Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is in California, close to one of the largest cities in the country.
The landscape is of rolling hills, rugged mountains and open meadows dotted with coast live oaks. It feels remote, and yet just beyond these hills lies Los Angeles.
Long before it became protected land, this land was home to the Chumash people, followed by Spanish land grants, racing and later developmental pressures as the city expanded. Preserving this landscape required intention.
The Santa Monica Mountains were established as a National Recreation Area in 1978, signed into law by President Jimmy Carter. Unlike many national parks set aside for remote wilderness, this was a deliberate effort to protect open space, history, and habitat within reach of a major urban population.
This landscape was preserved not because it was distant, but because it was worth keeping close.
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