Indian trails rarely had contours or switchbacks; the trails headed directly to the top.
Chumash Trail, a typical Indian trail, ascends straight up the steep shoulders of Mugu Peak. From the peak, there are grand views of the Santa Monica Mountains, the Ventura and Santa Barbara county coastline and the Channel Islands.
Chumash Trail honors the native people who lived for many centuries on the land we now call Point Mugu State Park. This trail connected the rich tidelands of Mugu Lagoon with the gentle La Jolla Valley area, which was dotted with Chumash villages.
Mugu, which is the name of a peak, a point, a rock and a lagoon in addition to a state park, is believed to have been derived from the Chumash word \o7 muwu\f7 , meaning beach. It also refers to a village once located at Point Mugu. Cabrillo mentioned this village during his 1542 exploration, and speculation has it that Point Mugu may be the oldest recorded California place name in existence.
Several Chumash names remain on the land, including Pismo, derived from the Chumash word for the asphaltum tar that seeps through natural fissures in the earth and sea floor. Hueneme and Malibu were once the Chumash villages of Wene'me and Maliwu.
This walk climbs to Mugu Peak, which, along with Laguna Peak and La Jolla Peak, anchors the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains. Armed with a good map of Point Mugu State Park, you can connect Chumash Trail with others in the park and hike as many miles as you wish.
While you're in the neighborhood, check out the other Mugu sights, including that huge pyramid-shaped rock knob known as Point Mugu.
Around the tip of the point, where waves smash against the great rock, you can see the remains of the Coast Highway, which once rounded the point. A deep slot now takes motorists through the middle of the rock. The point is rich in fossil shell fragments and spray-can graffiti. Rock climbers practice their sport on the rock.
Beyond the point, small, sandy Point Mugu Beach extends to Mugu Lagoon and to the U.S. Navy's Point Mugu Pacific Missile Test Center. Mugu Lagoon, one of Southern California's largest remaining wetlands, can be viewed from a roadside station off Coast Highway, half a mile up the coast from the Point Mugu Rock. The lagoon, a refuge for thousands of resident and migratory waterfowl, is not open to the public.
