Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area · California

Chaparral Trail

0.7 mi of trail, end to end · Mishe Mokwa Trail to Split Rock: 3.5 mi round trip in the Service's write-up · about 150 ft of climbing · 350 ft of descent · 514 ft–1,119 ft

Visitor centers

529 ft 514 ft · 0.4 mi high 693 ft

Along the way Malibu Creek State Park

Mishe Mokwa Trail to Split Rock 3.5 mi round trip · the Park Service's write-up

1-3 Hours · dogs allowed

Start Mishe Mokwa Trail to Split Rock

A rock balanced on the side of a mountain.
Mishe Mokwa Trail Photo: NPS

Moderate, 3.5 miles round trip

Traversing riparian, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral, this trail offers wonderful views of Carlisle Canyon and Balanced Rock. Split Rock’s oak grove offers a shaded spot for picnicking.

Accessibility Gravel parking lots are located on each side of the road at the trailhead. This trail includes a large, wooden step at the entrance, and has various grades of uneven trail throughout the hike. The trail is narrow in some sections as it weaves around the mountainside.

This hike on nps.gov

All 593 trails in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaFind a trailOn the parks mapPark on nps.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.