Malibu Creek State Park

03/21/09

Fantastic Escape!

by linamos at Citysearch

Hard to believe this is so close to the noise of LA ... beautiful trails, wildlife, wildflowers ... repose. Rock climbing, camping, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding... a great place so close to Malibu...

• Pros: Natural beauty, Secluded trails

07/24/08

Don't understand the negative reviews

by kiercemartin at Citysearch

This is a great park with great hiking, and much more to do than just see the old MASH set. You just have to be willing to explore a little. There are some great view and really great hikes along the creek. If you can find it there is a big water hole back in the canyon with a waterfall and a rope swing. Definitely worth checking out, but it'll probably take you a while to find it, and it's a good enough secret not to give directions. Just know it's back there. Honestly, I've hiked this park a hundred times and never found anything to complain about. So check it out.

07/06/08

Ignore all the negative reviews!

by rukiddingme27 at Citysearch

I read these reviews the night before we left and was truly very worried. It was only going to be me, my mom and my two year old son. However, we were PLEASANTLY surprised. This place really is the best kept secret. In fact, I have neglected to write my review because it could potentially keep the crowds away :) Some of these other reviews are .... big babies I suppose. I mean, first off, your camping. There is going to be insects, get over it. There was just the right amount of amenities there (too many wouldn't be camping) and they were very clean. There is SO much to do there if you are an active person. We took the hike to the rock pool, and they have a cute visitor center nearby. Here is my ONE complaint: At the rock pool, there were several families, trying to have a good time, but a group of six (three males, three females) who were drunk out of their minds, and obvious meth-heads. (missing teeth, eyes bulging out, skinny faces, etc...) they were really taking over the place, they made a beautiful place very uncomfortable. I would go so far to say I did question our safety and made the decision to leave. HOWEVER, as we were leaving, (feeling rather disappointed) we ran into a ranger, who sped off very quickly to take care of the problem. We soon saw a helicopter come over and several police cars come through the gates. Later we spoke to the ranger, he told us they were escorted out and given tickets. I was very happy with their speedy take on the situation. :)

I will be going back in the future. By the way-- hardly any spiders, but there were some bee's

• Pros: The hikes, the creek and rock pool, the happy campers
• Cons: bee's

Over the hills from Malibu, verdant ravines with pools, wildflowers and wildlife entertain visitors.

by Contributor at Citysearch

Overview
More than 4,000 acres of lush streamside habitat and scrub among the coastal mountains enchant visitors to this park's rocky peaks, chaparral and deciduous woodland. Sure, it might be Malibu, but there are few palms here. The park's namesake creek runs from Boney Mountain to Malibu Lagoon on the Pacific, with more than 15 miles of streamside trail to explore.

The Experience
Camping facilities allow for a mixture of tents, trailers and RVs with a dump station available. For individuals and families, campsites are on reservation, with cook-stoves allowed. There is one group site, and there are showers and a visitors center--a mile hike in--to round out the facilities. Dogs are allowed, so feel free to bring Fido along for the trip.

08/07/06

Worked for Us...

by desert_rat at Citysearch

I read the previous reviews before we went, and was a litte afraid of what I might find. We needed a spot close to Zuma Beach, where our company was holding its annual picnic, and thought camping would be more fun than a hotel. Its a crapshoot as to what site you get, because you cannot reserve in advance. After we arrived, I could see where some of the bad reviews were coming from. There are some small sites, with no cover, up against a fence, and there were some sites that looked like 40 people were camping in them. We were fortunate to get site 19, which was by some of the larger trees, in the back. It was rather small for our popup camper to manuver into the spot, but we finally managed it. The bathrooms were very clean, and had LOTS of toilet paper. (Bring your own soap and a towel) We had a friend coming in to camp there, the following day, and asked if we could get their site next to ours. The ranger was helpful and said that if we didnt like our spot, or needed to move, we could request a different spot the next day. We were able to request the spot next to us, for our friend, the following morning. The other campers there were friendly, and for the most part, quiet. We didnt hike any of the trails, but might do that as a day trip in the future. I 'interviewed' several of the other campers, to get their impressions of the place, and most of them were very happy with it and will be coming back. I personally have been to better (and worse!), and dont see making a special trip just to camp there again.

• Pros: Close to the beaches, clean campsites and bathrooms
• Cons: Rather plain camping, no privacy because of openness

07/10/06

A Very good site

by fcbcdw at Citysearch

We just spend our weekend on that park. (We are in the group camp site not the individual site). This site is really good. Lots of shade for setting tent, restroom is clean (except some spiders), toilet papers are well stock. Rangers clean our site and move away trash every day. (This is very good service.) This site parking permit can be use in all the beaches in Malibu (You don't need to park $10-$14 parking fees). You do need to do some leg work to move your stuff from your car to the camp ground.

• Pros: Good service and site location is very good
• Cons: If you are afraid of spriders

05/17/06

You have got to be joking

by artmeat at Citysearch

This is the worst camp ground ever! I would rather spread out under the street lamps at a WAll Mart parking lot than this nightmare. The water reaks.. the trails are over used and though there is some partialy scenic spots along the recycled water stream it was pleasant only because the rest of the place is so severe on the eye. If the fact that it is close to smell'lay and multiple choice foods then stay at a motel six downtown... you can see the same natural enviroment from your locked room. Editor please stay at this place and reconsider its placement on the list to be fair to your readers.

• Pros: its outside, fun for freak watch, third world country
• Cons: its unpleasant, the mosquitos , poluted

08/12/05

Dont bring your dogs

by chrissmithslc at Citysearch

This place sucked! Our campsite was totally trashed. Very dirty, trash everywhere. We were assigned the smallest site in the place when there were other much nicer sites avialable. We had a wood fence 15 feet above our tent area; felt like we were camping in our backyard but less seclusion and scenery. I still cant believe we spent almost $40 to camp here. Yes, the Santa Monica mountains are beatiful and the hikes are probably really nice (we had our dogs with us so we could not go on any of the trails!), but the campsite stinks. I can't stress enough how dirty it was. If you do come here I suggest just buying a day pass and not staying in the campsite. Very dissapointing.

• Pros: close to Malibu, close to beach
• Cons: dirty, crowded, overstrict dog rules

08/01/05

A mixed bag...

by hajesterha at Citysearch

I've been to Malibu Creek several times now. There are a ton of trails, so it's fun for hiking. The camp areas are pretty open and plain, but if you get there early, there are some good ones towards the back. The facilities aren't as bad as some have claimed, they're just not luxurious. All in all, it's a decent place to camp when all the other place close by are booked a year out.

• Pros: Close to the city, Lots of hiking trails
• Cons: Can get crowded, Plain, open campsites

05/25/05

What a chunk of cr*p

by happycamper666 at Citysearch

If you have read the reviews, you will understand that for this slimyturd to be in the Top 10 Campsites around Los Angeles is just some cruel joke. Or maybe they couldn't come up with 11 places in LA to camp. Now don't get me wrong, there are two sites that have trees, but you will never get one because there are always more than two other poor saps already there. In the winter/spring, there is running water in the creek, but there are also about 100 of the mangiest, filthiest city rats splashing and screaming. The posts about the trash and discarded clothing is exactly right, as is the description of the Rangers. It's a park no one seems to cars about. There are lots better places to camp - and even better places to just spend a day within 1/2 hour drive.

• Pros: near great places to, lots of recycleables, free clothing
• Cons: dirty, loud, out of control