Latigo Canyon
Malibu / Santa Monica Mtns · near Malibu · Los Angeles / SoCal
Road Cycling
At a glance
- Distance
- medium
- Best season
- Year-round; hot & exposed in summer; best in mornings & cooler months
What is here
- Scenery
- coast
- Amenities
- Mesmerizing switchback climb · Sweeping Pacific Ocean views · Quiet Malibu canyon · Links to Mulholland & the coast
- Best for
- The quintessential Malibu canyon climb
- Features
- Classic Malibu switchback climb · Sweeping ocean & mountain views · Chaparral canyon scenery · Endless route combinations
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Twisting road shared with cars & motorcycles · Exposed & hot — carry water · Blind switchback corners; descend with control · Fire-prone canyon — check for closures
- Beginner friendly
- No
Road Cycling detail
- Ride types
- climb · coastal
- Road
- quiet
- Climbing
- 4
- Ride notes
- The classic Malibu climb — Latigo Canyon Road twists up from near the Pacific Coast Highway through chaparral canyon in a mesmerizing series of switchbacks, with sweeping ocean and mountain views the whole way up
- Stats note
- ~10 mi, ~2,000 ft gain; endless switchbacks; big Pacific views
- Seasonal
- No
- Intl tip
- The quintessential Malibu climb — Latigo Canyon Rd twists ~10 miles and ~2,000 ft up from near the Pacific Coast Highway into the Santa Monica Mountains in a mesmerizing series of switchbacks, with sweeping ocean, coastline, and canyon views. Endlessly linkable with Mulholland, Kanan, and the coast. Largely exposed and hot in summer (carry water, ride mornings); shared with cars and fast weekend motorcycles — ride predictably, take blind corners and the descent with care. Fire-prone; check closures.
The guide
Latigo Canyon Road is the quintessential Malibu climb — a mesmerizing ribbon of switchbacks that twists roughly 10 miles and 2,…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Latigo Canyon — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.05, -118.8