king gillette ranch

Free parking near informative visitor center and lovely mansion grounds...can take and hour or two or take a more ambitious hike and climb to the lookout and see a 360 majestic view from the SF valley to Malibu...very friendly rangers are happy to share information when they are free...

Stopped by on a Monday. First at the Visitor Center where I grabbed a map. There's free 2 hour parking there. To park for longer it's $7 in a lot just around the corner. I did the hike up to Inspiration Lookout and made it there and back in less than 2 hours. The hike isn't too strenuous but it is on an incline. The view is amazing. The mountains surround you on all sides. Awesome even on an overcast day.

We went here for first time last weekend to the Bird Fest show and were very impressed with the visitors center. At the visitors center they have a small museum of flora and fauna of the area and rooms for presentations and small group meetings. There are also several trails and walks around the facility for bird watching, walking and jogging. There is plenty of parking available and very nice restroom facilities.While at Bird Fest we attended several presentations and also went on a ranger led bird walk. We didn't know this visitor center existed. Can't wait to go back and utilize this fine facility.

The best place for a picnic is on the north side of the Visitor Center/gift shop under the Oaks. Everywhere else was hot and humid, a breeze and the filtered shade make an inviting destination. Restrooms and water are close.

This is the headquarters for the Santa Monica mountains staffed by Federal rangers, state rangers and county rangers as all 3 groups control areas in the Santa Monica mountains. There is very nice small museum and you can get information and maps for hiking and camping. There are nice flat walks around the ranch. You can walk to the Biggest Loser gym. Keep walking and you will never have to walk into this gym.

The Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center is located on the same site. It is a valuable resource for information on the wide variety of things to do in the area. The exhibits are informative and it's a great place to go with kids.

My wife found a write-up on the King Gillette Ranch in Sunset Magazine, so we decided to try it. It is still being developed, but is a great place for a picnic, a short hike to inspiration point, or a longer hike up the ridge trail.I remember this ranch from my childhood - we'd drive by on our way to the beach!

King Gillette Ranch was originally built in the late 1920’s for King Camp Gillette who is widely credited with the invention of the safety razor but in reality only improved upon earlier versions and developed a low cost, disposable version. We initially came here to visit the Santa Monica Mountains NRA Interagency Visitor Center which offers an introductory movie, a number of good exhibits and a staff to assist in planning your visit to this large Recreational Area. This is where we learned of the Ranger guided tour of the nearby Paramount Ranch, an old Western movie set, which turned out to be the highlight of our visit to the Santa Monica Mountains. However, there is much more here than the Visitor Center, there is a picnic area, garden with local flora and interpretive signs, the beautiful “ranch” and a few shorter hiking trails through the hills behind the mansion which serves as the set for The Biggest Loser reality show. During our visit they were setting up to film the next season so we could only view the mansion from the edges of the grounds. We also hiked the 1 mile loop trail in hills behind the mansion which was a pleasant walk through the Mediterranean environment of the Santa Monica Mountains and provided overlooks of the ranch grounds, The Biggest Loser set and the nearby Malibu Creek State Park and one can almost see the choppers at the beginning MASH, which was filmed here, coming over the hills. There is free two hour parking available near the Visitor Center and for longer parking, there is paid parking close to the mansion but the cost seemed rather steep; fortunately, two hours was just about right for a visit to the Visitor Center, a walk through the garden, the grounds and the loop trail. The ranch facilities are definitely worth a visit, especially if new to the Santa Monica Mountains.

We decided to check out King Gillette Ranch because the Biggest Loser is filmed there. Since it was a weekend they were not filming and we were able to walk the grounds and take plenty of pictures. The welcome center is beat to check out as well.

We visited the park last month when they were having a Mexican art show. We had never been there before and really enjoyed it. The visitor's center is quite nice, there is ample parking, and the gardens are beautiful. I highly recommend it for a relaxing afternoon.