Santa Ynez Canyon Trail

Lately, (I guess just in time for the state to start closing the suckers) I've been trying to get out and enjoy the state parks on the Westside. I've found Topanga State Park to be by far the one with the most trails, the most accessibility, and the least amount of crazy city people.

Look at all of the hikes you can do from Trippet Ranch, the main area of Topanga Park:

Within just a few miles of the ranch you can reach all kinds of different landscapes. We started out on Eagle Spring Fire Road.


Pretty quickly you come to an east-west fork in the road. To the right you'll go to the Pacific Palisades and toward an ocean view. To the left is Eagle Rock and more trails. We went left.


Here's the sign at the fork in the road:

The views are spectacular from the get go.

We didn't stay on Eagle Spring Fire Road too long, but instead turned right on to Santa Ynez trail, which winds its way down toward a waterfall and beautiful canyon.

It starts out as a grassland trail.

But quickly becomes more forested.


Once you get down into the canyon the trail follows a stream.

Awesome conglomerate rocks.


There is a side trail that heads to a waterfall. The end of the waterfall trail is rock climbing up into the waterfall itself.


On the way back we stopped for a snack on a long smooth rock formation that was essentially a huge slab of rock turned on a 45 degree angle. This was carved into the top.


All in all one of my favorite hikes. You can access the trail from Trippet Ranch off Topanga Canyon or from a side street in the Pacific Palisades from the other end. All sorts of weather, climates, and scenery. Out and back from Trippet Ranch to the Palisades is about 4.5 miles. Its about the same to the waterfall and back--there's a split in the trail with a sign.