# Climbing the Santa Monica Mountains



## Speedy (Oct 30, 2005)

I do most of my regular climbing in PV, but I want to start exploring the hills up north - Latigo, Los Flores, Mulholland, etc... 

What are safest days up there - traffic wise; weekdays, or weekends?

I’ve been up there a few Sundays in a car, and between all the motorcycles and sports cars, it looked like cycling could be pretty risky?

Are two (riders) a lot better than one?

What do you recommend?


----------



## jksu (Mar 8, 2004)

*traffic stinks on pch*

it's busy pretty much weekday and weekends on pch, worse the closer you get to santa monica. the best is really early in the morning which is your best bet.

once you get onto the canyon roads, it's not too bad. some are worse (ie. topanga, malibu canyon) but latigo/los flores has minimal traffic, mostly motorcyclists.

great climbing though...go up any of the canyons and roll along mulholland until you're ready to head back and take another one of the canyons back down to pch.

john


----------



## magicant (Apr 22, 2006)

As part of my regular route, I ride Mulholland Highway from Calabasas to the end (near the Ventura County line at PCH), then take PCH back down to S. Monica. 

If you're up for a double round of climbing and avoidance of most of the traffic, you can start off where Mulholland Hwy begins (by Leo Carillo state park), ride it to Calabasas and back. 

Through most of Mulholland, there are usually very few cars. If you want a shorter route, you could stop at Las Virgenes and turn back from there. That'd be around 40 miles, with some good climbing in each direction.

Lot of good climbing roads along the way that you can become more familiar with as you get to know the area. Stunt Road is another of my regulars.


----------



## -CM- (Jan 6, 2006)

I've only ridden out there on weekends, so I don't know what the weekday traffic is like. 

As was mentioned, Topanga Canyon and Malibu Canyon are quite busy, but they are OK if you ride them in the very early morning, but try to stay off them otherwise. Kanan is another one to avoid, and PCH always has traffic, of course. I try not to ride on it at all, especially in the summer but sometimes it's necessary. South of Latigo is the worst, north of there isn't as bad.

But overall, the entire area is a great place for cycling. I ride solo quite often without worries. Most of my rides start at Juan Bautista de Anza park in Calabasas, or Banyan park out on the north end in Thousand Oaks (?). From these two points, there are a number of great routes possible.


----------



## Speedy (Oct 30, 2005)

Sounds good.

I mainly wanted to avoid all the motorcycle and car racers.

Thanks so much for the suggestions. :thumbsup:


----------



## trihiker (Mar 29, 2005)

*riding to the mountains*

I'm brand new to LA - what is the best way to get there by bike from Playa del Rey? Or would I be better off driving to some point in Santa Monica or somewhere, parking, and then riding?

Thanks!


----------



## magicant (Apr 22, 2006)

The beach route will take you to Santa Monica from Playa Del Rey. 

http://www.labikepaths.com/SantaMon.html

From there, the PCH is the only real route to get to the mountains (on the coastal side anyway). Heavily trafficked, so you have to ride carefully through Malibu to get to the various mountains. 

Latigo is about 15 miles from Santa Monica, Mulholland intersection with PCH is about 27 from SM.


----------

