Leo Carillo State Park is part of the Santa Monica Mountains, it’s a hidden heaven for big adventures.
This club run is a relative short run all on single track (8miles with a total elevation gain of 2,200ft. and amazing ocean views) with the option to add more miles on a optional out & back.
The start of this run is at a short distance beyond the official State Park entrance on the right side.
The first couple miles are steep climbing up the “Nicolas Flat Trail”. In the short distance of 2,5miles we will have climbed 1,700ft., don’t be afraid to hike the steep sections! But after that we’ll enter the beautiful “Nicolas Flat Meadows”. We will loop around this very special place with it’s Nicolas Pond and newly rebuild trails, all relatively flat, working our way around via the “Ridgeline Trail” that brings us back on the “Nicolas Flat Trail”. For the final 1 mile descend we take the fun “Willow Creek Trail”.
The course will be marked as the 8 mile loop with an “opt” arrow for the optional out & back section which is very beautiful with amazing ocean views.

NO WATER so bring plenty and some calories if you plan to run more miles. You’ll get a great workout here on beautiful trails without the crowds!

Google map location: Parking for the run and access to “South Beach” for potluck.

Parking without fee along the PCH across the official Leo Carillo State Park entrance, obey parking signals. Along the PCH (where we are parked) are stairs that bring us right down at the beach. Bring a towel or chair, a snack and drinks to share. Soak the sore legs in the cold ocean for a little bit and then go warm up in the sand, have a relaxing picnic on the beach while socializing with the group. Leo Carillo is one of the coolest beaches we have, with low tide it’s a great tide-pool spot also!