Topanga Beach is a state beach at 18700 Pacific Coast Highway, in California, United States, situated at the mouth of Topanga Canyon, approximately midway between Santa Monica and Malibu; [1] it is known for its closeness by automobile to the San Fernando Valley, its windsurfing and SCUBA diving, and its reputation for welcoming a bohemian lifestyle. It consistently ranks among the beaches with the cleanest water conditions in Los Angeles County. [2]
The beach's name is taken from the nearby unincorporated town of Topanga whose name comes from the Tongva word Topaa'nga whose meaning has been lost. [3]
In the early 1900s, the area was a Japanese fishing village. [4] During the 1960s and 1970s, the area was an artist surf enclave. [5]
Topanga Beach is bordered to its east by Will Rogers State Beach and to its west by Las Tunas Beach.
With its proximity to the film and television industry in Los Angeles, Topanga Beach has been used as a filming location for movies such as:
Malibu is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about 30 miles (48 km) west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching 21 miles along the Pacific Ocean coast, and for its longtime status as the home of numerous affluent Hollywood celebrities and executives. Although a high proportion of its residents are entertainment industry figures with multi-million dollar mansions, Malibu also features several middle- and upper-middle-class neighborhoods. The Pacific Coast Highway traverses the city, following along the South Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 10,654. The ongoing 2025 Palisades Fire devastated Malibu, with almost all of the beachfront homes near its center destroyed.
Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties is named Mulholland Highway. The road is featured in a significant number of films, songs, and novels. David Lynch, who wrote and directed a film named after Mulholland Drive, has said that one can feel "the history of Hollywood" on it. Jack Nicholson has lived on Mulholland Drive for many years, and still did so as of 2009.
Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside region of the city of Los Angeles, California, situated about 20 miles (32 km) west of downtown Los Angeles. Starting on January 7, 2025, the majority of Pacific Palisades was severely affected and destroyed by the Palisades Fire, a part of the wider, and ongoing, Southern California wildfires.
Tarzana is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Tarzana is on the site of a former ranch owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is named after Burroughs' fictional jungle hero, Tarzan.
Topanga is an unincorporated community in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow southern portion of Topanga at the coast is between the city of Malibu and the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Topanga as a census-designated place (CDP). As of the 2020 census the population of the Topanga CDP was 8,560. The ZIP code is 90290 and the area code is primarily 310, with 818 only at the north end of the canyon. It is in the 3rd County Supervisorial district.
Mulholland Highway is a scenic road in Los Angeles County, California, that runs approximately 50 miles through the western Santa Monica Mountains from near US Route 101 in Calabasas to Highway 1 near Malibu at Leo Carrillo State Park and the Pacific Ocean coast – at the border of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.
Topanga State Park is a California state park located in the Santa Monica Mountains, within Los Angeles County, California. It is part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is a United States national recreation area containing many individual parks and open space preserves, located primarily in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. The SMMNRA is in the greater Los Angeles region, with two thirds of the parklands in northwest Los Angeles County, and the remaining third, including a Simi Hills extension, in southeastern Ventura County.
State Route 27, commonly known by its street name Topanga Canyon Boulevard, is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from the Pacific Coast Highway at Topanga State Beach near Pacific Palisades, through the Topanga Canyon in Topanga, and continuing through Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, West Hills, and Chatsworth to the Ronald Reagan Freeway.
The Western Los Angeles County Council (WLACC) (#051) is one of five Boy Scouts of America councils in Los Angeles County, California. Headquartered in Van Nuys, the council services over 30,000 youth spanning six districts including the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, Antelope Valley, Malibu, and much of West Los Angeles.
The Pacific Palisades Highlands is a neighborhood located in Pacific Palisades, a community in the Westside of Los Angeles, California. The Palisades Highlands is situated in the northern part of the Palisades bordering Topanga State Park and the Upper Santa Ynez Canyon. The Highlands has its own shopping center and access to several Topanga State Park trailheads.
Tujunga Wash is a 13-mile-long (20.9 km) stream in Los Angeles County, California. It is a tributary of the Los Angeles River, providing about a fifth of its flow, and drains about 225 square miles (580 km2). It is called a wash because it is usually dry, especially the lower reaches, only carrying significant flows during and after storms, which usually only occur between November and April. The name of the wash derives from a Tongva village name.
Rustic Canyon is a residential neighborhood and canyon in eastern Pacific Palisades, on the west side of Los Angeles, California. It is along Rustic Creek, in the Santa Monica Mountains.
California's 30th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. The district was represented by Democrat Adam Schiff until December 2024 when he was elected to the senate. Democrat Laura Friedman was elected to succeed him, and took office in January 2025.
Eaton Canyon is a major canyon beginning at the Eaton Saddle near Mount Markham and San Gabriel Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains in the Angeles National Forest, United States. Its drainage flows into the Rio Hondo river and then into the Los Angeles River. It is named after Judge Benjamin S. Eaton, who lived in the Fair Oaks Ranch House in 1865 not far from Eaton Creek.
Rancho Boca de Santa Mónica was a 6,656-acre (26.94 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California given by governor Juan Alvarado in 1839 to Ysidro Reyes and Francisco Marquez.
The Backbone Trail is a long-distance trail extending 67.79 miles (109.10 km) across the Santa Monica Mountains in the U.S. state of California. Its western terminus is Point Mugu State Park, and its eastern terminus is Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades. The trail is open to hikers throughout its length. Dogs, mountain bicyclists and horseback riders are only allowed on portions of the trail as posted.
Zuma Beach is a county beach at 30000 Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Malibu, California. One of the largest and most popular beaches in Los Angeles County, California, it is known for its long, wide sands and excellent surf. It consistently ranks among the healthiest beaches for clean water conditions in Los Angeles County.
Arroyo Calabasas is a 7.0-mile-long (11.3 km) tributary of the Los Angeles River, in the southwestern San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County in California.
Las Tunas County Beach and Las Tunas State Beach are public beaches operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors in Malibu, California, United States. Circa 1986, the beach was described as "little more than a dirt parking lot, a lifeguard station and a steep drop to the Pacific." The beach is named for its proximity to Tuna Canyon Road; las tunas are the fruit of the opuntia cactus.