Santa Monica Mountains

Sandstone Peak, also known as Mount Allen, is a mountain in Ventura County, California. It is the highest summit in the Santa Monica Mountains, with an elevation of 3,114 feet (949 m). Located near the western edge of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the summit provides panoramic views of Malibu, the Pacific Ocean, Santa Monica, the Conejo Valley, and four of the Channel Islands.

The Backbone Trail is a long-distance trail extending 67.79 miles (109.10 km) across the length of the Santa Monica Mountains in the U.S. state of California. Its western terminus is Point Mugu State Park, and its eastern terminus is Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades. The trail is open to hikers throughout its length. Dogs, mountain bicyclists and horseback riders are only allowed on portions of the trail as posted.

Boney Mountain in Ventura County, California is one of the highest peaks in the Santa Monica Mountains. The prominent mountain visible from Newbury Park, California is 2,825 feet (861 m). It is also known as Boney Peak. The mountain contains four of the highest peaks in the coastal range of the Santa Monica Mountains: Boney Peak, Sandstone Peak, Exchange Peak, and Tri Peaks. The highest summit in the Santa Monica Mountains is Sandstone Peak (Mount Allen), situated less than a mile northeast of Boney Peak along the same ridge of volcanic rock. It is the top section of a mass of volcanic rock which solidified around 15 million years ago, and was later uplifted to its dominant position, overshadowing western Conejo Valley. The Chumash Native Americans have a long and deeply spiritual history of interaction at and near the mountain, and the peak is considered a sacred mountain to the Chumash people.It is located in the Circle X Ranch Park, within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The surrounding Boney Mountain State Wilderness Area lies within the eastern portion of Point Mugu State Park. Boney Mountain State Wilderness includes trail access to the rest of Point Mugu State Park, as well as Big Sycamore Canyon and Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center. Hiking trails from Satwiwa Native American Cultural Center in southernmost Newbury Park reach Boney Mountain and Peak, and feature views of the Pacific Ocean, Channel Islands, and Mount Baldy. Nearby trails lead to Danielson Monument and the Sycamore Canyon Waterfall. Boney Mountain was described by Chumash Indians to anthropologist John P. Harrington around year 1900: Early one morning in 9080 B.C., the ancestral grandfather from whom I took my name, headed west on one of his most adventurous hunting trips ever... As the group climbed Old Boney, they looked back to the north and could see the pleasant openings of the Conejo- and Hidden Valleys. There, there appeared to be good grazing ground for the mammoth herd and they proceeded thence. The story may be a lore related to the Paleo-Indians, the distant ancestors of the Chumash. An ancient Chumash village known as Satwiwa was located at the foothills of the mountain, which remains sacred to the Chumash people. Satwiwa is believed to be first inhabited 13,000 years ago, and was still a Chumash inhabitation site as of 2,000 years ago.In 2019, newspaper photos showed the peak was frosted with snow. Long time Newbury Park residents said it was the first time they had seen snow on the peak.

Circle X Ranch is a park unit located in the Triunfo Pass within the southwestern Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, in Ventura County, California. It is located in the western Santa Monica Mountains.Sandstone Peak, the highest peak in the range, and Boney Peak, are in the park with trails to their summits. Views can include the Channel Islands, Mount Baldy, and the Topatopa Mountains. The park was formerly Camp Circle X, a Boy Scout camp. The northeast section is adjacent to the Boney Mountain Wilderness in Point Mugu State Park.

Exchange Peak is, after Sandstone Peak and with Tri-Peaks, one of the highest points in the Santa Monica Mountains with an elevation of 2,953 feet (900 m).

The Triunfo Pass is a mountain pass in the Santa Monica Mountains, located on Yerba Buena Road in southeastern Ventura County, Southern California.Automobile access to Circle X Ranch Park, part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, is on the west side of the pass.The pass is the site of an earth station.

Tri Peaks is, after Sandstone Peak, one of the highest points in the Santa Monica Mountains with an elevation of 3,009 feet (917 m).

God's Seat is a popular vista and rock formation in Malibu, California, United States, about two miles east of Circle X Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. God's Seat's name derives from its natural throne-like shape at the top of a thousand-foot cliff. It is well known locally for its scenic views of Lake Sherwood, Sandstone Peak, the Conejo Valley and the Pacific Ocean. The formation is visible from Yerba Buena Road, about two miles north of Mulholland Highway along the Backbone Trail. The California Hells Angels were supposedly once common fixtures at the site, which they nicknamed Smoker's Perch. The "seat of the throne" today is a floor of broken glass, though the site is now patrolled daily so as to prevent further vandalism.

Hidden Valley is a valley in the Santa Monica Mountains, in southeastern Ventura County, Southern California. The unincorporated community in the valley is an equestrian ranch community with single family houses on 20-acre or more (8.1 ha) parcels of land. Residents rely on wells as the Hidden Valley Municipal Water District does not provide drinking water.

Deer Ridge Open Space is a 188-acre public-owned open-space area in the southwest portion of the town of Newbury Park, California. It contains a series of north-facing mountainous ridges and canyons, dominated by chaparral and oak trees. It shares borders with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to the south, and the Los Robles Trail traverses the length of Deer Ridge Open Space. Its main trailhead is located on Potrero Road, while a smaller access point is located at the southern end of Felton Street. The Los Robles Trail is the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency’s longest trail, and connects to open-space areas and parks such as the Los Padres Open Space, Conejo Ridge Open Space, Hope Nature Preserve, Old Conejo Open Space, and the Los Vientos Open Space. The trail in Newbury Park provides panoramic views of the Conejo Valley and Santa Monica Mountains, before entering the Hope Nature Preserve. The Los Robles Trail provides more than 25 miles of contiguous trails connecting Newbury Park to Westlake Village in Los Angeles County. Immediately south of the Deer Ridge Open Space in Newbury Park are the Hidden Valley and Rancho Sierra Vista Satwiwa.The trails are utilized by hikers, mountain bikers, equestrians, and for jogging or running. It is part of a Southern California wildlife corridor that also links through trails to the Point Mugu State Park and the oceanfront Santa Monica Mountains. Some of the fauna includes the American black bear, Mountain lion, Coyote, Grey fox, Mule deer, Bobcat, Southern Pacific Rattlesnake, Stripe-tailed scorpion, and much more. The flora consists of various Chaparral, Coastal sage scrub, and pockets of oak woodlands. The Los Robles Trail is the main trail in the Deer Ridge Open Space and follows the east-west ridge to the Hope Nature Preserve, and beyond to Thousand Oaks, CA. The trail provides panoramic views of the Santa Monica Mountains to the right, while the high elevation makes for great overlooks of Newbury Park on the left side of the trail. It leads to the 1,600-foot high Angel Vista in the Ventu Park Open Space after transversing the Deer Ridge in southern Newbury Park.To get here from the Ventura Freeway (U.S. 101), exit at Wendy Drive and head south towards the Santa Monica Mountains. When the road ends in front of the trailheads to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on the opposite side of the intersection, make a left on Potrero Road and follow the road for 0.5 miles until the trailhead parking lot appears on the left side of the street.

Satwiwa (Chumash: "the bluffs") was a former Chumash village in the Santa Monica Mountains of Newbury Park, California. The current Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center is operated by the National Park Service in cooperation with the Friends of Satwiwa. Satwiwa has been inhabited by Chumash Indians for over 10,000 years. It is situated at the foothills of Boney Mountain, a sacred mountain for the Chumash. Bordering thousands of acres of wilderness in the Santa Monica Mountains, the fauna surrounding Satwiwa includes golden eagles, mountain lions, Valley coyotes, snakes, bobcats, foxes, falcons, and hawks.The main trail from Satwiwa is nicknamed "the backdoor to the Point Mugu State Park". Satwiwa is one of the four primary entrances to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Banyan Park is a 7.4 acre community park at the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains in southern Newbury Park, California. The park is approximately 800 feet from the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and is adjacent to the Banyan Elementary School. It was the first park to be acquired by the Conejo Recreation & Park District (CRPD) in 1964, and was later developed into a park in 1967. The park includes a hilltop gazebo, turf, picnic tables, barbecues, and playgrounds.The park is home to acres of undeveloped areas, on some which there are plans of creating an amphitheater, sports courts, pathways, benches and landscape features, including butterfly- and hummingbird gardens. The park added four additional acres in 1992. It is located at 3605 Erinlea Avenue in southern Newbury Park.