Point Dume Natural Preserve, or simply “Point Dume”, is a California State Park that provides roughly a one-way, 2-mile trail leading to an overlook to Malibu’s clean, white sandy beaches and picturesque blue waters. Although there are additional trail accesses to the secluded beach south of Point Dume and a popular beach to the north of it, Westward Beach is where visitors commonly congregate before taking the hike to Point Dume. FYI – Westward Beach is between Zuma Beach and Point Dume where visitors flock to because it provides an easily accessible parking lot to/from the Natural Preserve.

That is, of course, when you are talking about the beginning of the trail.

It was Father’s Day when my husband and I decided to take our family to Point Dume for an early morning hike. It was also my first hike after giving birth to our now 6-1/2 month old baby, so it was slow going for us. This was good, though, because our first born was able to remind us to appreciate the often overlooked wonders of nature (like this lizard).

Whew! We finally made it to Point Dume’s Overlook to enjoy the panoramic views of Zuma Beach toward Point Mugu, and Santa Monica Mountains, where on a clear day, the highest peaks in the inland range are visible. We can even see our car!

A passerby was kind enough to take a family picture of this already exhausted family.

We decided to go back down the car because our oldest wanted to play in the water with his sister. Smiles suddenly appeared. Apparently I have years to look forward to raising these cute beach babies. Happy Father’s Day!

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Point Dume Westward Trail
27807 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90265
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=623

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