An Insider Guide to Topanga
The artsy mountain enclave of Topanga has long attracted LA's lo-fi boho crowd. We take a day out and explore its hikes, hippie heritage and quirky real estate with Topanga resident and founder of tree-based skincare range Cult of Treehouse Amelia Rynkowska.
Explore
Make like an Angeleno and rise with the early birds to take on some of Topanga State Park’s best hikes – a delta of exposed, craggy pathways best enjoyed when the sun is still low. Starting at Trippets Ranch, get those glutes going with the steep ascent to Eagle Rock, the park’s prominent sandstone pinnacle offering spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. Or for a short but sweet outing, amble up to Tuna Canyon for an epic outlook towards LA, being sure to add a rock talisman to the plateau’s ever-growing stone labyrinth.
Eat
You must have worked up quite the appetite, and Topanga Living Cafe is the best pitstop for killer coffee, gourmet salads and sarnies for that all-important post-hike pick-me-up. Or for something more substantial, with the added bonus of sunny deck and sea views, try Reel Inn, a no-frills seafood-centric diner, plating up a mean fish taco and the city’s best fish n’ chips.
Billed as ‘LA’s most romantic restaurant’, the Inn of the Seventh Ray makes for a date-night winner dinner with its candlelit woodland setting and Rivendell creek outlook, in the heart of Topanga. Locally sourced, seasonal, organic ingredients given the rustic Californian treatment are the order of the day.
Shop
There’s no missing Hidden Treasures, as you cruise along Topanga Canyon Boulevard. This eccentric vintage clothing and antique store is worth a visit for its trippy setting alone, a technicolour, glitter-spangled chalet complete with gypsy wagon, totem pole and ship’s wheel. Venture inside to browse Burning Man-ready attire, from 1920s flapper numbers to Afghan coats to feather boas, and other random rummage-worthy paraphernalia.
Entertain
Finish your Topanga adventure with an evening of playhouse antics at the Theatricum Botanicum, an open-air forest-swaddled amphitheatre putting on seasonal Shakespeare, workshops, and live music events. Encore!
Topanga Living Cafe / 1704 N Topanga Canyon Blvd / Topanga / +1 310 455 9888 / 8am-6pm daily, until 9pm Sat / topangalivingcafe.com
Reel Inn / 18661 Pacific Coast Hwy / Malibu / +1 310 456 8221 / 11am-9pm daily / reelinnmalibu.com
Inn of the Seventh Ray / 128 Old Topanga Canyon Rd / Topanga / +1 310 455 1311 / b’fast, lunch & dinner daily / innoftheseventhray.com
Hidden Treasures / 154 S Topanga Canyon Blvd / Topanga / +1 310 455 2998 / 10am-6pm daily / hiddentreasurestopanga.com
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum / 1419 N Topanga Canyon Blvd / Topanga / +1 310 455 2322 / theatricum.com