Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Thousand Oaks · 401 W Hillcrest Dr, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Location Details
Type
National Recreation Area
Setting
Exterior
Parking
Yes – multiple trailhead parking areas, some developed
Power
No
Permit
Required
Visual Character
“The Santa Monica Mountains rising from the Pacific Coast Highway — chaparral-covered ridges, stream canyons, Malibu Creek, and stunning ocean views. Hollywood's backyard wilderness, extensively filmed.”
About this location
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses over 150,000 acres of chaparral, oak woodland, and coastal sage scrub running east-west between the Los Angeles Basin and the Pacific Coast Highway in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. This is literally Hollywood's backyard wilderness — and it shows in the filming history. Malibu Creek State Park, within the NRA boundaries, contains the original Planet of the Apes (1968) filming site and the M*A*S*H TV series location. Topanga Canyon, Point Mugu, and Sandstone Peak provide dramatic ridgeline and canyon settings with Pacific Ocean views. The NRA is administered jointly with California State Parks. NPS commercial filming permits required through the Thousand Oaks headquarters. The proximity to Los Angeles production infrastructure — studios, equipment houses, crew bases — makes this the most logistically convenient national recreation area filming environment in the country. Stunning visuals within minutes of Hollywood.
Where you'll be
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