San Vicente Mtn Park - Santa Monica Mtns, CA

Located NE of the Los Angeles metro area, a Family Friendly, Benchmark Mountain, with "Cold War" Military History to also include Day Hiking - Mountain Biking - Dog Watching & Dog Dogging. The West Manderville Fire Road route is closed to Vehicle Traffic for the entire ~3.75 mile one way.


The recommended Upper Park / TH Start is within San Vicente Mountain Park and the Lower W. Manderville Fire Road Park / TH Start is within the Manderville Canyon Park.History: San Vicente Mountain BM at 1961ft was an ideal site for NIKE missile radar. It provided vision in all directions. In 1956, during the "Cold War", soldiers from the LA96C Battery could look southwest to a youthful Los Angeles with few of the tall buildings we see today. From here it is 15 miles to the center of downtown and 10 miles to Venice Beach.

During the "Cold War" period this was a military reservation. LA96C was one of the NIKE missile sites that protected Los Angeles from a feared attack by Soviet bombers. It was an active battery from 1956 - 1968 with radar searching the sky for enemy airplanes. In 1962 NIKE officials claimed, "Whatever tomorrow brings...NIKE will be watching, always ready. In the 1960's new military technology made the NIKE missiles obsolete, and the site has now been made into a park. Unfortunately, Mother Nature is reclaiming the military ruins.

2014-12-30 Grasshopper