The 65 mile long system of trails in the Santa Monica Mountains known as the Backbone Trail has been inching along toward completion for some time now. Traversing through the hodgepodge of public and private land in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area has been somewhat of a challenge, with the trail often running up against private land the owners are unwilling to sell. The trail was down to three remaining parcels of private land but as of yesterday afternoon, that number is now down to two.

The National Park Service has acquired a five acre property along the Etz Meloy Motorway from former property owner Helen Kee. Now only 0.4 miles of trail needs to be secured to allow travel over the entire length … and a few sections of trail need to be re-aligned … and a safe crossing at Topanga Canyon Blvd needs to be constructed … along with some on or near trail camp sites.

Baby steps, I guess, but they’re still steps!

Click here for a PDF of the new land acquisitions on the Backbone Trail

Tags: Backbone Trail, Hiking, Los Angeles, Santa Monica Mountains