I love the outdoors, and the Grand Canyon is my favorite destination. May, 2013. The trail goes deep into the canyon and can get quite overgrown, especially after solid winter rains. From this vantage point, you can also clearly make out the extent of the Springs Fire’s burn.These grassland areas have come a LONG way since the fire:At 0.75 miles, the trail comes to the northern edge of Upper Big Sycamore Canyon, where you can really get a sense of just how much this region has recovered since the fire.From this junction, head into Point Mugu State Park on the Danielson Road (from this point on, no dogs or bikes are allowed). Drive south for 3.3 miles (passing the Pomeroy Tanks Trailhead on your left) before arriving at Here’s a map of the Sycamore Rim Trail. That late rain favored later-germinating native grasses and not the earlier-germinating mustards and non-native grasses.

The remains of this sawmill and the railroad ties to the north are a reminder of the beginnings of an industry that still thrives today.

Continue for 5.6 miles.

The trails themselves are in decent condition following the Springs Fire and are generally improving as both the human and natural restoration continue.

Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council During Fall 2017, the SMMTC volunteer trail crew undertook a major trail restoration project on the Upper Sycamore Canyon Trail in Point Mugu State Park.

After 1 mile, the Thomas Loop Road will make a hard left.

Data is still being analyzed from 2015 so there isn’t much to say in way of overall trends, but these areas could provide a beachhead for more invasive species, which in turn could lower the overall productivity of the ecosystem.Knowing all of that makes seeing the survivor plants even more special as you walk along the bank of the seasonal stream here in Upper Big Sycamore Canyon.At 2.6 miles, stay right at the junction with the Fossil Trail, and at 2.7, turn right onto the paved Big Sycamore Canyon Road.It’s a long, shadeless slog back to the trailhead from here – and it’s all uphill. Please enable it from your browser or operating system. They’re adding plants from the cholla scrub, coastal sage scrub, and native grassland communities in the hopes of providing additional habitat for native species like cactus wrens and grasshopper sparrows.This trail cuts across a large meadow in front of some of the best views of Boney Mountain in the entire Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. May, 2013. Stay to the right at 0.9 miles to start your descent to the floor of Big Sycamore Canyon. The numerous trailheads include the Sycamore Falls Trailhead, Pomeroy Tanks, Vista Point, and Dow Spring. Sycamore Rim Trail Guide – Trail #42.

At 0.75 miles, the trail comes to the northern edge of Upper Big Sycamore Canyon, where you can really get a sense of just how much this region has recovered since the fire. The seasonal falls flow at a point that’s only a short walk from the trailhead, where two forks of the canyon meet. Be on the lookout for badly eroded sections of trail near the canyon’s edge, and be sure to look down into Big Sycamore Canyon to see the hopeful patches of green along the the canyon’s itinerant stream.At 1.3 miles, take a hard right onto the Upper Sycamore Trail (staying straight will take you on a Although the trail signs have been melted here and many of the hillsides remain charred, a surprising amount of green now exists in the upper reaches of this canyon.When I first visited the area post-fire in 2013 it was tough to think of this as much more than a dead, moonscape. MAP: Kaibab National Forest – South PERMITS: none DESIGNATION: Kaibab National Forest BEST SEASONS: spring, summer, fall DISTANCE: 11 mile loop WATER: seasonal at Pomeroy Tanks and Dow Spring ELEVATION: …

There are many heavily-eroded areas and some or all of this trail may be closed following heavy rain until the chaparral returns and helps hold some of those canyons in place.There is camping in Point Mugu State Park, but it's on the southern end of the park near the coast.From the 101, take the Lynn Road exit in Thousand Oaks and head south. Use exit 199, turn left and go through a gate, or follow Hwy 87 past mile marker 203 and turn left on a well marked FR 402, just across from Four Peaks area.

The Sycamore Rim Trail has no less than 5 access points.

If you’re extremely lucky, both arms of the canyon will be flowing… but they’re most often dry.The best time to view and photograph Sycamore Falls is on a warm winter’s day after significant snowfall. There were only the Now, even after two years of continued drought, there is life all over the canyon.The chaparral, sage scrub, and riparian plant communities that live here have evolved to survive and even thrive with the region’s regular wildfires. It appears that some selective logging has taken place here, but the walking is pleasant as you approach KA Hill.From the road crossing to the top of the hill you’ll gain 600 feet of elevation.

You can right-click on the image to view a larger version or download it.The Sycamore Rim Trail is an 11-mile loop, described here in a clockwise direction from the Sycamore Falls Trailhead.

The main path at the north end of Sycamore Canyon is the Sycamore Rim Trail, an 11 mile loop along the north rim of the two upper forks, the circuit completed by a …

Photographs 29 views along the trail.

Please understand that means YOU. Stay to the right at 0.9 miles … Marti Witter, the Fire Ecologist for the Santa Monica Mountains NRA explained to me that in some cases the drought had even helped re-establish some natives in areas that had been overrun by invasive species. Please enable it from your browser or operating system. Many of the plants’ roots remain alive even after everything above ground has been burned – and some seeds can only germinate with the high temperatures a wildfire brings. We were stopped at the entry gate to the community and not allowed in, since we don’t know anyone living in Bear Canyon.