The Malibu canyons are the closest thing Los Angeles has to a purpose-built motorcycle day. A tight grid of roads climbs from Pacific Coast Highway over the Santa Monica Mountains and drops back down again, so you can string together three or four canyons, a run along the coast and a stop at the Rock Store without ever riding the same pavement twice. Mulholland Highway is the spine of it, running roughly 50 miles (80 km) through the western Santa Monica Mountains from near US 101 in Calabasas out to SR 1 near Leo Carrillo State Park. Nothing here is remote, and that is both the appeal and the problem.
How the grid works
Picture two parallel lines and a ladder between them. Pacific Coast Highway runs along the bottom at sea level. Mulholland Highway runs along the ridge above it. The canyon roads are the rungs: Topanga Canyon Boulevard (State Route 27) at the eastern end, then Malibu Canyon Road and Las Virgenes, then Latigo Canyon Road, then Kanan Dume Road, and finally Decker Canyon Road (State Route 23) at the western end near Trancas. Those were the original major intersections when Mulholland was laid out, and they still define how a day here gets planned.
Because it is a grid, you build your own route. Up one canyon, west along Mulholland, down the next, east along PCH, repeat. That flexibility is why the area survives being permanently busy. If Latigo has a group of cyclists on it, take Kanan. If PCH is stacked up at Malibu Pier, stay on the ridge.
Ride at a glance
| Spine road | Mulholland Highway, about 50 miles (80 km) Calabasas to SR 1 at Leo Carrillo |
| Eastern rung | Topanga Canyon Boulevard, State Route 27, PCH to Woodland Hills |
| Western rung | Decker Canyon Road, State Route 23, PCH near Trancas to Westlake |
| Scenic designation | Mulholland between PCH and Kanan Dume, and through Malibu Creek State Park |
| Park access | Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, free to enter |
| Parking lots | Most open 8:00 AM to sunset |
| Cell coverage | Unreliable in the canyons per the National Park Service |
Open a sample canyon loop in Google Maps — up Latigo, west along Mulholland, back down Kanan Dume, so you can send it to your navigation before you leave.
Latigo Canyon Road
Latigo is the one riders name first, and for good reason. It climbs from PCH in a long series of switchbacks and linked corners with the ocean behind you, and the surface is generally better than the older canyon roads on either side. The corners are tight and mostly blind, which means the road rewards a smooth, low-speed rhythm far more than it rewards speed. Coming down it in the other direction is a different road entirely, steeper in feel and much less forgiving of a late brake.
The trade-off with Latigo is popularity. On a Saturday it carries motorcycles, sports cars, road cyclists and photographers all at once, and it is narrow enough that any one of those can spoil a corner for the rest.
Mulholland Highway and the Rock Store
Mulholland was formally opened in 1928 and named after William Mulholland, the engineer behind the Los Angeles aqueduct, with the stated aim of taking Angelenos from the city to the ocean. It still does exactly that, though slowly. Away from the crossroads it turns into open, flowing ridge riding with almost no development in view, which is remarkable for a road twenty-something miles from downtown.
The Rock Store, in Cornell on Mulholland Highway, is the social center of the whole area. It sits on the site of a former hot springs resort, opened in 1961 as a grocery store, and became a motorcycle pit stop later. On a weekend morning the lot in front of it is a fair sample of everything that gets ridden in Southern California. It is worth stopping even if you do not want coffee, mostly because the group of riders standing around outside is the most current source you will find on which canyon has fresh gravel on it.
Two segments of Mulholland carry California Scenic Highway designation: from PCH to Kanan Road and Kanan Dume Road, and the stretch through Malibu Creek State Park between Cornell Road and Las Virgenes Road. Those are also, not coincidentally, the two best-looking parts of the ride.
Decker Canyon, the one to treat with respect
State Route 23 starts as Decker Canyon Road where it meets PCH near Trancas, and it is the road in this area with the worst reputation. The published route description for SR 23 calls it notoriously dangerous, steep and increasingly tight as it climbs, with extreme caution advised especially near the PCH end. The rusted chassis of cars that have gone over the edge are still visible from the road in places. That is not folklore, it is in the public record of the route.
None of which makes it unrideable. It makes it a road to ride at seven tenths, in daylight, with clean sightlines and no interest in the mirror. Riders who want a hard road without the exposure generally take Latigo or Piuma instead and leave Decker for a calm mid-week run.
Topanga, the commuter canyon
Topanga Canyon Boulevard, State Route 27, runs from PCH at Topanga State Beach through Topanga Canyon and into the San Fernando Valley. It is one of the very few through routes across the Santa Monica Mountains, so it carries genuine commuter traffic between the western Valley and Santa Monica. That changes what it is worth to you. Early on a weekend it is a fine, wide-radius canyon run. At 8 AM on a Tuesday it is a queue with corners.
The practical details
Coast road status. PCH is the return leg for most canyon days, and it is also the road most often affected by fire, slide and construction work along the Los Angeles coast. The Caltrans conditions page for State Route 1 lists restrictions statewide and is the fastest way to know whether your loop still closes.
Parking and fees. Access to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is free, and most parking lots run from 8:00 AM to sunset. The area is jointly managed by the National Park Service, California State Parks and local agencies, so rules change from one lot to the next. The park's basic information page is the place to check before you plan a stop somewhere specific.
Weather. Summers here are hot and dry, winters cool and wet, and the marine layer regularly sits on the coast into late morning while the ridge above is in sun. A canyon road with damp shaded sections and dry sunlit ones in the same mile is the normal spring condition, not an unusual one. The park's alerts and conditions page carries current forecasts for the mountains specifically.
Fire and closures. The Santa Monica Mountains burn, and when they do, canyon roads close with very little notice and stay closed. Any plan that depends on one specific canyon being open should have a second canyon in reserve.
Wildlife. Mountain lions, deer and coyotes all use these canyons, and vehicle strikes are documented here. Dawn and dusk are the risk windows.
Gear notes for a canyon day
Canyon riding puts a specific load on your setup. You are doing hundreds of direction changes in a morning at moderate speeds, then a long flat coast run, then repeating it. Tires never reach the temperature they would on a fast sweeping road, and starting pressures matter more than usual for that reason. Our tire pressure guide covers how to set them for this kind of stop-start mountain work rather than for highway miles.
The other issue is that the canyons are where phone navigation falls over. Coverage is unreliable by the park's own description, and a phone clamped to the bars on a road this bumpy takes a beating, which is the argument laid out in our comparison of a dedicated screen against a phone mount. Download the area offline before you leave, or run a JADO S1 riding system that keeps maps and a recording camera on one weatherproof display. Given how much traffic shares these roads, front and rear footage is worth having; our dash cam guide covers what to look for. If you want to build a longer Southern California weekend around this, start with our overview of Los Angeles day rides.
FAQ
What is the best Malibu canyon road for motorcycles?
Latigo Canyon Road is the one most riders rate highest, for its switchbacks, its surface and its ocean views. Mulholland Highway is the better road for covering distance, and Piuma or Stunt suit riders who want a technical climb with less traffic than Latigo carries on a weekend.
How long is a Malibu canyon loop?
It is entirely up to you, because the canyons form a grid rather than a single route. A short loop uses one canyon up, a stretch of Mulholland and one canyon down. A full day links four or five canyons with a PCH return, and Mulholland alone runs about 50 miles end to end.
Is Decker Canyon Road dangerous?
It has a documented record as one of the more dangerous roads in the range, steep and tight with limited run-off, and caution is specifically advised near the PCH end. It is rideable at a sensible pace in good light, but it is not the road to learn on or to ride quickly.
When should I ride the Malibu canyons?
Early morning on a weekday is the clear answer if you can manage it. Weekends bring heavy motorcycle, car and bicycle traffic on the same narrow roads. The marine layer often clears the ridge before it clears the coast, so starting on Mulholland and finishing on PCH tends to work better than the reverse.
Do I need to pay to ride through the Santa Monica Mountains?
No. Access to the national recreation area is free, and there is no charge for riding the roads. Some individual parking lots run by other agencies charge, and most lots close at sunset.
