How to Hike Mostly in the Shade at Topanga State Park
There may be times you want to visit Topanga State Park to hike, and get a decent hike in, but minimize your sun exposure for a variety of reasons: sun allergy (and devil’s itch or hell’s itch), recent sunburn, avoidance of sun damage to skin, avoiding overheating in the summer, when it can get super hot in Los Angeles, etc. While there’s no perfect hike in Topanga to stay 100% in the shade, and still cover a good amount of ground, there are several trails/paths, when combined into one hike, that will keep you in the shade a significant part of the time.
As always, if concerned about sun exposure, use a high SPF sunblock that is recommended by the Environmental Working Group for safety and efficacy, regardless of how shady your hike may be. The Environmental Working Group always publishes their annual guide, and best sunscreens to use for the current year, and each year the ones they list as being the safest, and having the most scientific backing regarding effectiveness, are the ones with Zinc Oxide and Titanium Oxide. A Zinc Oxide based, fragrance free sunscreen like Badger SPF 30 Active Mineral Sunscreen Cream should be safe and effective, if you’re not interested in looking through the entire EWG set of recommended products (282 products currently). I’ve further built a list of ten top EWG products that can be purchased on Amazon since the EWG picks can be a bit tricky to track down from their page.
In the summertime, I also use a wide brim, ventilated straw hat to keep the sun off my face and neck. I don’t see the model I use on Amazon, but here’s an example of what I’m talking about. The inner elastic (or strap if you’re into that) is also a must, since it can get windy at Topanga.
The hike I’ve come up with, to keep you in the shade in Topanga, consists of 2 main trails, which you’ll hike back to back, and an add on path that’s not an official trail. The two trails are the Dead Horse Trail and the Trippet Ranch Nature Trail; the latter connecting to a shady, wooded area of the park, that keeps a few leisurely side paths, next to E Topanga Fire Road. Hiking this trail, then doubling back, provides a good 3.49 miles of trail, which has a 607 foot elevation gain, according to my Strava app on my phone.
To test the shadiness of this hike, I hiked it under early summer conditions at around noon time, when the sun was directly overhead. This was the time and season which provided the least amount of shade to the trail, so that I could report a baseline scenario, that hikers to could modify to the upside, by toggling the time of day they choose to hike, and the time of year. Here’s what I found: For the Dead Horse Trail – from the Dead Horse Parking lot to Trippet Ranch – there was shade on the trail approximately 55% of the time with respect to trail distance. For the Topanga Nature Trail – From Trippet Ranch to E Topanga Fire Road – there was shade on approximately 80% of the trail. On the ancillary path, after the nature trail, there was around 90% shade on the trail. Keep in mind though, that the Dead Horse Trail is the longest part of this hike.
Getting to the Trailhead for Shady Hiking in Topanga State Park
To get to the trailhead, you’ll want to park in the Dead Horse Parking Lot that is located at the beginning of Entrada Road, just off Topanga Canyon Blvd. Once you turn onto Entrada from Topanga Canyon you’ll see the lot on the left, after you pass a few residential properties hidden behind fences. I’ll put a Google Map place marker on the parking lot, on the map below for you to get your driving directions.
Don’t get fooled by the ‘Backbone Trail’ moniker on the map and on the trailhead information sign (see pic below map); this actually is the Dead Horse Trail (which is part of a larger set of trails, called the Backbone Trail).
Once you pull into the lot, there will be a two head, running water bathroom at its distal edge. Incidentally, the park will leave one of the two rooms open to the public during daylight hours.
Unlike the Trippet Ranch parking lot, there’s no way to pay for parking with a credit card here; you just have to fill out an envelope provided under the brown ‘Day Use’ sign, put $7 cash in it, and tear off part of the flap to place on your dashboard. The envelope with the cash will go into the archaic envelope box that the ‘Pay Here’ sign, hung under this ‘Day Use’ sign, is pointing to (see picture above), directly left of it.
Trail Directions to Hike in the Shade at Topanga
Start at the trailhead marker that states ‘Dead Horse Trail to Trippet Ranch’. Trippet Ranch is our first goal to achieve on this hike. The markers are clear from the parking lot, but be careful not to accidentally get on the trail that starts behind the bathroom and travels down to Topanga Canyon Blvd. (You may not even notice this particular trailhead, as it’s less conspicuous than the one to Trippet Ranch.)
Example of one of the many ‘Dead Horse Trail to Trippet Ranch’ markers you’ll see on this trail.
There are several forks on the Dead Horse Trail, that you will experience as you hike. Some have the trail markers to guide you to Trippet Ranch, and some do not, and if you pick the wrong way forward, you can end up on Entrada Road or one of the other roads nebulous to the park. For the forks with no markings, use your instinct, and pick the paths that don’t veer off at harsh angles from your original path. I personally use a few sticks to mark which ways go back to the Dead Horse parking lot, so that I’m not left scratching my head later.
However if you make it to this bridge (picture on the right) fairly early on in the hike, then you’re on the right direction.
At around the halfway point to Trippet Ranch, you’ll be hiking over a large outcrop of sandstone (picture on left) that’s unfortunately exposed to the open sun.
But if you persevere, you’ll find the shady beginnings of Trippet Ranch, as marked by the start of a fence line holding a giant field, next to a long line of Coastal Live Oak trees.
There’s one more little stretch of open sun before you get to Trippet Ranch (picture on the right).
But once you see the fence angle off, and a paved road over a bridge, adjacent to a duck pond, then you’ve got some serious shade to enjoy:
Walking down this paved road, past the pond on the left, you’ll emerge onto the Trippet Ranch parking lot, and have another chance to go to the bathroom if you wish. Otherwise, at the immediate end to this road there will be a brick structure with and open beamed roof held up by arched load paths, and if you walk behind it, along a small wooden fence, you can walk leftward into the shaded picnic area. At that point, locate a wooden structure that shows examples of animal paw prints next to a marker, which has the number 1 notated on it:
You are now on Topanga’s Nature Trail. Follow it up to the white brick museum that should be shortly visible, and walk behind it, past its clay target yard and back porch. On the other side of the museum there will be a small stair case to walk up. Look for another Nature Trail marker once you’ve done so, and proceed on that trail that goes back into the woods:
In the Spring the Italian Thistle is rather populated on parts of the trail so take care not to prick yourself, where it hugs the trail:
Continuing on this path, you’ll eventually collide with E Topanga Fire Road and will be prompted to cross it, into the Coastal Live Oak park on a path running perpendicular to that fire road. Doing so puts you on some small wandering paths that go all around this park. Not even a minutes’ walk into this park you will likely see a narrow path that a little overgrown that leads rightward and towards that back of this park, which over looks the coastal mountains, the Pacific Palisades and ocean.
Walking along the back edge of the park, you should see views like the one’s below:
And finally, you should come across a park bench dedicated to the loving memory of Tom Pecorelli. You’ve reached the end of your hike and a place to rest or eat lunch before you return on the same trails you came from.
If you’re interested in checking out the video footage I took on this hike, I’ll leave the Youtube video below:
Trail FAQ Coming Soon!
Trail FAQ
Which Animals Will You See On the Topanga Nature Trail?
Mostly birds in the brush on the sides of the trails, and a few Western Fence Lizards scurrying around on the trail.
I’ve seen my share of rabbits in Topanga, even California Quail running around on the trail to Parker Mesa. But I haven’t seen any on the nature trail. Up in the deer park area of the Nature Trail, there are of course…mule deer, mostly at dusk.
But as far as all the animals listed on the footprint guide at the start of the Nature Trail, I’ve never seen any of those on that trail, and I’ve been hiking Topanga for almost 2 decades. It’s not that they definitely aren’t in the area; they may be; it’s just that they come out when the park closes at night.
Can You Ride Your Bike on the Topanga Nature Trail?
No bikes are allowed on this trail. It’s another one-person wide trail with poor visibility in places, making it not conducive to mountain biking. Mountain biking is allowed on the wide, fire road paths in the park.
Can You Ride Your Bike on Topanga Deadhorse Trail?
Bikes are not allowed on this trail either, for the same reasons as why they aren’t allowed on the Nature Trail.
Is the Topanga Nature Trail Closed?
The trail is open, but take care to watch for signs that say particular areas are closed for plant rehabilitation. On rare occasion, sometimes Topanga State Park will prematurely close due to extreme fire danger. A helicopter will fly overhead and tell people to leave due to active fires near the area.
Is the Topanga Nature Trail Difficult?
Compared to most of Topanga’s other trails, the Nature Trail is relatively easy. This Strava capture of me hiking the Deadhorse and Nature Trail, and back, shows that the Nature Trail is about 0.5 miles out to the Tom Pecorelli park bench and that involves approximately 130 feet of elevation gain.
Is the Topanga Nature Trail the Easiest Trail in Topanga?
Topanga Nature Trail is one of the easiest trails in Topanga State Park. It is relatively short with under 150 feet of elevation gain.
Is the Topanga Nature Trail a Quick Hike?
Yes. Going from the trailhead that starts in the tree covered picnic table area at Trippet Ranch parking lot to the deer park that runs along E Topanga Fire Road, it’s less than half a mile of distance.
More On Topanga State Park
If you liked this article and are thinking of hiking Topanga State Park, check out my other articles on this park’s more famous trails and camping:
Guide to Cheap & Easy Camping at Topanga State Park
My list of best picnic spots in Topanga State Park
And check out where Topanga stacks up, with regard to air quality, against several other Los Angeles and surrounding area hiking trails.
Deeper Insights into Hiking Nutrition and Fluid Requirements
Day Hiker’s Calories Burned on the Trail Calculator
Day Hiker’s Total Daily Energy Requirements Calculator
Hiker’s Fluid Requirements and Sweat Related Electrolyte and Micronutrient Losses
Everything a Day Hiker Needs to Know About Protein and a Recommended Post-Hike Protein Supplement