In 2016, the National Park Service completed land acquisitions from former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and fitness pioneer Betty Weider to enable right-of-way for the trail.

Other trails and several parks were closed as 88% of the federal parkland within the Santa Monica Mountains burned in the fast-moving fire.

[7] As the Backbone Trail passes over the peaks and through the canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains, it climbs and falls in elevation nearly constantly.

Scenic views of Ventura County are seen from the six-mile loop trail, starting at the trailhead off Yerba Buena road.

The Mishe Mokwa Trail in Circle X Ranch follows Carlisle Canyon along Boney Mountain past weathered red volcanic formations.

The following national, state, and privately administered wilderness areas are traversed by the Backbone Trail: Chumash villages once stood throughout the Santa Monica Mountains.

[10] For the majority of its length, the Backbone Trail passes through terrain occupied by the ground-hugging bushes and shrubs that characterize the coastal sage scrub and chaparral ecosystems.

Southern Pacific rattlesnakes can be numerous in early spring, particularly along Temescal Ridge in the eastern section of the trail.