A Santa Monica Mountains ridgeline trail has been a vision for more than 50 years. Originally the trail was to run from Griffith Park to Point Mugu, but that idea never progressed. In the 1970s, with the establishment of state parks in the mountains, the notion began to crystallize. The Backbone Trail would stretch from Will Rogers State Historic Park to Point Mugu State Park, anchored in the middle by Malibu Creek State Park.