibited in this scene. It is the California Red-legged frog. The abdomen and hind legs of adults are mostly red. The back has small black flecks and larger irregular dark blotches. They have indistinct outlines on a brown or reddish background color.  

CAPTION: A riparian environment in Santa Monica Mountains with creek, trails, visitors, and a Red-legged frog. 

CREDIT: NPS/ Chris Turnham 

SYNOPSIS: This artistic scene depicts the Rancho Sierra Vista park with a National Park ranger leading school kids on a field trip in muted colors. The people are simply drawn with no facial features. 

DESCRIPTION: The center of this image shows a grass hut with a small opening in the front. This structure is known as an 'Ap, a Chumash home traditionally made of Tule, a marshland grass. In front of the 'Ap is a National Park ranger facing towards us in uniform, speaking with a group nine kids. The ranger is gesturing with their left hand at the 'Ap. This scene looks like it may be a school fieldtrip. 

Behind the 'Ap is a chaparral covered hill with rocky outcrops. The hill looks to be in the distance and tall, with white clouds running along the top and behind it. 

One of the kids to the left of the 'Ap is pointing above and to the left. Following their finger, we see a large bird a short distance to the upper left and forward. The large bird is a hawk with banded white and black feathers in their wings and tail with reddish and brown underparts. It is known as the Red-shouldered Hawk. 

The Red-shouldered Hawk is flying to the left, towards, but in front of, a large Valley Oak tree. The leaves of the oak tree blend in with the scene around the 'Ap, they transition into a separate scene below the group of kids. This change in scene is also seen in a blurring of the dirt ground beneath the feet of the kids as the image changes into a slightly overcast blue sky above distant hilltops. 

CAPTION: Scene showing the Rancho Sierra Vista park with a Chumash ‘Ap and a ranger leading school kids in a program. 

CREDIT: NPS/ Chris Turnham 

SYNOPSIS: This artistic collage depicts several different scenes with different environments, plants, animals, and activities in muted colors. The people are simply drawn with no facial features. 

DESCRIPTION: Attention is drawn to the center where a film in progress is being shot in a western setting. The people in this scene are simply drawn but have no facial features. At the focus of this scene are two people dressed in western attire standing in front of a camera and beneath a boom mic. Behind them and to the left are facades depicting western-styled structures. A large light is shown on set. The crew filming the scene consist of seven different members, all showing a variety of diverse backgrounds. The location depicted here is known as Paramount Ranch. 

Above this image are three birds, California Quails, standing between a native plant known as Grape Soda Lupine, a long-stemmed plant that blooms vibrant blue/ purple flowers. The California Quail is a plump, short-necked bird with a small head and bill. Their feathers are gray and brown, with a black face outlined with bold white stripes. They have a black comma-shaped topknot of feathers projecting forward from the forehead. 

The left side of this collage shows a California Kingsnake, with a brown and tan banded pattern. To the left of the California Kingsnake are three plants of the same species, a Dudleya. The Dudleya is a common succulent that has green flattened leaves that come out to a point in a floral pattern. 

Below is a sparse vegetated environment with some green chaparral and a dirt trail. Exploring this trail are four horseback riders on brown and dark brown horses. There are four horseback riders, all depicting that they all have diverse backgrounds. They are riding in a line, one behind another, to the left.  

To the right separate environment with two green Prickly Pear Cactus behind and in front of a large, flat boulder. The Prickly Pear Cactus grows with large flat, rounded cladodes. Between these two catci, a dark-green Western Fence Lizard rests on top of the boulder. The Western Fence lizard is facing off to the right and has a light green line running down its back to the tail with spots of yellow. 

CAPTION: A collage with several different scenes in frame depicting different plants, animals, and activities. 

CREDIT: NPS/ Chris Turnham 

SYNOPSIS: This artistic collage depicts where the ocean meets the land in Santa Monica in muted colors. It shows Santa Monica, the Santa Monica Pier, and where the city transitions into the hills. 

DESCRIPTION: At the upper right of this collage are two Pelicans flying to the right, towards the Pacific Ocean that can be seen just below. The ocean is a light blue with fog slowing flowing in towards the coast. The Pelicans have a brown body, white neck and belly, pale yellow head with occipital crest, and a long orange bill.  

The Pacific Ocean comes in from the right side of the image into an open, crescent shaped landmass. The land transitions from an open flat area with cross-hatched design of green lines, representing city streets, into hilly terrain with sparse vegetation and spotted with five houses to the left.  

Extending into the ocean is a pier with smaller structures and a Ferris wheel. This location is known as the Santa Monica Pier. Directly above the Santa Monica Pier, the shoreline curves into the ocean to the right, stopping short of the edge of the image with the ocean continuing around it. This section of land has a single grassy looking hill. 

CAPTION: Scene showing where the Santa Monica Mountains meet with the Pacific Ocean. The Santa Monica Pier is seen extending into the ocean.  

CREDIT: NPS/ Chris Turnham 

SYNOPSIS: An artistic rendering of a bird's eye view of the Santa Monica Mountains and the Santa Monica Pier.  

DESCRIPTION: In the center the yucca plant is featured. At its base it has rigid sword shaped leaves similar to succulents. It has one tall fruiting body with a cluster of white flowers in an oblong shape. It can get up to eight feet tall. Beneath the yucca plant a bobcat rest in a relaxed manner on one of the Coast live oak tree's branches, looking out. Left of the bobcat on another branch of the Coast Live oak tree is a gray squirrel with a bushy tail. Beneath the oak tree under the gray squirrel is an adult and child. The adult has shoulder length brown hair. They both have hiking back packs on. They have their left hand on the child's shoulder and are pointing with their right hand towards the plant grape soda Lupin, which gets its name from the sweet grape like flower fragrance, it is a small shrubby perennial growing 2-3 feet tall and 4 feet wide. It has silvery foliage and tall spikes of purple blue flowers. On the left of the lupine in exaggerated scale are a bevy quail, a bird with a stocky body that seldom flies. The male is a rich grey and brown with a black face, it has a tear drop top knot on its head. Beneath the quail, there is a fenced area with a person looking through a film camera. Beneath that person a Western fenced lizard sits on a rock, sunning itself. It is a medium sized lizard; its back and limbs are covered with gray and brown scales. A prickly pear cactus grows under the rock. The individual nopales or broad, flat, green pads have silvery spines. In the distance houses in the Pacific Palisades area nested with in the mountain topography surrounded by green shrubbery and sandy hills. Right of that view is the Santa Monica Pier surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. It contains a small amusement park with a Ferris wheel.  

CAPTION: Scene showing two hikers pointing into the distance over a valley. 

CREDIT: NPS/ Chris Turnham 

SYNOPSIS: An artist's rendering of a Coast Live Oak tree and some of its residents.  

DESCRIPTION: A colorful illustrated image of a Coast Live Oak tree trunk with two branches and four alternate, simple, oblong, toothed green leaves. On the left branch a bobcat is perched in a relaxed manner, looking out. Above the bobcat, on the ground there are two yucca plants, their sword like green leaves radiating without the fruiting body. Beyond the bobcat is a beautiful view of Boney Mountain the rays of the sun highlighting topographical details. To the right of the bobcat is another branch, a gray squirrel stands on all fours with a bushy tail.   

CAPTION: Scene showing a bobcat and squirrel resting in an oak tree. 

CREDIT: NPS/Chris Turnham 

SYNOPSIS: An artist's rendering of the Santa Monica Mountains 

DESCRIPTION: A colorful illustrated image of a Coast Live Oak tree trunk with one branch and two, simple, oblong, toothed green leaves. Three Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies fly beneath the branch in which a bobcat foot is dangling. This tree is a granary for an Acorn Woodpecker who is adding an acorn to the large cache. In the background a family of four sits on a picnic table under the shade of the tree. Their dog is tied to the table by a leash and a picnic basket sits on the table along with their utensils and lunches. They are on a hill bordered by green trees. 

CAPTION: Scene showing a group of people and their dog enjoying a picnic under a tree.

CREDIT: NPS/ Chris Turnham 

SYNOPSIS: Legend for map of Topanga State Park Area.   

DESCRIPTION: A horizontal rectangular legend that is about six times wider than it is high. This legend is light blue, situated in an area of the map that is positioned in the ocean. On the far right is a circle with an arrow pointing up and the word North above the circle. Below this is a distance legend showing a line with marking that identify distance measurements from 0 to 4 miles along the bottom, and 0 to an unidentified amount of kilometers at the top, but it can be estimated to be about 6 kilometers. 

 At the top middle is the remainder of the map this legend identifies. The word Point Dume State Beach (Westward Beach) and the bottom top of the Point Dume land mass map are visible. 

 The right three quarters of this legend identify markings on the maps. They are arranged in two rows and eight columns.  

 The first column shows a top image and word with a universal symbol for camping, a dark square with a light colored image of a tent. The tent is an open triangle with thicker sides and a thinner bottom line. To the right of this symbol is the word Campground. The lower image is the universal symbol for camping but with a different color balance. It shows a light colored square with a dark-colored tent. The tent is an open triangle with thicker sides and a thinner bottom line. To the right of this symbol are the words Group campground. 

 The second column shows a top image and word with the universal symbol for camping, but without the square. This image is just a dark colored tent. The tent is an open triangle with thicker sides and a thinner bottom line. To the right of this symbol are the words Backcountry campground. The lower image is the universal symbol for parking. It shows a white circle with a thin black line around the edge of the circle. A capitalized letter P in black is in the circle. To the right of this symbol is the word Parking. 

 The third column shows a top image and word with a symbol for a roadway. This symbol is a white horizontal rectangle with a thin black line around the edge of the rectangle. There is a thick solid brown line running left to right through the center of this rectangle. To the right of this symbol are the words Primary road. The lower image is another white horizontal rectangle with a thin black line around the edge of the rectangle. There is a thinner solid brown line running left to right through the center of this rectangle. To the right of this symbol are the words Secondary road. 

 The fourth column shows a top image and word with a symbol for a corridor. This symbol is a white horizontal rectangle with a thin black line around the edge of the rectangle. There is a thick solid gold line running left to right through the center of this rectangle. To the right of this symbol are the words Mulholland scenic corridor (paved). The lower image is another white horizontal rectangle with a thin black line around the edge of the rectangle. There is a dashed gold line running left to right through the center of this rectangle. To the right of this symbol are the words Mulholland scenic corridor (unpaved). 

 The fifth column shows a top image and word with a symbol for a trail. This symbol is a white horizontal rectangle with a thin black line around the edge of the rectangle. There is a dashed yellow line running left to right through the center of this rectangle. To the right of this symbol are the words Backbone Trail. The lower image is another white horizontal rectangle with a thin black line around the edge of the rectangle. There is a thinner dashed green line running left to right through the center of this rectangle. To the right of this symbol are the words Other trail. 

 The sixth column shows a top image and word with a symbol for the park boundary. This symbol is a white horizontal rectangle with a thin black line around the edge of the rectangle. There is a thin blue line running left to right through the center of this rectangle. The top of the rectangle is tan. The bottom is white. To the right of this symbol are the words Santa Monica National Recreation Area authorized boundary. There is no lower image. Instead, these words are printed in the place of an image: The park boundary extends to the mean high tide line along the coast.  

 The seventh column shows a top image and word with a symbol for a trail. This symbol is a white horizontal rectangle with a thin black line around the edge of the rectangle. The top and bottom black lines appear thicker than the sides. The rectangle is green inside the border. To the right of this symbol are the words National Park Service land. The lower image is another white horizontal rectangle with a thin black line around the edge of the rectangle. There is nothing additional inside the rectangle. To the right of this symbol are the words Other public land within authorized park boundary. 

 The eighth column shows a top image and word with a symbol for a trail. This symbol is a white horizontal rectangle with a thin black line around the edge of the rectangle. The rectangle is light pink inside the border. To the right of this symbol are the words Protected land outside the authorized park boundary. There is no lower image.

CAPTION: Legend for map of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. 

CREDIT: NPS / SAMO.  

SYNOPSIS: A vertical rectangular detail of map of Point Mugu State Park Area. The Point Mugu State Park Area of the map includes the Oxnard Plain, Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center, Rancho Sierra Vista, Point Mugu State Park, Big Sycamore Canyon, Boney Mountain, Thornhill Broom Beach, Sycamore Cove, Bass Rock, Deer Creek Canyon, Deer Creek Road, Little Sycamore Canyon, Yerba Buena Road, County Line Beach, a portion of the Backbone Trail and the Pacific Coast Highway. 

DESCRIPTION: The map is divided into three main sections, creating triangles of color. The top portion of the page indicates an area not part of the recreation area, and so it is in a light brown color. The area meets the recreation area boundaries, and there is a clear difference in color. The light brown area of the map is noted as the Oxnard Plain. There are multiple roads running through the area, though not all are labeled. From the top left, the 101 Freeway, or Ventura Highway, runs on a downward slope to meet the other end of this sectioned map, still in the light brown area. Running from the top middle of the map to the upper left side, all in the light brown area, is Lewis Road that turns into Hueneme Road, there is a connector road called Wood Road that runs south from Hueneme Road connecting it to the down sloping Highway 1, or Pacific Coast Highway. 

The Pacific Coast Highway starts from bottom of the Oxnard Plain area and hugs the bottom of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The recreation area is in various green colors showing what is private land, state park land and federal land. The green area slopes from the middle of the left side to just shy of the bottom right corner. The rest of the map is blue and labeled as the Pacific Ocean. 

When following the Pacific Coast Highway, the features along the road are as follows, Mugu Lagoon, Point Mugu where there is parking, Thornhill Broom Beach with parking on both sides of the highway and camping, Sycamore Cove with Parking on both sides of the highway and a camping area, Bass Rock just west of Deer Creek Road, County Line Beach which is near the county line of Los Angeles County and Ventura County, and lastly Sequit Point almost directly on the County Line. 

Point Mugu State Park is a light green as it is a State Park. From the Pacific Coast Highway, Thornhill Broome Beach has a trailhead inland of the highway that starts the east section of the Backbone Trail, it this trail runs 67 miles west to the other end of the recreation area. Throughout the map, the Backbone trail is noted as a yellow line over the trails that make it up. There are other various trails that lead from the trailhead near Thornhill Broome Beach as well. 

At the top of Point Mugu State Park between the Oxnard Plain, there is a darker green area showing National Park Service Land. This is Rancho Sierra Vista/ Satwiwa, which is home to the Satwiwa Native American Indian Cultural Center. There are three Parking Areas at this location with many winding trails. 

From the Pacific Coast Highway, past Bass Rock, there is a curving road into the mountains called Deer Creek Road. It passes a piece of federal land called Deer Creek Canyon. The Road connects to Yerba Buena Road, which at one end leads into Circle X Ranch Area, and on the other back to the Pacific Coast Highway. 

CAPTION: Point Mugu State Park area map for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.  

CREDIT: NPS / SAMO. 

SYNOPSIS: A map of the Circle X Ranch region of the Santa Monica Mountains. Newbury Park and Thousand Oaks is north of this region. 

DESCRIPTION: The Circle X Ranch region of the Santa Monica Mountains includes Circle X Ranch, Malibu Springs, Arroyo Sequit, Charmless Wilderness Park, Leo Carrillo State Park as well as El Matador State Beach, La Piedra State Beach, El Pescador State Beach, Nicholas County Beach and County Line Beach. North will be oriented at the top of the page, and west will be at the left side of the page. 

Beginning on the coastline at the bottom of the map, there are four beaches along Pacific Coast Highway. Moving east to west, the beaches are named El Matador State Beach, La Piedra State Beach, El Pescador State Beach, Nicholas County Beach and County Line Beach, which is the furthest west beach in this area of the map. 

There are four roads that begin on Pacific Coast Highway, which can take you into the interior of this region leading to some important areas. Moving east to west, the roads are Encinal Canyon Road, Decker Road, Mulholland Highway and Yerba Buena Road. There is another road that is closer to the Newbury Park side called Potrero Road. 

Encinal Canyon Road winds through the mountains on the east side of Charmless Wilderness Park. It eventually meets up with Lechusa Road on the east side of Arroyo Sequit. Encinal Canyon Road will cross the Backbone Trail. 

Decker Road leads you through the mountains on the west side of Charmlee Wilderness Park. There is a side road called Decker School Road partway up. Decker Road will meet with Encinal Canyon Road turning into Lechusa Road,  on the east side of Arroyo Sequit. Lechusa Road will continue to take you further north meeting with Mulholland Highway. 

Mulholland Highway begins just after the turn for the Leo Carrillo State Park campgrounds area,  filling the area west of Decker Road and east of Mulholland Highway. Following Mulholland Highway will take you along the Arroyo Sequit creek, to the north of the Arroyo Sequit area. Taking you on the south side of Malibu Springs, Mulholland Highway winds through the chaparral region eventually crossing the Backbone Trail. 

Yerba Buena Road follows Little Sycamore Canyon and will meet up with Cotharin Road. Turning left on Cotharin Road will lead back towards Pacific Coast Highway, while continuing on Yerba Buena Road will lead to Circle X Ranch. Immediately on the south side, there is a ranger contact station, parking and some campgrounds. There are two more parking areas moving forward on the road. Continuing on the road will lead to Mulholland Highway, north of Arroyo Sequit. 

CAPTION: Santa Monica Mountains Map of Circle X Ranch Area. 

CREDIT: NPS / SAMO. 

SYNOPSIS: A map of the Zuma and Trancas Canyons region of the Santa Monica Mountains. Directly north is Westlake Village on the top of the map; the Pacific Ocean is on the bottom of the map to the south. 

DESCRIPTION: The Zuma and Trancas Canyons is a large hiking area north of Point Dume as well as Point Dume State Reserve and Zuma beach County Park. Rocky Oaks is located to the north of this area. Going east to west, the beach areas are Point Dume State Reserve or Westward Beach, Zuma Beach County Park, El Matador State beach and La Piedra State beach. 

Beginning on the coastline, Pacific Coast Highway will lead you to four roads: Kanan Dume Road, Bonsall Drive, Busch Drive and Encinal Canyon Road. From the Westlake Village side, Westlake Boulevard will take you to the north of the canyons leading to Mulholland Highway. 

Kanan Dume Road takes you on the east side of Zuma Canyon, leading to a parking area close to where this road crosses the Backbone Trail. Partway up the road, Latigo Canyon Road meets with Kanan Dume Road on the east side. Moving forward along the Kanan Dume Road,  will lead to a parking area on the south end of the Rocky Oaks area,  as well as Mulholland Highway. Even further along this road will lead to the Triunfo Canyon creek. 

Bonsall Drive leads to a parking area directly south in Zuma Canyon. There is a small road called Rainsford Place,  if needed to crossover to the other parking area at the end of Busch Drive. 

Busch Drive leads to a parking area directly south in Zuma Canyon. There is a small road called Rainsford Place,  if needed to crossover to the other parking area at the end of Bonsall Drive. 

Encinal Canyon Road is further along Pacific Coast Highway. It winds around the mountainous area. Meeting with Lechusa Road, Encinal Canyon Road turns right to cross the Backbone Trail. After that, it meets with Mulholland Highway north of the Zuma and Trancas Canyons. 

CAPTION: Santa Monica Mountains Map of Zuma and Trancas Canyon Area 

CREDIT: NPS/ SAMO. 

SYNOPSIS: A map describing the region of the Santa Monica Mountains with Malibu in the south at the bottom of the map and Agoura Hills to the north at the top of the map. 

DESCRIPTION: There a couple of ways to access this region. One way is off of Highway 101, which runs from the west side of Calabasas to Agoura Hills. The other way is on the coast via Pacific Coast Highway. Some important areas in this region are the King Gillette Ranch, the Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center, and Paramount Ranch nestled among the canyons and creeks of the region. 

Connecting with Highway 101, Las Virgines Road will lead into the Santa Monica Mountains. This will lead to the King Gillette Ranch and the Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center. Continuing on the road will lead to a Parking area for the Backbone Trail, where Piuma Road connects. Further on the road will meet with Pacific Coast Highway at the Malibu Bluffs. 

From Agoura Hills, Cornell Road and Kanan Road will lead into the mountains as well. Cornell Road will take you by Paramount Ranch on the east side to meetup with Mulholland Highway. 

Kanan Road will lead to Troutdale Road, which connects with Mulholland Highway at a parking area for Peter Strauss Ranch. 

Along the Pacific Coast Highway moving from east to west, there some areas and access roads that will lead you further into the Santa Monica Mountains. The areas are the Malibu Pier, the Adamson House, Malibu Lagoon State Beach, Malibu Bluffs and Dan Blocker Beach. Across Pacific Coast Highway from Malibu Bluffs is Malibu Canyon Road. A bit past Dan Blocker Beach there are two roads: Corral Canyon Road and Latigo Canyon Road. 

Malibu Canyon Road follows the Malibu Creek to meet with the Backbone Trail where Piuma Road connects with Malibu Canyon Road. Continuing on the road going north on the east side of Tapia Park will eventually lead to Mulholland Highway, where the Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center is located as well as the King Gillette Ranch. 

Corral Canyon Road, just past a parking area, will immediately have a turn off for a parking area for the Solstice Canyon. Otherwise, Corral Canyon Road winds around the mountains to follow the Coral Canyon leading to a parking area along the Backbone Trail on the east side of Castro Crest. 

Latigo Canyon Road snakes up the mountains following Escondido Canyon to a parking area west of Castro Crest. This continues to meet up with Dume Road. 

CAPTION: Santa Monica Mountains Map of Paramount Ranch and King Gillette Ranch Area. 

CREDIT: NPS / SAMO. 

SYNOPSIS: Detail of map of Topanga State Park Area.  

DESCRIPTION: A vertical rectangular map with faded brown text and map markings. The top third has a tan background. Highway 27 is depicted coming top to bottom about one third of the way over from the left margin. San Fernando Valley is identified at the top right and Canoga Park is identified to the right of Highway 27. This highway ends at a road going left and right marked as Calabasas Road. Four cities are marked left to right across Calabasas Road – Calabasas, then Woodland Hills, Tarzana and Encino. Calabasas is off the left edge and Encino off the right edge of the map. 

Topanga State Park takes up the middle third and a bit of the lower third of the map. It is depicted in white with brownish text. The border at the top is smooth but wavy and gets more jagged as the park map gets toward the last quarter toward the right side of the page. Major roads are marked in brown. Some are in capital letters and some use capital and lowercase. Capitol letters seem to showcase larger areas. Mulholland Drive, which follows the top border of the park map is in dashed gold. In the center top of the park border is Marvin Braude Mullholland Gateway Park, and two circles with a universal symbol “P” for parking are also identified.  

At the far right along Mulholland Drive is San Vicente Mountain Park and a gate closed to vehicles is marked at its entrance. Another circle with a universal symbol “P” for parking is also identified. Just above this is the Encino Reservoir, in blue lettering with a small body of water identified also in blue. The body of water has jagged edges.  

Halfway down the map of the park is a dashed yellow line, with smaller dashes than Mulholland Drive. This legend is for a trail, and it is identified as Backbone Trail. For about two thirds of the way across the map, the trail seems to follow the top of the park border. One third from the end, it dips down close to the bottom right edge to Will Rogers State Park. This title is cut off halfway by the right edge of the page. Above the trail on the far left are two parks identified above the trail on the map – Red Rock Canyon Park and Cold Creek Preserve. 

Trippet Ranch and Topanga State Park are identified about halfway across the page at trail level. Trippet Ranch is in lower case letters. Topanga State Park is the title for the whole map and is centered and highlighted.  A universal sign for camping is depicted not far north of the parking at Trippet Ranch on the Backbone Trail. 

From the top of the page to where the park map ends, several trails are marked with small, dashed green lines. Right off the left edge of the page, at Red Rock Canyon, several trails snake down toward Backbone Trail.  

Around the title for Topanga State Park in the middle of the map are another series of trails. The map itself has a border right under this title that juts upward along the Santa Ynez Canyon. 

Another small trail system is visible on the other side of this canyon and is marked as Temescal Canyon. 

From the top of the page to where the park map ends, two main roads are marked, most extending down from Calabasas Road.  

Left to right: a brown line depicting a different branch of Molholland Drive before it enters the park splits into Old Topanga Canyon Road. This road extends in a curvy line all the way to the ocean and ends at Topanga Beach. 

Highway 27 becomes Topanga Canyon Boulevard. This joins halfway down the map with Old Topanga Canyon Road, ending at Topanga Beach. 

At Santa Ynez Canyon, where the bottom of the map veers upward, is a road marked Palisades Drives. This ends at Highway 1 which runs along the coast right and left. 

The bottom edge of the park map is smooth and wavy and follows the water of the Santa Monica Bay. The bottom third quarter of the page is all blue water. Santa Monica Bay is marked in blue, and the curve of the capital letters follows the curve of the coastline. This coastline curve comes in straight from the left of the page and a little more than halfway across curves gently down and to the right. 

The beaches that are marked along the bottom of the park boundary are from left to right: 

Las Flores Beach, Las Tunas Beach, Topanga Beach, Temescal Canyon Park, Will Rogers Beach, Santa Monica Beach, and Palisades Park. At the end of the curve on the map, depicting the coastline is the Sant Monica Pier. The universal symbol “P” for parking is also identified at Topanga Beach, Will Rogers Beach, Santa Monica Beach and Santa Monica Pier. 

Along the coastline is a brown highway line marked as Pacific Coast Highway. It extends edge to edge on the map. The Getty Villa is marked just above the highway about halfway across the map. To the right of Getty Villa is Los Liones pullout with parking. To the right of this is Palisades Drive with a parking area at the top of this drive, and further right is Temescal Canyon Road.  

CAPTION: Topanga State Park map for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.  

CREDIT: NPS / SAMO. 

SYNOPSIS: Detail of map of Franklin Canyon Area, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. 

DESCRIPTION: This map is a vertical rectangle, mostly all tan showing land mass with a tiny corner at the bottom left showing the ocean. It depicts the Franklin Canyon Area of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Two main areas are points of interest. The rest of the map displays a series of intersecting roads. 

The first area of interest is the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Visitor Contact Station. It is located on the bottom half of the map, and over toward the right edge. Highways converge on this point. Interstate 5 approaches from above higher on the map down to this point. Highway 101 come into this point from about 10 o’clock if the Visitor Contact Station was on a clock. Highway 10 passes right and left below it on the map but smaller roads provide direct access. Downtown Los Angeles is directly underneath this facility on the map with Los Angeles County directly to the left. Inglewood is depicted below and at 7 o’clock. While not centrally located, the position on the map denotes an area of interest to the map. 

Another area of interest appears on the far-left side of the map about one third of the way down the map. A white area, denoting protected lands that are not NPS lands within the park boundary extends from the left edge to the center of the map in a long, thin, odd shape. The shape is reminiscent of a dragon’s body as it curves and arches and twists along the map. While halfway across the page, this shape is very thin, taking up only a small slice of the map’s vertical space. 

Running throughout this dragon shape is Mulholland Drive, signified by a thick gold line. Above Mullholland Drive as it begins its traverse is Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys and Burbank. Below left to right are Brentwood, Bel Aire, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. Within the shape are several points called out. Franklin Canyon, Coldwater Canyon, and the William O. Douglas Outdoor Classroom begin the trip along this drive. Continuing to the center of the map, this road crosses through Wilacre Park, Fryman Canyon, and Laurel Canyon Park. Parking is depicted as existing at all these locations. It ends at Runyan Canyon Park at the center of the map where Mulholland Drive runs into Highway 101. On the other side of the 101 is Griffith Park, Glendale and Silver Lake. 

A white area that follows the thin shape of Mulholland drive beginning west of the San Diego Freeway and ending at the 170 Hollywood Freeway, there are two spaces on the map where this white area dips south of Mulholland Drive, The first is Franklin Canyon between Coldwater Canyon and Wilacre Park. Making a right going east on Mulholland Drive will take you into Franklin Canyon Drive. Two universal signs for parking on Franklin Canyon Drive are present one is on the north end for the William C Douglass Outdoor Classroom and the other on the south end for Franklin Canyon the road and ends at the parking lot. The second space where the white area dips south of Mulholland drive is past Laurel Canyon and before Hollywood Freeway 170. The universal sign for parking is present making a right going east on Mulholland Drive into Runyan Canyon park, the park on the south side is connected to Fuller Avenue the runs perpendicular to Sunset Blvd.

The other notable feature of this map is the small piece of ocean visible at the bottom left. Top to bottom running along the coastline are the communities of Santa Monica, Venice, and Marina Del Rey. 

CAPTION: Franklin Canyon Area map for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. 

CREDIT: NPS / SAMO.