Los Angeles is a city and county ringed by mountains where it doesn’t touch the ocean. With the mountains come canyons, including Topanga Canyon, a winding ravine descending from Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley to the ocean between Santa Monica and Malibu. Topanga Canyon has a checkered history combining bohemians, sensational crime, and environmental catastrophes such as fires and mudslides. No doubt the remoteness of the locale and relative inaccessibility contributed to all three. Through it all, folks come to Topanga for its natural beauty and breathtaking views.
The name Topanga comes from the local native people, generally called the Tongva, who originally occupied the area in close proximity to the Chumash. In the 1920s, Topanga attracted Hollywood stars looking for a quick getaway from the pressures of celebrity. Some, like Cecil B. DeMille and actress Pola Negri, built homes here. Like so many other canyons, Topanga came to be a mecca for artistic types in the 1950s and beyond. The remoteness and natural beauty attracted many musicians. Neil Young recorded his album “After the Gold Rush” in his Topanga Canyon basement. Canned Heat’s Alan Wilson was inspired to write the rock anthem “Going Up the Country” here. Linda Ronstadt and Jim Morrison were frequent visitors. Beach Boy Dennis Wilson had a home nearby.
Artists and fringe types still shape the culture of Topanga. But the canyon has a dark side. On July 26th, 1969, Charles Manson and his “family” murdered a gentle Buddhist musician, Gary Hinman, who had befriended the group. That act was the first in a murder spree that took the lives of at least seven people, including actress Sharon Tate and her friends. Family members tortured Hinman for three days at his Topanga Canyon home before killing him in a confused dispute over what was likely drugs or money. By all accounts, Gary was a welcoming, mild-mannered and warm-hearted man who was also gay.
Topanga Canyon is a geologist’s dream. Cliffsides contain fossils, everything from scallops to whales, left by retreating ocean waters millenia ago. Sandstone structures, part of what is called the Vaqueros Formation, make dramatic appearances on the hills. Remnants of indigenous culture are found in the many bedrock mortars, man-made holes used to grind food products. Wild fires are a perennial problem in the hills of Los Angeles. Topanga is no exception; spectacular and destructive fires have broken out many times. Where there are fires, flash floods are never far behind. Topanga has suffered from repeated cycles of floods and mudslides, sometimes trapping residents for days due to washed out roads. In recent years, mudslides have been an annual occurrence.