With fire weather warnings in effect, several agencies responsible for parts of the Santa Monica Mountains announced Wednesday that they would temporarily close many parks.
In March, California State Parks, the National Park Service, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Mountain Recreation and Conservation Service announced they would begin coordinating park closures across the region once the National Weather Service issues a red flag warning indicating a high wildfire risk.
The goals were to reduce the “potential for fire” and limit the number of people who would need to evacuate an area in the event of an emergency, the agencies said at the time.
Those protocols will be tested this week, with the first Santa Ana winds of the season expected on Thursday and Friday, increasing the risk of any new fires spreading quickly.
Dash Stolarz, spokesman for the Mountain Recreation and Conservation Authority, confirmed to The Times that under the new rules, hikers should see more park and trail closures during red flag events than before.
Stolarz said the changes stemmed from discussions sparked after the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires.
Given the unpredictability of Santa Ana winds and other weather events, “you just try to control all the variables you can control,” Stolarz said. “One of the things we do is we talk more and we improve our communication with each other in a lot of ways.”
In a statement Wednesday, California State Parks encouraged visitors to check with destination agencies about current conditions before traveling to the Santa Monica Mountains during a red flag warning, as “not every closed area will have signs or gates.”
The following parks managed by the Mountain Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) will be closed Thursday through Saturday:
- Puerco Canyon Cameron Nature Preserve
- Coral Canyon Park
- Escondido Canyon Park
- Tuna Canyon Park
- Topanga mountain top view
- Summit Valley Ed D. Edelman Park
- Red Rock Canyon Park
- mill creek ranch
- Temescal Canyon Park
- Franklin Canyon Park
- verak park
- Mulholland corridor view
- Marvin Browder Mulholland Drive Park
- Westridge-Canyon Buck Wilderness Park
- king gillette ranch
- Upper Las Vigenes Canyon Open Space Preserve
- Sage Ranch Park
- Mentryville
- Whitney Canyon Park
- Eastern Canyon and Rice Canyon
- Ed Davis Park at Towsley Canyon
- Happy Camp Canyon Regional Park
The following parks may be closed during a red flag event, but Stolarz recommends checking the respective agency’s website for the latest information.
California State Parks:
- topanga state park
- Malibu Creek State Park
- Leo Carrillo State Park
- Point Mugu State Park
- Will Rogers State Historic Park
- Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park
National Park Service Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area:
- Sierra Vista Ranch
- Solstice Canyon
- Peter Strauss Ranch
- rocky oaks
- paramount ranch
- cheeseboro/palocomado
- Circle X Ranch
- Arroyo Follow
- franklin canyon
- freeman canyon
- deer creek
- Zuma/Trancas Canyon (Bonsall and Busch Parking Lots)
- Main trail (including Jianan Road parking lot)
- Sandstone Peak/Mishe Mokwa Parking Lot and Trail