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Visitors along Pacific Coast Highway are easily disappointed by their first impressions of this area. Expecting spectacular ocean views, they may initially find rows of flimsy-looking beachfront houses blocking their vistas and appearing to block their access to the water, along with telephone poles and wires that mar the sky. But get off the highway and onto the sand and you'll find a scenic teen-age hangout. It is handy for kids from the San Fernando Valley who hop over the hills on the nearest road, Topanga Canyon Boulevard, and shred at the nearest beach. The sand is better and there are more public facilities at Topanga than at neighboring Las Tunas. The western side of Topanga is a safe place for sail boarding and surfing; there are few hazards, although the ocean bottom is rocky. A small point of land generates right-breaking waves. Surfers should avoid the east end near the Chart House restaurant, where there are some protruding rocks and stronger shoreline currents. -- Los Angeles Times

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Topanga Surf Spot

Topanga offers long, smooth rights divided into several sections along a cobblestone point. It works on virtually all swells and tides and as the swell gets bigger, several of the sections connect and become hollow. Those further inside are somewhat protected from winds but the outside is prone to getting blown out. Being the teaser spot for L.A. surfers on the way to Malibu, Topanga gets very crowded. Tread lightly there too, because something about Topanga attracts a bad element. Try surfing it early in the morning mid-week when the wind is blowing offshore out of the canyons and the gangsters are sleeping it off. It can be especially good after heavy rains dump sand along the inside, but wait a day or two for the sewage to settle.

To get there, take Pacific Coast Highway north from Santa Monica approximately seven miles. Park on the west side of Pacific Coast Highway. -- Van Weyden

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