Dog Friendly Hiking Trails Near Topanga State Park

So you’ve just pulled into the Trippet Ranch parking lot and realized, from all the signs at the trailheads, that dogs are not allowed on the trails at Topanga State Park. You really want to take your dog hiking today, but which other trails are near enough to Topanga SP, that you can drive to them relatively easily, so that you and your dog can do so?

By the way, you are allowed to have your dog in the Trippet Ranch parking lot, and at the surrounding picnic tables, so if you brought a pre-hike lunch, then you’re still welcome to hang out there. Just don’t get on the trails.

Okay, from farthest to nearest, here are the dog friendly recommended hiking trails that are easy drives from Topanga State Park’s Trippet Ranch.

Topanga Lookout Trail

Distance from Trippet Ranch: 8.1 mile drive

Trailhead Parking Address: 23300 Saddle Peak Road, Topanga, CA 90290

Park along the side of the road, near the trailhead. There will be a small turnout on the right (if you’re coming from Topanga Canyon) where a handful of delineated parking spaces are located. Walk back to the fork just before this area and head leftward, past the white, road closure gate, and continue on Topanga Lookout Motorway. You’ll pass Fossil Ridge/Backbone trail on the right. (I don’t think that one is dog friendly, but it doesn’t have any ‘no dogs’ signs until you get to Hondo Canyon, if traveling towards Topanga, or past Saddle Peak, if going towards Piuma Road in the opposite direction.) You’ll then pass a Radio Relay road on the right; ignore that one too. Continue to the end until you see the graffitied remnants of an old fire tower.

Tuna Canyon Trail

Distance from Trippet Ranch: 5.5 mile drive

Trailhead Parking Address: 2802 Tuna Canyon Road, Topanga CA 90290

Park along the side of the road, and look for a small dirt road that is marked on either side of its entrance with small white pylons; this road is Big Rock Motorway, and the name will be written vertically on the rightmost pylon. This is the trailhead.

Head south down Big Rock Motorway until you reach an unmarked junction. For a shorter, quicker hike, take a left and walk to the end of the trail, where you’ll see a labyrinth made of small, collected stones. Just don’t let your dog knock over the stone cairns people have built into the maze. For a longer walk, with more trail options, take a left at that initial junction and explore the different routes.

Summit Valley Edmund D. Edelman Park

Distance From Trippet Ranch: 4.8 miles

Trailhead Parking Address: Summit Valley Edmund D. Edelman Park on CA-27, Topanga Canyon Blvd.

This one is just along Topanga Canyon Blvd., on the left, if heading northward from Trippet Ranch. There will be a large dirt turnout that supports plenty of parking, though it’s $5 to park here. The trailhead is of course at this turnout. The trail is narrow and overgrown as of summer of 2022. Best to have some long pants to thwart the chaparral from your legs and check your dog for ticks before heading out afterward.

Entrada Road Neighborhood

This one isn’t a hiking trail, but if you’re already at Trippet Ranch and don’t want to drive to another place, just walk your dog around the public roads surrounding the park. You can get some pretty good exercise just with the elevation change from the upper parts of Entrada, near the park, to the lower parts, near Topanga Canyon Blvd. Just be careful, because there are a lot of blind turns where cars can’t see you, up and down that road. Upper Entrada, Colina Dr., and Waveview Dr. are your best bets for less car traffic in the area.

Topanga Lookout Trail

Tuna Canyon Trail

Summit Valley Edmund D. Edelman Park

Entrada Road Neighborhood

Further Reading