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The Nicholas Flat Trail in Leo Carrillo State Park is unique in the way it connects the mountains with the sea. Chaparral, grassland, coastal scrub and oak woodland all converge near the flat with spectacular ocean views along the way. An old cattle pond backed by picturesque sandstone outcroppings provides a home for red-wing blackbirds and a welcoming resting place for us. Click here to Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a short bio of Leo Carrillo Trails used: Willow Creek Trail, Nicholas Flat trail, Meadows Trail, Camp 13 Trail, Nicholas Ridge Trail, Malibu Springs Trail, Nicholas Ranch Road
Hike is 9 miles with 1800 ft net elevation gain — 1600 in the first three miles. No beginners. We’ll take a snack break on the rocks above the pond, overlooking San Nicholas Canyon toward the Pacific Ocean
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Click on year for some photos from past hikes just like this one;
Similar Hikes
Post-hike Lunch
Spruzzo
29575 Pacific Coast Hwy
Malibu, CA 90265
Directions:
Leo Carrillo State Park is on PCH a little east of Mulholland Hwy
From 101 in Valley: Head west and exit Kanan Rd. Head toward beaches and turn right on on PCH. Drive 8 miles to Leo Carrillo State Park and turn right into park entrance
From Hwy 10/West Side: Head up-coast on Pacific Coast Highway about 25 miles to Leo Carrillo State Beach. Turn right into park entrance
From Ventura-Oxnard-Camarillo: Head south on Hwy 1. Park is on left about 10.5 miles past Las Posas
Parking is 12 bucks, cash or credit. There is some free street parking across the street and about 1/4 mile north of park.
We’ll meet near parking lot entrance/exit
Leo Carrillo
Leo Carrillo State Park was named after Leo Carrillo (1880-1961), actor, preservationist and conservationist. Leo Carrillo served on the California Beach and Parks commission for eighteen years, and was instrumental in the state’s acquisition of the Hearst property at San Simeon and other large tracts of coastal parkland.
He was related by blood and marriage to a long line of distinguished original Californians. Leo’s father, Don Juan Carrillo, was the first mayor of Santa Monica in 1890. His great-grandfather was one of the last Mexican governors of California; his great-uncle José Antonio Carrillo was the Mexican land grant grantee of Rancho Las Posas in 1834, in present day Ventura County, and the Island of Santa Rosa of the Channel Islands.
Leo’s greatest fame came from his portrayal of Pancho, the sidekick to Duncan Renaldo’s Cisco Kid, an early 1950’s TV series. Click here for a list of Leo Carrillo movies. He toured the world as the state’s official Ambassador of Good Will. Governor Edmund G. Brown called Leo “Mr. California.”
His book on the history of California is a classic