Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → Los Angeles Area → Malibu Creek State Park

♦ Intrepid Top Pick!

Location: Santa Monica Mountains Area, West of Los Angeles

Time Required: 4 hours – 2 days

Red Tape/Notes: Park gates are open from 8am – 10pm; parking is $12 per car, per day (there are some places you can park outside the park and then hike in). For more information, visit the Malibu Creek State Park website.

What’s Nearby?: Echo Cliffs, Hueco Wall, Point Dume, The Grotto, Paradise Falls

Malibu Creek is one of our go-to spots for a quick weekend climbing get away, and just hiking in the area in the fun too. The original Planet of the Apes movies were filmed here, as was MASH. You can hike to the main MASH filming site where some remnants remain (old vehicles, the helicopter landing site, and that sort of thing). There are several areas with great climbing; Planet of the Apes Wall is the shortest approach and has quite a few top rope routes, including the highly rated Planet of the Apes (11a) – it gets hot there quickly and also tends to be crowded, so we typically try and do a few climbs here very early before moving on. The other two large areas of the Rock Pool and Century Lake Canyon. The Rock Pool area has loads of sub-sections and lots of climbs – it also has a tendency to get pretty crowded, which is understandable given there are some nice climbs here. Still, because of the crowds we actually prefer the Century Lake area. It has fewer climbs, and some of them tend to be a bit chossy because they see less traffic, but it’s extremely pretty back there and the combination of scenic views and tranquility make this a spot we can spend all day. The park has a nice campground, and it’s easier to get spots here than at nearby Leo Carrillo – just make sure you get in before 10pm, because the gate to the park closes and they strictly observe quiet hours after that.

Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → Los Angeles Area → Malibu Creek State Park