Best backpacking trips near Santa Monica, CA

Ranked by straight-line distance from Santa Monica (population ~93,076) to each trip's trailhead. Drive times are rough estimates — mountain roads are slower than they look.

Santa Monica backpacking at a glance

La Jolla Trail is the closest documented backpacking trip to Santa Monica — the La Jolla Trail Trailhead trailhead sits roughly 21 miles away, about 24 minutes by car. Of the 12 closest routes, 12 are within a two-hour drive of town, spanning Los Padres backcountry, Channel Islands, Sespe Wilderness, San Gorgonio Wilderness, Sequoia NF backcountry and San Jacinto MountainsTrailheads for these trips sit between 26 and 11,499 feet, so you can pick a low, warm-season start or a high alpine route depending on the month.

4 of these 12 routes need no wilderness permit — useful for spontaneous weekends. Across the twelve closest trips, the months hikers rate best are October, May, June.If you want the gentlest introduction, Forsee Creek to Johns Meadow climbs only 1,600 feet over 7.8 miles; the biggest single-trip climb nearby is Vivian Creek Trail to San Gorgonio at 10,800 feet of total gain over 15.6 miles.

#	Trip	Miles away	Est. drive	Distance	Gain	Difficulty	Permit
1	La Jolla Trail Los Padres backcountry	21 mi	~24 min	9 mi	—	10	None
2	Trans-Catalina Trail Channel Islands	48 mi	~53 min	38.5 mi	7,638 ft	49	Required
3	Buck Creek Trail Los Padres backcountry	50 mi	~56 min	22.4 mi	—	45	None
4	Gene Marshall–Piedra Blanca Trail Sespe Wilderness	65 mi	~73 min	18.6 mi	4,000 ft	36	None
5	Matias Potrero Trail Los Padres backcountry	79 mi	~88 min	9.5 mi	—	25	None
6	San Bernardino Peak Trail San Gorgonio Wilderness	86 mi	~96 min	17.8 mi	9,300 ft	55	Required
7	Forsee Creek to Johns Meadow San Gorgonio Wilderness	89 mi	~99 min	7.8 mi	1,600 ft	12	Required
8	Momyer Creek to Dollar Lake Saddle San Gorgonio Wilderness	90 mi	~100 min	18.4 mi	4,560 ft	44	Required
9	Vivian Creek Trail to San Gorgonio San Gorgonio Wilderness	91 mi	~101 min	15.6 mi	10,800 ft	61	Required
10	South Fork Trail to Dry Lake San Gorgonio Wilderness	93 mi	~104 min	11.4 mi	4,400 ft	31	Required
11	Liebel Peak Trail Sequoia NF backcountry	103 mi	~115 min	16.2 mi	—	40	Required
12	Devil's Slide to Wellman Divide San Jacinto Mountains	104 mi	~116 min	10.6 mi	3,300 ft	38	Required

Three ways to start backpacking from Santa Monica

Closest trailhead: La Jolla Trail — about 21 miles / 24 minutes from town.
Gentlest outing: La Jolla Trail — difficulty 10/100 (Easy), 2–2 days.
Biggest adventure: Vivian Creek Trail to San Gorgonio — 15.6 miles and 10,800 ft of climbing.

Distances are great-circle miles from Santa Monica to trailhead coordinates; actual road distances will be longer. Town data: Wikidata SPARQL (CC0), population values derived from U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Backpacking near Santa Monica: common questions

What is the closest backpacking trip to Santa Monica?

La Jolla Trail is the closest documented trip to Santa Monica at roughly 21 miles (about 24 minutes of driving) from the La Jolla Trail Trailhead trailhead.

Do I need a permit to backpack near Santa Monica?

The closest documented trip, La Jolla Trail, does not require a wilderness permit — but many other California routes do, so always check.

When is the best season to backpack near Santa Monica?

For La Jolla Trail — the closest trip to Santa Monica — the best months are March, April, May, October, November.