News Release

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area announces weekday closures for portions of the Hastain & Discovery Trails to repair storm damage in Franklin Canyon

News Release Date: September 18, 2025

Contact: Preston DeCorte

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The National Park Service, in partnership with the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), will begin trail repairs on the southern switchback section of the Hastain Trail in Franklin Canyon starting Monday, September 29, 2025 (see map). Franklin Canyon is located in the eastern part of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The project will require weekday closures Monday through Thursday on the southern section of the trail when crews are working. While crews are on-site, Hastain trail users will travel in and out via the northern trailhead, rather than making a loop. Trails will remain open on weekends (including Fridays). Please note that Franklin Canyon Park closes at sunset daily. The trail project is necessary to ensure public safety while crews complete trail resurfacing and erosion control improvements. Both trails were damaged during storms in February 2024. Once repairs on the Hastain Trail are complete, work will begin on the Discovery Trail, also located in Franklin Canyon. The full project is expected to take approximately three months, though weather or other unforeseen delays may extend the timeline.

### 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. For more information, visit nps.gov/samo.