Leo Carrillo State Park


Leo Carrillo State Park is a state park in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Situated along the Malibu coast, the park is a component of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. With of beach, the parkland stretches into the Santa Monica Mountains. The park has expanded into Ventura County and also includes management of County Line Beach. California State Route 1 runs through the park, where it intersects with the western terminus of the Mulholland Highway. The park was established in 1953. It is named for actor and conservationist Leo Carrillo, who served on the State Parks commission.

History

The Woolsey Fire was a destructive wildfire that started inland many miles away and raced through canyons and mountains in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties to the coastline. The fire ignited on November 8, 2018 and burned of land. The fire destroyed 1,643 structures, killed three people, and prompted the evacuation of more than 295,000 people. It was one of several fires in California that ignited on the same day.
The 2018 fire burned through almost the entire park. The equipment for the Junior Lifeguard program that was destroyed in the fire was replaced by a donation from a group of Australian surf lifeguard associations, led by the Maroochydore Surf Life Saving Club. The campgrounds reopened after work crews spent seven months removing debris and cleaning up.

Recreation

Leo Carrillo State Park offers swimming, surfing, windsurfing, surf fishing, and beachcombing. Beachgoers can explore tide pools, sea caves, and reefs. Inland there is a campground and backcountry hiking trails.

In popular culture

Actors such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lewis, Nancy Sinatra, Dick Clark and other celebrities have been featured in films shot here.
In the popular 1970s TV show The Rockford Files, starring James Garner, it was the first season's opening scene of episode 1 airing September 13, 1974.
It was featured in an episode of Huell Howser's TV series California's Golden Parks.
During the final scenes of the Tom Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance" music video, Petty is seen carrying Kim Basinger through a cave before placing her in the water.
In ‘’The Big Lebowski’’, it was mentioned by Walter Sobchak John Goodman during the eulogy of Donald Theodore Kerabatsos Steve Buscemi as one of the many places Donny surfed.
Other movies filmed here include: