Located 13 km (8 miles) north of the town of Malibu, the reserve is administered by the University of California, Los Angeles.

The first Europeans to settle in the Cold Creek watershed were the Stunt family, who arrived in the area from England in the late 1800s.

The reserve includes riparian corridor lined with willow, coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) and California bay (Umbellularia californica).

Thousands of schoolchildren from largely urban Los Angeles neighborhoods visit the reserve on field trips each year.

Since 1977, the Cold Creek Docents have led these lessons on ecology and the human history of the Santa Monica Mountains.