The hook
Where the Santa Monica Mountains meet the sea at the Ventura county line, a canyon of old sycamores runs inland to one of the last native grasslands in Southern California, and in autumn the monarchs come.
01Why it's worth it
Point Mugu State Park packs a lot of different wild into a small space: five miles of rocky coast and dunes, and behind them Big Sycamore Canyon, a shaded corridor of huge old western sycamores that draws overwintering monarch butterflies in the fall. Climb out of the canyon and you reach La Jolla Valley, a rare surviving stand of native purple needlegrass prairie, the kind of grassland that covered much of coastal California before the European grasses took over. Hikers and trail runners love the loop through canyon and valley and back along the coast. The monarchs are the seasonal draw, though their numbers swing hard from year to year, so treat a big cluster as a gift rather than a guarantee.
02How to experience it
The main trailheads are along Pacific Coast Highway near the county line, about six hours from the Bay, on the Ventura side of Malibu. Day-use parking has a fee. Come in fall for the monarchs and cooler canyon walking, and carry water for the exposed climb up into La Jolla Valley. Camping is available, though the coastal sites sometimes close for high surf.