A shaded canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains where an easy trail follows a year-round creek to the stone ruins of a 1950s house and a small waterfall. Oaks and sycamores arch over the path, and the Rising Sun Trail climbs the ridge for ocean views back down the canyon. It is one of the few Malibu canyons with water and shade through summer.
Photography Guide
Best Time
morning
Crowds
Moderate
Shot Types
widedetaillandscape
Best Seasons
winterspring
Practical Tips
The waterfall runs best from January through April after rain. Morning keeps the canyon floor in soft light and the parking lot, which fills by 10 on weekends, open. The Rising Sun loop is exposed and hot by midday; carry water.
Is it a good day to go?
7-day outlook
Mild, dry days with light winds are the most comfortable for a visit.
Forecast by Open-Meteo. Verdicts weigh the forecast against the conditions that suit this spot.
Gallery
A large oak with spreading, twisting limbs fills the foreground, partially silhouetted against a pale sky and a dry, brushy canyon hillside. Dense green trees and undergrowth frame the shaded Solstice Canyon scene. Photo: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area / Wikimedia Commons / Public domainBright orange wildflowers with broad green leaves stand out sharply in the foreground, with dry tan grasses and blurred canyon vegetation behind them. The close, shallow-focus composition gives the scene a soft, late-summer feel. Photo: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area / Wikimedia Commons / Public domainTwo hikers rest beside the red brick ruins of a stone house in a lush, shaded canyon, with dense green trees and palms filling the foreground and a scrub-covered mountain rising behind them. Soft morning light brightens the pale sky and the edges of the hillside. Photo: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area / Wikimedia Commons / Public domainThe Solstice Canyon Trailhead sits at the edge of a shaded, leafy canyon, with a black trail sign beside mottled sycamore trunks and dense green trees. A wide dirt path curves into the vegetation under soft morning light. Photo: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area / Wikimedia Commons / Public domainSunlit stone ruins of a house sit in the shaded canyon, with tall banana plants and dense green foliage growing up from the roofless structure. Dry hillside slopes rise behind the scene under a clear blue sky. Photo: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area / Wikimedia Commons / Public domainStone ruins of a 1950s house stand in a shaded canyon clearing, with rough rock walls, empty window openings, and a tall chimney framed by oak and sycamore trees. The foreground shows a dirt-and-grass floor with a small concrete step, while soft morning light brightens the pale sky above the ruins. Photo: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area / Wikimedia Commons / Public domainA wide view looks across a green, brush-covered canyon slope in Solstice Canyon, with pale white yucca-like flower stalks standing out in the foreground. Layered ridgelines rise into a bright, hazy morning sky, giving the scene a soft, shaded mountain feel. Photo: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area / Wikimedia Commons / Public domainSunlit stone ruins of a former house sit in a shaded canyon clearing, with a large fireplace opening and weathered brick walls partly wrapped by banana trees overhead. The cracked patio in front catches bright morning light, while dense green foliage fills the background. Photo: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area / Wikimedia Commons / Public domainHikers with children walk along the wide dirt trail at the Solstice Canyon trailhead, lined with dense green vegetation and a large tree trunk on the right. Trail signs mark the route and “Pets On Leash,” while a misty hillside rises in the background under soft morning light. Photo: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain
