Hike to the two Halves of Topanga's Summit Valley park and stay for optional dinner afterward at Froggy's
THE LILAC AND OTHER WILDFLOWERS ARE IN BLOOM! WE ARE COMING AFTER, HOPEFULLY, TWO RAIN-DAYS THIS WEEK. I RECENTLY FOUND A SMALL SERIES OF WATERFALLS ALONG THE NEW TRAIL. THERE'S ALSO A ROPE SWING AND COOL ROCKS TO CLIMB.
This is a new loop trail. I've hiked each side of this park and always wondered why you can't get from one side to the other. Now you can. The connector trail on the ridgeline has been overgrown and mostly impassable for a decade, but some recent work by trail angels has opened this cool route up. We follow two different ridgelines with great views of the wild north side of Topanga and the valley to the north.
TIME/DISTANCE: about 4 to 5 hours, depending on how much we climb the rocks and check out the views of the San Fernando Valley.
ELEVATION GAIN: We go up and down several times with about 300 TO 400 feet max each time.
Purchased by the State of California for $20 million in 1994, this 662 acres at the top of Topanga was once threatened with bulldozing into a country club in the last major development threat to the canyon. When L.A. County's politicians were about to decide the fate of the project, the owners, heirs of a daughter of Walt Disney, saw the light and sold it to the public. The property includes a major stretch of the crest of the Santa Monica mountains and the Summit to Summit motorway. In the south side are rocks and cliffs, and a trail that may eventually connect to Topanga State park.
