The Nature Trust property is located at 33905 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, across from the Pacific Ocean. It was developed in 1973 as the Malibu Riding and Tennis Club and Guest Ranch.

In conjunction with the Nature Trust's stewardship of the Riding and Tennis Club and its unique location in the Santa Monica Mountains (largely surrounded by County and State Parks abutting the Pacific Coast Highway and ocean), it offers unique outdoor experiences and outdoor-related programs. The pristine public beaches regularly receive an "A" in water quality from Heal the Bay.

The still largely natural Nicholas Canyon watershed comprises approximately 875 acres extending from its headwaters at Nicholas Flat Natural Area within Leo Carrillo State Park to its confluence at the Pacific Ocean within Nicholas Canyon County Beach.

Originally 280-acres, the Malibu Riding and Tennis Club property, comprising the lower eastern half of the watershed and threatened by massive development, was acquired first by the Mountains Restoration Trust in 1997 and subsequently transferred to the Nature Trust of the Santa Monica Mountains in 2000.