All Sierra Club recreational outings and stewardship events are open to the public, and are listed on the Schedule of Activities. Please join us!
Stewardship
National Public Lands Day
Saturday, September 28, 2024
National Public Lands Day falls on the fourth Saturday in September, and is the nation’s largest single-day volunteer event for public lands. Discover how you can enjoy and help protect the Santa Monica Mountains as a volunteer with Sierra Club.
Our NPLD trail maintenance project will include vegetation clearance and minor trail tread repairs. No experience necessary. Open to 18+. Volunteers aged 14-17 may participate accompanied by a parent/legal guardian.
Subscribe to our trail crew mailing list to hear more about our upcoming National Public Lands Day celebration.
California State Parks Week
June 2025 (dates TBD)
California State Parks Week is an annual event, held over five days, that celebrates the amazing diversity of California’s State Park System and the people who visit and help protect these iconic places. Modeled after National Parks Week and in support of Governor Gavin Newsom’s Outdoors for All initiative, the first-ever California State Parks Week took place in June 2022.
Santa Monica Mountains Trail Days
April 4-6, 2025
Held in Point Mugu State Park over a weekend in April, Trail Days is a beloved, free-to-attend annual celebration of our local trails and parkland, and is a time for individuals, families, and groups to give back to the parks by working together to maintain the trails.
Come out to volunteer on just the Saturday, or stay for the rest of the weekend and enjoy two nights of free camping under the sycamores and oaks in the heart of Point Mugu State Park, waking up both mornings to hot beverages and bagels. Volunteers can also look forward to a complimentary BBQ dinner on Saturday night, and a jumbo prize drawing generously sponsored by the organizers and community members.
Trail Crew annual end-of-season celebration
Late June
Join the trail crew for a summer potluck lunch party, hosted by one of our volunteers. All are welcome! We look forward to celebrating and giving thanks to our wonderful volunteers — past, present, and future — with all those who enjoy and care about the Santa Monica Mountains’ parks and trails.
Join our mailing list to receive details of this and other social events.
Outings
Backbone Trail Hikes
Several times a year
The Backbone Trail stretches 67 miles from Will Rogers State Historic Park to Point Mugu State Park, mostly along the backbone (get it?) of the Santa Monica Mountains.
While the Chair of the Task Force is purported to have hiked/run the entire trail in one day, our Tuesday Moderate Hikers and Tuesday Conditioned Hikers take a much more leisurely pace, breaking the route into a series of day hikes.
Look out for the “BBT” outings organized by Bob Cody on the Schedule of Activities. Participants who complete the entire trail will receive a patch as a memento of their accomplishment (subject to availability).
Lemming Hike
Spring 2025 (date TBD)
This classic Sierra Club route was described by Milt McAuley in his 1980 book Hiking Trails of the Santa Monica Mountains, the very first trail guide for the area.
It’s a one-way trip, covering 15 miles of trail from San Fernando Valley to the ocean via Caballero Canyon, Bent Arrow Trail, Garapito Trail, Eagle Rock, East Topanga Fire Road, and Los Liones Trail.
True “lemmings” will dip their feet in the sea at the end of the hike!
Rendezvous Hikes
Date TBD
Traditionally held in late April around the time of John Muir’s birthday, the annual Rendezvous Hikes are synchronous hikes of varying levels of difficulty which converge at Trippet Ranch in Topanga State Park in time for a shared lunch and celebration of our dedicated Sierra Club hike leaders.
Here are just a few examples of routes that have been taken in the past:
Dead Horse Trail (4 miles, 300 ft gain) is an easy out-and-back family walk.
Santa Ynez Canyon (8 miles, 1300 ft gain) is a moderately-paced hike along a route winding through the Santa Ynez Canyon Trail, Eagle Junction and the Musch Trail, and returning to Santa Ynez Canyon after lunch via the Trippet Ranch Nature Trail.
Hondo Canyon (8 miles, 1800 ft gain) is a well-paced out-and-back hike up Hondo Canyon Trail with its beautiful wildflower views, and continuing through Dead Horse Trail.
Sierra Club outing leaders: Please contact the Outing Chairs (Howard or Dave) if you have interest in leading one of the Rendezvous Hikes in 2025.