The National Park Service in the Santa Monica Mountains is Modifying

Operations to Implement Local Health Guidance

Trails in Ventura County Will Be Closed on Weekends

The National Park Service in the Santa Monica Mountains, in response to guidance from the State of California and Ventura County, is announcing additional modifications to operations to support federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The NPS is offering very limited services outside those that support visitor or resource protection. The following services and operations will be modified to support health orders issued by the state and county:

Trails, trailheads, restrooms, pullouts and overlooks in Ventura County will be closed from 2 p.m. on Fridays until 6 a.m. on Mondays until further notice beginning April 3. This includes:

• Rancho Sierra Vista, including the Wendy Trailhead.

• All trails within Circle X, including Sandstone Peak, Mishe Mokwa, the Grotto trail, the Backbone Trail and all connecting trails and overlooks along Yerba Buena Road.

• Cheeseboro Canyon trailhead.

• Deer Creek, including all lands, pullouts and overlooks.

All hiking, biking and equestrian trails in Ventura County will remain accessible from 6 a.m. Monday until 2 p.m. on Fridays. All visitors are required to maintain at least 6 feet of distance between themselves and others.

Please stay tuned as conditions and health guidance could change. The health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners at the NPS is our number one priority. The NPS is working servicewide with federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the park resumes full operations, the public will be notified via the website www.nps.gov/samo and our social media channels (Twitter, Instagram and Facebook). For updates regarding general NPS operations, visit www.nps.gov/coronavirus.

If contemplating a visit to a national park during this pandemic, the NPS asks visitors to adhere to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local public health authorities to protect visitors and employees. As services are limited, the NPS urges visitors to continue to practice Leave No Trace principles, including pack-in and pack-out, to keep outdoor spaces safer and healthier.

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A unit of the National Park Service, it comprises a seamless network of local, state, and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities. For more information, visit nps.gov/samo.