One of the newest backcountry trails in the West skirts the busiest city in the country.
The thoroughfare, dubbed the Backbone Trail, stretches about 67 miles through the Santa Monica Mountains that ring Los Angeles, and opened in June after more than 50 years in the making.
The trail, which connects Point Mugu State Park in Malibu to Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades, has evolved slowly over the years. Non-government volunteers worked with state and federal park employees to fund and build the path, and to acquire the land necessary to connect the pieces.
In June, the Backbone was designated a National Recreation Trail, one of 1,200 in the country specially acknowledged by the American Trails organization for its ability to promote conservation, recreation and health.
What makes the Backbone unique? For starters, the trail traverses one of the region’s largest remaining tracts of undeveloped landscape, a well-preserved mix of chaparral-covered hillsides, oak woodlands and rocky outcrop spires.
The views aren’t too shabby, either. From the apex at the top of Sandstone Peak you can see the Channel Islands to the south and the Tehachapi Range to the north. Also, if you’re hiking from east to west, the last 6 or so quad-burning miles back down into Malibu — a section known as the Ray Miller Trail — offer sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean.
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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