Sea Summit At Marblehead Trail

Now that more of the trail is opened up, it’s worth it to go check it out for a change of scenery, but be forewarned: It’s supposedly wheelchair accessible and has a bike trial. However, either they were poorly planned or they aren’t finished yet because you still hit areas where you are suddenly faced with stairs, which makes for a hell of a time (or workout) if you’re pushing a baby in a stroller. Some of those stairs are a killer of a workout even if you’re on your own! If you want you can even pop out at the El Camino Real exit and walk right over to the beach trail for more mileage.
Check out Canyon View Park off Ave Costa Azul/​Ave Vista Hermosa, more parking has opened up there, and it’s a good spot for a pitstop.

Gorgeous view! Several stairs to climb & get your heart rate up. I parked in the new housing development area, because I didn’t see any «marked» parking lot for the trails. I’m sure once the construction in the immediate area is complete, that won’t be an issue.
Bring water & maybe wear a hat, as there isn’t any shade unless you walk down particular sets of stairs.
Did I mention the view?

For an interesting trail unlike the ones I’ve seen in LA, try Sea Summit at Marblehead Trail.
There is no designated parking lot at this point, so I suggest going to the other side of the canyon and park in the residential area near the mormon church and start your walk there.
Cross streets: Camino San Clemente and Via Socorro. Right across the mormon church is Via Bellas Artes and Via Artemesia.
You’ll see a huge housing development going on, and mostly the roads/​sidewalks are built. Keep following the road and then you will see the trail head:
Once past this point, the dirt paths await you. If you head towards the bluffs and look down, you can see the beachfront homes and El Camino Real
and the Pacific Ocean below. Cars will be the size of a small bug. You’re going to be pretty high up for this view.
Sea Summit has some wheelchair accessible paths but to get close to see the ocean, you’ll need to take some stairs.
We saw some parents lifting a stroller over their shoulders up and down the stairs like slaves lifting royalty on a throne (but just the throne — no babies were inside as far as we could tell).
There were, some preserved wetlands, some man-​made wetlands, and some habitat area (seemed to be in the works or nonexistent) but I didn’t notice until I looked at the map. There was a boat ramp for some reason, but access to the bottom was restricted.
The cons about this trail:
It doesn’t seem bike friendly even though the map shows bike paths. Well it’s all dirt and not worth taking the bike because if you want to enjoy more of Sea Summit, you will need to brave the stairs if you want to see the ocean and carrying your bike is no fun.
There are no big trees to provide shade. I don’t recall any benches or shade at all.
Also, the paths are not quite circular or connects with one another so you’ll need to plan you path carefully… most likely backtrack unless you can get dropped off at one point and picked up at another so that you can make the most out of Sea Summit. For example, if you want to start near the housing development and end up near Avenida Pico or even El Camino Real, not having to walk back the same way you came back to your car will be tricky as there are several canyons separating the trail paths.
Be sure to park legally and read signs. We saw from across the canyon a police SUV chasing a passenger car away from parking his or her vehicle in some dirt area
And, as always, bring enough water because there are no vendors. Hats and sun protection because there is no shade.
Overall, pretty cool place to spend an hour or two.