Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Re-Opens After Federal Shutdown

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- With the enactment of the continuing resolution, staff at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) have resumed regular operations. Some areas of the park remain closed, however, due to impacts from the Woolsey Fire.

Paramount Ranch, Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa, Cheeseboro/Palo Comado Canyons, and the Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center are open. The popular Sandstone Peak Trail has also reopened, but the rest of the park is still closed and will remain closed until further notice. The park website (https://www.nps.gov/samo) will have the latest information on accessibility and visitor services.

"Our employees and myself included, are looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and continuing the work needed to restore our public lands and all of our trails after the devastating Woolsey Fire," said David Szymanski, superintendent of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. "Serving the American people and welcoming visitors, old and new, to LA's national park, is what we do best."

Park partners have been supportive throughout the lapse in appropriations. Community Nature Connection and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), organized a concert fundraiser at King Gillette Ranch during the shutdown to benefit the park's friends group, the Santa Monica Mountains Fund. The funds raised during the concert will go toward replacing wildlife tracking cameras, rebuilding Paramount Ranch's Western Town and park restoration after the recent fire.

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.