Will Rogers Historic Park

EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTION

The trails at Will Rogers State Historic Park climb from the canyon floor through open chaparral to Inspiration Point, where the view stretches from the Santa Monica Mountains across the bay on clear mornings. The 186-acre property sits above Pacific Palisades on a hillside that feels improbably rural for its location: grazing land and eucalyptus, a wooden ranch house at the center, a polo field in the flat below that still sees weekend play. It is one of the least-visited parks in the LA system for a place this close to the coast.

OPERATOR STORY

Will Rogers State Historic Park is a California State Parks property preserving the 186-acre working ranch and home of the American humorist, actor, and political commentator Will Rogers, who owned the property from 1928 until his death in 1935. Rogers’ widow, Betty, donated the ranch to the state in 1944. The park includes the original ranch house, open for docent-led tours, a polo field that has been in continuous use since Rogers’ time, and the Backbone Trail network into the Santa Monica Mountains.