For 100 years, the National Park Service has preserved America’s special places “for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” Celebrate its second century with the Find Your Park GeoTour that launched April 2016 and explore these geocaches placed for you by National Park Service Rangers and their partners.
geocaching.com/play/geotours/findyourpark
This cache is part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area ParkCaching Program. This site contains one of six (6) collector cards as part of the ParkCache series in the mountains. Please only take one card per person.
note: There is no log. Credit given on honor system.
This cache is on accessible land. Please do not travel off trail for your safety and preservation of resources.
Information regarding Circle X Ranch
• The park is best visited from sunrise to sunset and open daily.
• All plant material, rocks, animals, and historical features are protected by law and may not be collected or disturbed.
• Safety information:
- Poison Oak can be found in this area. It is identified by three leaves ranging in color from green to crimson. The plant is deciduous, so it does lose its leaves in the winter.
- Watch out for mountains lions, rattlesnakes and ticks.
• Circle X Ranch Contact Station
This is the only location for water and restrooms at Circle X Ranch.
Open weekends – hours may vary
Phone number: 310-457-6408
• Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Visitor Center Information:
Open daily from 9 AM – 5PM.
Address: 26876 Mulholland Highway, Calabasas, CA 91302
Phone number: 805-370-2301
In emergency: dial 911
Once known as the “Gate House” at Circle X Ranch, the now ranger station has been used as a contact point for well over 50 years. The current building that is there is believed to have been erected after the 1955 fire around the late 50’s to early 60’s.
As the century continued, Circle X Ranch was home to a Boy Scout camp for many decades. An interview with a former Boy Scout, Bill Satterlee who worked as a life guard and camp hand, said that the contact station was where each Boy Scout troop would check in and get a camp site assigned to them for the weekend.
The scouts could also buy Boy Scout scarves and scarf rings and a CX patch. The smaller room was used as an office for Grif Jones the camp manager. A small room was added to the back of the building by 1964 for camp staff sleeping quarters.
After acquiring the property from the Circle X Foundation in 1979, The Boy Scouts of America sold the land to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to fund a swimming facility in 1987.
The National Park Service then purchased the property from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in 1989. In 1990 the National Park Service made the building into a contact station and ranger offices. At one point, the building was even turned into employee housing!
Seeing the location’s value for visitors, this building is now used by the National Park Service as a ranger contact station. The building acts as a remote visitor center and is a great place to get trail and hiking information before you climb to the top of Sandstone Peak.