Have you planned your summer vacation yet? If not, may I give you a suggestion that would please adults and kids alike. Vitis the Santa Monica National Recreation Area in southern California. I recently spent five days there and didn’t scratch the surface of all the things to see and do in this recreation paradise.

For instance, there are many coastal beaches to visit (see photo). The beaches include: Thornhill Broome Hill Beach- located on highway one.

County Line Beach- also located on highway one.

Nicholas County Beach- on highway one. El Pescador State Beach- on highway one.

La Piedra State Beach- on highway one. Zuma Beach County Park- on highway one… my favorite.

Dan Blocker Beach- on highway one… the park is named after “Hoss” in the famous Western T.V. show.

Malibu Lagoon State Beach- on highway one.

Las Flores Beach- highway one. Las Tunas Beach- highway one. Will Rogers- named for the famous comedian- highway one.

Santa Monica Beach- highway one.

Palisades Park- highway one. WOW…. That’s a lot of beaches, all of them located along highway one.

If you are not a BEACH person, there’s plenty of other places to visit and things to do. For instance, there’s a King Gillette Ranch. Named for the person who invented and manufactured the famous Gillette razor blade. Yes… his first name was “King”. If you use Gillette blades, are (were) contributing the Gillette fortune. His ranch home is now owned and operated by the U.S. National Park Service. The ranch house is located in some of the most beautiful scenery in California.

You may want to visit the Will Rogers State Historic Park located on highway one.

Another place of interest is the Topango State Park. There you will find campgrounds, picnic grounds, several walking trails, and some long and wide vistas that contain of the most photogenic sites in southern California. There you will also find the Trippet Ranch.

On Stunt Park Toad you will find Cold Creek Preserve- This park contains some of the best preserved areas of plants, flowers, streams, and animals in California.

Paramount Ranch has been, and still is, the location for many western novels. The movie sets and other movie paraphasia are still on site. You’ll really enjoy this site. The Ranch can be reached on Cornell Road that connects to Highway 101 Another beautiful park is the Malibu State Park. It is a large park with many trials of varying distances. You will likely see lots of wildlife, birds, exotic plants, and clear running creeks. It’s a winner!!

If you have time, visit the SATWIWA NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE CENTER located at Rancho Sierra on Long Grade Canyon Road. You’ll find exhibits that tell the story of the Native Americans that lived in the area long before While Europeans took control of the area.

That’s a lot more that I could include in this article, but you get the picture, that this area is packed with some of the best trails, photo opps, campgrounds, beaches, and ranches in California.

Personal Note: if you decide to go to these places, PLEASE TAKE ME WITH YOU!!!

For more information on this National Recreation Area: Call: 805-370-2301 Web Site: www.nps.gov/samo Address: Santo Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 26876 Mulholland Hwy. Calabasas, Ca. 91302

(Narrative and photo provided by Jena native Gale Trussell)