Natural Grotto at Circle X Ranch

This weekend, my friend Amanda and I went to check out a natural grotto in the Santa Monica Mountains, north of Los Angeles.

It's a bit of a drive from LA, as it is north of Malibu (maybe halfway to Santa Barbara?), but it's not hard to get there. You can take the 101 North, then cut inland on Rt. 23 (which is Westlake Blvd near the 101). The road is winds through the mountains/canyons--it's full of switchbacks, so be aware of that if you get carsick. :) You'll continue on the road, to the right, when you encounter Decker Canyon Road (don't go left on that road--we made that mistake), then turn right on Little Sycamore Canyon Road, which then morphs into Yerba Buena Road. That will take you to Circle X Ranch. The road eventually leads out to PCH, too. If you want to come from PCH, you'd head north on it, through Malibu, and turn right on Yerba Buena Road (which is just past Neptune's Net restaurant). You can also take Yerba Buena out that way from Circle X--I think there's only one stop sign where the road splits, and you just go left (toward the ocean/downhill) to get to PCH.

Once you arrive at Circle X Ranch, you can park at the ranger/info station and follow the signs down to the campground, which is where the Grotto Trailhead starts. It's pretty clearly marked.




The trail itself is about 3.5 miles round trip. It is fairly easy on the way in--mostly downhill, with some uphill portions. It alternates shade and full sun. The trail itself is in pretty good shape, with some areas of erosion to watch out for, but it is clear and obvious all the way to the top of the grotto. I think there's only one real fork in the trail--you simply go to the right (downhill) when you reach it.


(Amanda walking on the path, past the head of a tiny waterfall that trickles down a cliff--you have to step over the stream that feeds it, and the path walks past it, but not to the base--there's not much to it.)


(Part of the path is through a field--the view heading in is neat.)

Eventually, you'll come across a rocky riverbed, which was dry when we found it. You'll cross that and continue on the path. I think there's a sign there to point the way. The trail then sort of follows along the riverbed, which starts to show signs of water as you go along. It comes out at the top of the grotto, which is made up of huge boulders.


(Amanda is all, "How are we getting down there?!")

We weren't sure where to go or how to get down the rocks to get to the grotto itself, but saw that there were other people down by the base, so we knew there was a way...and, sure enough, there was a narrow, rocky, steep path leading up the wall of the canyon that took us over. It is to the right, leading upward along the rock wall, then back down through some trees, around to the base of the grotto. That part isn't terribly easy to navigate--requires a fair amount of agility, balance and strength, but it is totally doable, as we saw two girls at the grotto who were maybe 12 years old (with their moms, of course).


(Grotto entrances from afar.)


(Grotto entrances, closer in--the waterfall is through the entrance to the left, which is larger and which has deeper water than the entrance to the right.)

The grotto itself is lovely. The water is cold and mostly clear. The bottom of the pool is rocky and does have some branches in it, so it's a little hard to walk in the water, but completely possible if you're careful. Water streams in along a rock face on one side and in a water fall on the other side.


(The waterfall.)



You can walk from one side to the other, from either of the entrances. The left side is deeper than the right--I swam out that end, even though one could probably just walk closer to the walls and find shallow ground (even at the deepest point, I probably could have stood up and been above water).


(Me, under the waterfall--natural light from above!)


(Amanda reaching into the waterfall.)


(Amanda walking over to the other water source, which comes down over some rocks)


(The view out of the grotto, from the right entrance, if you're looking at it from the outside.)

There are lots of places to sit around the grotto and just relax--shaded and sunny rocks, some ground and old tree areas, etc. It's quite remote, so while we saw people, I would say that we encountered less than 10 people while at the grotto itself. Most of the people we saw were on our hikes in and out of the area.


(Nice place to sit and relax!)

The hike out is challenging, much more so than the hike in. It's almost all uphill, and in the afternoon heat and sun, it is draining. It is beautiful, though--there's a stretch along the hillside of the canyon that is lovely.



I would highly recommend bringing plenty of water and snacks, and to carry them in a backpack, so that you can keep your hands free to scramble over the rocks, branches and ground (as is required to get up and down around the grotto). You will need your hands free, trust me. Sunscreen and a hat are also necessary! There are no dogs allowed on the end of the path to the grotto, and I would recommend it only for older children--we saw a couple with a young child and a baby headed toward it, and I have absolutely no idea how they would have navigated down the last portion of the path to the grotto.


(On the way out from the grotto...this doesn't even do it justice...that path is tricky!)

There is a bathroom at the ranger station, and there are water fountains at the campground and ranger station, but there are no other provisions nearby, so get any gas/snacks/etc before you come in. There are trail maps at the ranger station, which is wonderful! Malibu is not that far of a drive--in fact, the road out to PCH comes out right by Neptune's Net, just north of the Malibu city limits--so it's an easy trip down there to get some food or go to the beach if you're up to it.