44% of Topanga’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 44% of Topanga’s land is conserved, about 5,384 acres. 52 miles of mapped trail cross Topanga, 2.7 per square mile of land.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #6 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
44%
5,384 acres · of 19.1 sq mi of land
Trails
52 mi
2.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,875 ac
549 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
0.1 mi lanes
Highest peak
259 ft
Parker Mesa
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Topanga?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Topanga is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #6 of 847 in California. All four inputs put Topanga near the top nationally; conserved land ranks highest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Topanga’s overall grade.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
44% of Topanga’s land. Who manages Topanga’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks2,557 ac
Regional agency1,709 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits661 ac
National Park Service248 ac
County141 ac
State conservation109 ac
Town or city42 ac
State Park · 2,546 acLocal Park · 849 acLocal Conservation Area · 584 acPrivate Conservation · 496 acLocal Other or Unknown · 416 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 49 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 51 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)
Managed by
Acres
Public access
Topanga State Park
State Park
State parks
2,546
Open
Summit Valley Edmund D. Edelman Park
Local Park
Regional agency
438
Open
Cold Creek Valley Preserve
Local Conservation Area
Regional agency
427
Open
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
National Recreation Area
National Park Service
274
Open
Cold Creek Canyon Preserve
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits
256
Restricted
Red Rock Canyon Park
Local Park
Regional agency
228
Open
Cold Creek Connector Preserve
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits
181
Open
Tuna Canyon Park
Local Park
Regional agency
164
Open
Unnamed site - Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
Local Other or Unknown
Regional agency
136
Open
Fritz & Alma Meier Natural Use Area
Local Conservation Area
Regional agency
122
Open
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
14 places to go in Topanga
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Topanga
Topanga County BeachIn Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
8Equestrian
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Topanga: April to July
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Daylight (h)
10.1
10.9
11.9
13.0
13.9
14.4
14.2
13.4
12.3
11.3
10.3
9.9
High (°F)
66
65
68
70
73
78
84
87
84
78
72
65
Rain (in)
5.1
5.2
3.1
1.0
0.3
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.8
1.1
3.6
August is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.2 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Topanga →
Next door
Topanga and its neighbors
Topanga has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Topanga
Where can I hike in Topanga?
The longest trail networks: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, 14 miles; Topanga State Park, 13.2 miles; Summit Valley Edmund D. Edelman Park, 8.6 miles; MRCA Open Space, 6.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Topanga is conserved land?
44% of its land, against a typical 4% for a California town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Topanga’s trails?
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and Topanga State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Topanga?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 1.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Topanga?
70,177 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Topanga or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,878 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Topanga have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #6 of 847 in California. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Topanga neighbors.
Photo: Rneches · CC BY 2.5