Tree lined Inspiration Point hiking trail in Will Rogers State Historic Park.

© Try Media/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Will Rogers State Historic Park

Malibu & Pacific Palisades


This park sprawls across ranch land once owned by Will Rogers (1875–1935), an Oklahoma-born cowboy turned humorist, radio-show host and movie star (in the early 1930s he was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood). In the late '20s, he traded his Beverly Hills manse for a 31-room ranch house and lived here until his tragic 1935 death in a plane crash.

Free guided tours allow you to nose around the Western art and Native American rugs and baskets, and marvel at the porch swing right in the living room.

The park’s chaparral-cloaked hills, where Rogers used to ride his horses, are laced with trails and offer an easy escape from the LA hubbub. The best time for a ramble is late in the day when the setting sun delivers golden views of the mountains, city and ocean from Inspiration Point. They’re yours after an easy-to-moderate 1.5-mile trek. Trails continue along the Backbone Trail into Topanga State Park.

A big polo fan, Will Rogers built his own field to battle such famous buddies as Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper and Walt Disney. The Will Rogers Polo Club still plays in the park on what is the city’s only remaining polo field.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Malibu & Pacific Palisades attractions

1. Will Rogers Ranch House

The 31-room home where cowboy-turned-entertainer and humanitarian Will Rogers lived from 1928 until his untimely death in 1935 opens for tours. It's in…

2. Inspiration Point

0.36 MILES

One of the highlights of Will Rogers State Park, with views across the city and ocean.

3. Eames House & Studio

1.73 MILES

In Santa Monica Canyon, the striking Eames House and Studio, built in 1949 by design deities Charles and Ray Eames, resembles a Mondrian painting in 3-D…

4. Gehry House

2.14 MILES

In his creative life before the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Frank Gehry was primarily known as that crazy guy who sculpted houses from chain-link fencing,…

5. Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine

2.44 MILES

No matter your religious persuasion, any negative vibes seem to disappear while strolling through these uplifting meditation gardens. Paths meander around…

6. Villa Aurora

2.56 MILES

Built in 1928 in the hills above Sunset Blvd, this was the home of Jewish-German novelist and intellectual Lion Feuchtwanger (1888–1958) and his wife…

7. Palisades Park

2.58 MILES

Perhaps it’s appropriate that Route 66, America’s most romanticized byway, formerly ended at this gorgeous cliffside park perched dramatically on the edge…

8. Getty Center

2.68 MILES

In its billion-dollar, in-the-clouds perch, high above the city grit and grime, the Getty Center presents triple delights: a stellar art collection …