Victory Trail

Hello, my name is Riley Wright and as a member of the women’s cross country and track programs at Pepperdine, I want to provide a guide to running at Victory Trail! There are a wide variety of routes, ranging in length and difficulty, making it a great spot for runners of varying skill-levels. However, these hilly routes are not for the faint of heart or stomach (the first few minutes or so on the trail tend to smell of sulfur). It is a fun challenge for runners looking to mix it up, try new trails, and get some hill work in! 

Location and Parking

Victory Trail is located at the end of Las Virgenes Rd in Calabasas, California. Parking is free and there is plenty of space to park along either side of the road near the trailhead.

Starting Point

The starting location for these routes is just at the end of Las Virgenes Rd! There is an open gate that one can run through at the very start and then all the running trails are to the left! 

Left Trail

This trail is great for those looking for a shorter run (1-5 miles is best on this route) without too many hills. To start this route, one will run through the gate and make an immediate left, as described above. This is where one will encounter the curious, sulfuric smells of Victory Trail, but they fade away within the first ¼ mile of the run! To do this route, one will make a left at .33 miles, continuing on the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Trail. This path is pretty straightforward and easy to follow. One should stay on the main trail, but some parts that might be confusing are the right turn at .9 miles and the left turn at 1.29 miles. This trail is decent, but not very smooth. It makes for a fun trail run as long as one is attentive to their foot placement. I recommend going no more than 5 miles in total on this route because there is a large hill beginning at 2.5 miles out. 

Right Trail

This trail is better for those who are looking to face some large hills and cover more mileage. It is not an easy route but it will make you feel accomplished! The start of this route begins the same way as the one described above, but instead of taking a left at .33 miles, one should take a right onto E Las Virgenes Canyon Trail (these trails will not be labelled). At 1 mile, there will be another split in the trail, but one should stick to the main path, veering right. One should stay on this trail, avoiding any smaller off-shooting trails until 2.77 miles, where another fork is located. There are two routes from this point: the left route which is .25 miles long and leads to a trailhead with porta potties, and the right route which will eventually make a loop back to the starting point. If continuing on the right route to complete the loop rather than doing an out-and-back, the next mile will be very uphill. However, the views for this mile are scenic, with beautiful houses and greenery to the left of the trail. At 3.71 miles one should continue left, at 4.03 miles one should make a right, and at 4.6 miles one should choose the middle path of three. At 5.38 miles one should make a left and by 5.5 miles, one will have merged back with the main trail they started on, making a left to head back toward the starting point. This loop is 6.22 miles, but if one wishes to cover even more mileage, they should look at the description under Right Trail Variation! This route sounds confusing, but the key to not getting lost is staying on the trail that looks the largest and avoiding smaller trails with sharp turns. If one does get lost, they should turn around and make their way back to the starting point, staying on the route from which they came.

Right Trail Variation

In order to achieve more mileage, one can do a variation of the Right Trail, resulting in 9.28 miles. To do this variation, one should follow the directions from the description under Right Trail, but instead of going on the middle path at 4.6 miles, one should make a sharp turn choosing the right-most path. The trail breaks up into 3 different paths once again at 4.94 miles, and one should stay on the middle path. At 5.5 miles, this route merges back with the trail that one was already running on, and they should follow the trail back the way they came all the way to the starting point. This trail is recommended if one is good with directions and looking to run 9+ miles. 

By: Riley Wright

Pepperdine Cross Country and Track