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Topanga is an unincorporated community of Los Angeles County, surrounded by the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Topanga has long been a getaway for artists and musicians, and it retains a distinct bohemian flavor, which is complemented by the outdoor enthusiasts who have escaped the urban tangle to be closer to nature. In 2020, it was home to about 8,600 people.
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An annual music festival held over Memorial Day weekend. Not genre-specific, but tending toward classic rock and folk rock. Capped off by a parade, celebrating the community's counter-cultural roots, along Topanga Canyon Blvd. Parking and tickets are first-come-first-serve, so arrive punctually.
An eclectic outdoor theater in Topanga Canyon, featuring folk plays, Shakespeare, educational workshops, and concerts. Founded by actor Will Geer, who was blacklisted in the 1950s for refusing to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities and moved his family to a small plot in the canyon where his friend Woody Guthrie also had a small shack. They unintentionally founded what became an artists' colony that eventually became the Theatricum Botanicum.
An idyllic (if pricey) outdoor dining experience beside Topanga Creek. All-organic menu featuring locally produced ingredients perfectly complement the adjunct new-age bookstore and shop that echoes Topanga's bohemian history.
French and American Bistro near where the old road joins Topanga Canyon Boulevard. On the pricey side, but the intimate setting and food quality one expects from Topanga mean you get what you pay for.
Small coffee shop south of "downtown" Topanga. Offers baked goods and a modest breakfast and lunch menu, and a small patio as well.
A secluded Bed and Breakfast off Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
Not every visitor will be in the market for home decor, but jewelry other small pieces are available. Most importantly, this store is perhaps the exemplar of Topanga's local flavor. Asian objets d'art are displayed in an outdoor showroom, complete with natural waterfall.
Topanga can be reached most directly by taking Topanga Canyon Boulevard north from Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, or south Route 101 from the San Fernando Valley.
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Los Angeles · International · LAX
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