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Rustic Canyon

Rustic Canyon, now almost fully reverted to wilderness condition after nature’s one-two punches of fire and flood, was quite lively in the past. Pop-philosopher Will Rogers and his associates used it as a retreat back in the 1930s, and it even held the makings of a hideout for Nazi sympathizers later in the 20th Century.

Your exploration by foot in Rustic Canyon begins and ends at Will Rogers State Historic Park, on Sunset Boulevard about three miles west of Interstate 405. After parking near the historic Rogers country home, take the eucalyptus-lined east branch of the Inspiration Point loop trail 0.8 mile to a signed junction with the Backbone Trail (a.k.a. Rogers Trail), just north of Inspiration Point.

As soon as you start climbing the well-defined ridge, you’ll realize how appropriate the name “Backbone” is. The trail skips up, over, or around cobbled sandstone “vertebrae” along a stretch known variously as Chicken Ridge and Gobbler’s Knob. It is also the easternmost small piece of the nearly completed Backbone Trail that will soon stretch the length of the Santa Monica Mountains.

At 1.5 miles you cross a bridge overlooking a knife-edge saddle between Rivas Canyon on the west and Rustic Canyon on the east. Just ahead at another saddle (1.8 miles) you turn right on a trail that wastes no time descending into Rustic Canyon.

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On the descent, you make your way through a mini-forest of chaparral, including green-bark ceanothus, mountain mahogany, chamise, manzanita, toyon, sumac, and buckwheat. After another 0.7 mile you reach a secluded glade in the bottom of Rustic Canyon, where you might spook a deer if no one else is around to have done it already.

Upstream, to the left, lies the Boy Scouts’ Camp Josepho, named after Will Rogers’s friend Anatol Josepho, inventor of the pay telephone. Our route turns south (down-canyon) past the site of one of Rogers’s cabins and an assortment of other structures, burned or abandoned. Plenty of ornamental trees and shrubs mix with the native live oak and sycamores along the trickling stream.

On the left a way down stands the concrete shell of a power-generator building. This, along with a diesel-fuel bunker and sheet-metal buildings, was part of the pre–World War II “Murphy Ranch,” which was protected by a high fence and patrolled by armed guards. Short-wave broadcasts beamed to Germany from the site finally convinced authorities of its true nature and led to the arrest of a German spy. The spy, it seems, had duped a wealthy couple and convinced them to finance construction of this stronghold, which was to serve as a haven for true believers in the Third Reich. After the war, this section of the canyon became an artists’ colony until ravaged by fire and flood. Today it is owned by the City of Los Angeles.

Past an old flood-control dam (3.6 miles) the canyon narrows and the trail becomes merely a muddy track through a tight constriction in the canyon. Walls of conglomerate rock soar eerily on both sides. Watch out for poison oak and slippery rocks. At 4.1 miles, the canyon abruptly widens. On the right, a wide trail curves uphill toward the polo field across from the Will Rogers home, your starting point.

This article contains information about a publicly owned recreation or wilderness area. Trails and pathways are not necessarily marked. Conditions can change rapidly. Hikers should be properly equipped and have safety and navigational skills. The Reader and Jerry Schad assume no responsibility for any adverse experience.

Rustic Canyon

West L.A.’s Rustic Canyon offers a bit of quirky history as well as physical exercise.

Distance from downtown San Diego: 138 miles

Hiking Length: 4.6 miles

Difficulty: Moderately strenuous

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Rustic Canyon, now almost fully reverted to wilderness condition after nature’s one-two punches of fire and flood, was quite lively in the past. Pop-philosopher Will Rogers and his associates used it as a retreat back in the 1930s, and it even held the makings of a hideout for Nazi sympathizers later in the 20th Century.

Your exploration by foot in Rustic Canyon begins and ends at Will Rogers State Historic Park, on Sunset Boulevard about three miles west of Interstate 405. After parking near the historic Rogers country home, take the eucalyptus-lined east branch of the Inspiration Point loop trail 0.8 mile to a signed junction with the Backbone Trail (a.k.a. Rogers Trail), just north of Inspiration Point.

As soon as you start climbing the well-defined ridge, you’ll realize how appropriate the name “Backbone” is. The trail skips up, over, or around cobbled sandstone “vertebrae” along a stretch known variously as Chicken Ridge and Gobbler’s Knob. It is also the easternmost small piece of the nearly completed Backbone Trail that will soon stretch the length of the Santa Monica Mountains.

At 1.5 miles you cross a bridge overlooking a knife-edge saddle between Rivas Canyon on the west and Rustic Canyon on the east. Just ahead at another saddle (1.8 miles) you turn right on a trail that wastes no time descending into Rustic Canyon.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On the descent, you make your way through a mini-forest of chaparral, including green-bark ceanothus, mountain mahogany, chamise, manzanita, toyon, sumac, and buckwheat. After another 0.7 mile you reach a secluded glade in the bottom of Rustic Canyon, where you might spook a deer if no one else is around to have done it already.

Upstream, to the left, lies the Boy Scouts’ Camp Josepho, named after Will Rogers’s friend Anatol Josepho, inventor of the pay telephone. Our route turns south (down-canyon) past the site of one of Rogers’s cabins and an assortment of other structures, burned or abandoned. Plenty of ornamental trees and shrubs mix with the native live oak and sycamores along the trickling stream.

On the left a way down stands the concrete shell of a power-generator building. This, along with a diesel-fuel bunker and sheet-metal buildings, was part of the pre–World War II “Murphy Ranch,” which was protected by a high fence and patrolled by armed guards. Short-wave broadcasts beamed to Germany from the site finally convinced authorities of its true nature and led to the arrest of a German spy. The spy, it seems, had duped a wealthy couple and convinced them to finance construction of this stronghold, which was to serve as a haven for true believers in the Third Reich. After the war, this section of the canyon became an artists’ colony until ravaged by fire and flood. Today it is owned by the City of Los Angeles.

Past an old flood-control dam (3.6 miles) the canyon narrows and the trail becomes merely a muddy track through a tight constriction in the canyon. Walls of conglomerate rock soar eerily on both sides. Watch out for poison oak and slippery rocks. At 4.1 miles, the canyon abruptly widens. On the right, a wide trail curves uphill toward the polo field across from the Will Rogers home, your starting point.

This article contains information about a publicly owned recreation or wilderness area. Trails and pathways are not necessarily marked. Conditions can change rapidly. Hikers should be properly equipped and have safety and navigational skills. The Reader and Jerry Schad assume no responsibility for any adverse experience.

Rustic Canyon

West L.A.’s Rustic Canyon offers a bit of quirky history as well as physical exercise.

Distance from downtown San Diego: 138 miles

Hiking Length: 4.6 miles

Difficulty: Moderately strenuous

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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