Point Mugu State Park · California
Group campground accessible via Danielson Ranch trailhead.
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As of September 2026, Danielson Ranch in Point Mugu State Park, California requires a permit issued via reservation. Danielson Ranch rates 6/10 on PermitSnag's demand index. Cancelled Danielson Ranch permits are re-released on the booking system, and PermitSnag alerts you the moment one opens. The Danielson Ranch route covers 8.1 miles, rated moderate.
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The lowest point on the 67-mile Backbone Trail, 8.1 miles from Danielson Ranch.
The group campground, with drinking water, flush toilets and showers.
3.7 miles away, a three-space camp with no water and no fires.
The highest point in the Santa Monicas, 8.1 miles on toward Circle X and a steady climb from sea level.
The jagged pinnacles at the park's inland edge. No bicycles and no dogs.
A group camp deep in the Point Mugu backcountry with drinking water, flush toilets and showers, 8.1 miles along the Backbone Trail from the ocean.
Danielson Ranch at Point Mugu State Park is a group campground only, taking 10 to 50 people. The NPS lists it with drinking water, flush toilets, showers, tent spaces, a fireplace and pets allowed in the campground. It is the best-serviced backcountry group site in the Santa Monica Mountains. It costs $150 per night plus a $100 non-refundable reservation and application fee.
Booking goes through California State Parks directly rather than a self-service system; the NPS directs groups to contact State Parks by phone or email, and lists ReserveCalifornia's 800-444-7275 as the booking line for the multi-use area. Statewide group rules apply: group campsites accommodate groups as small as 10 or as large as 100 depending on the park, stays are limited to seven nights, and youth groups under 18 must be accompanied by at least one adult for every 15 youths.
The approach is the commitment. It is 8.1 miles by the Backbone Trail from the Ray Miller Trailhead, and the NPS cautions that if you are not hiking straight through you will need to plan time for hiking back out from Danielson Ranch.
The park currently carries a standing mountain lion advisory. Lions have been spotted in the Point Mugu State Park area, and the park asks visitors to avoid hiking alone especially between dusk and dawn and to keep children within arm's reach.
Danielson Ranch at Point Mugu State Park is a group campground only. The NPS lists the Danielson Group Multi-Use Area as taking 10 to 50 people with drinking water, flush toilets, showers, tent spaces, a fireplace, and pets allowed in the campground. There is a $100 non-refundable reservation and application fee plus $150 per night.
By the Backbone Trail it is 8.1 miles from the Ray Miller Trailhead, which sits at 25 feet and is the lowest point on the whole 67-mile route. The NPS attaches a caution: if you are not hiking straight through, you will need to plan time for hiking back out from Danielson Ranch. From La Jolla Hike-In it is 3.7 miles. Onward, the segment to Circle X is another 8.1 miles and a steady uphill ascent from sea level to 3,000 feet, topping out at Sandstone Peak.
The park is large: five miles of ocean shoreline, more than 70 miles of hiking trails, and the jagged pinnacles of the Boney Mountains State Wilderness Area, where bicycles and dogs are not allowed.
Danielson Ranch is a serviced group camp deep in the Point Mugu backcountry and a natural midpoint of the Backbone Trail: 8.1 miles from Ray Miller at the western end, and another 8.1 miles on to Circle X, climbing from just above sea level toward Sandstone Peak at 3,111 feet.
A ranch flat in Sycamore Canyon with the Boney Mountain pinnacles above, and a shower at the end of a backcountry day.
Best for: Groups of 10 to 50 who want a genuine backcountry base with running water and showers, and Backbone Trail parties splitting the route at its natural midpoint.
Recommended experience: Group logistics over distance. Book through State Parks directly, budget the $100 application fee, and plan the walk back out if you are not through-hiking.
Not recommended for: Parties under 10, anyone who cannot carry gear eight miles or arrange otherwise, and anyone wanting to bring a dog onto the trails or into Boney Mountain wilderness.
Trailhead information
25 ft elevation
The Backbone Trail's western terminus at 25 feet, 8.1 miles from Danielson Ranch.
Day-use parking $12.00 all day, $9.00 for 3 hours, $6.00 for 2, $3.00 for 1. La Jolla Group Camp reservations check in and collect vehicle tags from Thornhill Broome Campground.
The beach is 15 miles south of Oxnard on Highway One.
Malibu or Oxnard.
Trailhead information
The canyon access from the coast toward Danielson Ranch, about four miles in from the south end.
Sycamore Canyon day-use parking runs 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM.
Off Pacific Coast Highway. There is a steep one-mile grade at the north end of the canyon.
Malibu.
Late winter to early spring, when temperatures are cooler, days are longer and the vegetation is green and blossoming. Summer means a hot, shadeless eight-mile approach and the tightest fire restrictions.
Trailhead (5,000 ft)
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Evening light on the Boney Mountain pinnacles above the ranch flat.
Late winter to early spring, when temperatures are cooler, days are longer and the vegetation is green and blossoming.
Eight miles from the nearest trailhead does it. Sycamore Canyon carries day traffic near the coast and very little this far in.
Emergency contacts, ranger station locations, and satellite communicator tips for Danielson Ranch.
Bear canister requirements, approved container lists, and rental locations for this permit.
Gear Checklist: Required and recommended gear for Danielson Ranch · Shuttle Services: Trailhead transportation options · Guide Services: Experienced wilderness guides
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Season dates are on the agency's page. Weekdays have better availability than weekends.
This permit has a demand score of 6/10, making it moderately competitive.
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Three tent spaces half a mile off the Backbone Trail, 3.7 miles from Danielson Ranch, with no water and no fires.
No reservation and no application fee: you auto-pay at the parking area. But three spaces, no water, and no group capacity at all.
A drive-in campground with a walk-in group camp for 10 to 60 people, showers and a dump station.
You can drive to it, which solves the gear problem entirely. But select sites there are now allocated by monthly lottery.
Eleven hike-in group camps 2 to 3 miles from the Coe Ranch Entrance at Henry W. Coe, for groups of 9 or more.
A far shorter approach and up to two vehicles may drive gear in, conditions permitting. But there is no potable water at Manzanita Point.
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