There’s a lot more to the Malibu area than just surfers, old rich people and multi-million dollar mansions. For driving enthusiasts, the many canyon roads that meander through the mountains are simply paradise.
By James Riswick
Opinions Editor
Since the 1950s, people have been flocking to Malibu for one thing: the beach.
Surfers and sun worshippers alike migrate from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles to the 27 miles of sandy beaches and relaxed atmosphere that Malibu provides. But there is another attraction to Malibu that throws caution to the wind and shows that there’s an alternative to surfing for thrill seekers who like to stay dry.
All it requires is a car—preferably an agile one—and a little bit of driving skill.
What many don’t realize is that beyond the Pacific Coast Highway and the northern border of Malibu lies some of the twistiest, nastiest, sweaty palm-inducing mountain roads in the entire world. For those who find PCH or Malibu Canyon Road a little difficult to maneuver, don’t even attempt to tackle the meandering obstacle courses that are these wonderful canyon roads.
In a commuter sense, roads such as Latigo Canyon and Corral Canyon are practically useless. In other words, if you have to get someplace in a hurry, pick another road. They’re twisty, thin-laned, you can’t drive very fast on them, and some – in the case of Corral Canyon Road – don’t actually lead to anywhere. But while most drive on these roads to get to their million dollar homes perched atop the Santa Monica Mountains, others drive on them for another reason. Namely, just for the thrill of driving.
It is a thrill that most people simply do not understand. After all, driving is nothing more than the act of going from point A to point B. An act that is usually bogged down by stop-and-go traffic and made more exciting by 10-speaker Bose audio systems and Cingular cellular phones. This is true, but it doesn’t always have to be.
For driving enthusiasts, roads like Mulholland Highway and Piuma Road are not just inconvenient, horribly inefficient parkways. They are the new playgrounds for people who refuse to completely grow up and who consider their car the successor to childhood toys.
I just happen to be one of those people.
And although my 2000 Volkswagen Jetta VR6 is no BMW M3 or Porsche 911, it still allows me to enjoy the wonders of quick steering, quicker decisions and hairpin turn after hairpin turn the canyon roads of Malibu granted to me.
My journey began on Corral Canyon Road, which is a no-outlet road that eventually trades its pavement for dirt and leads into the Malibu Creek State Park. Needless to say, I stopped where the pavement ended – off-roading was not my mission of the day, nor is it ever, considering my humble compact sport sedan.
On my trip up and down Corral Canyon, I discovered that it’s a nice mixture of everything. It’s not too straight in areas, not monotonously twisty in others. It is easily the Grand Prix raceway of Malibu roads and, in fact, almost reminded me of Trial Mountain Road featured on Gran Turismo 3. “Almost” is a key word, however, considering I was fairly confident I wouldn’t just bounce off rock faces as one does in the video game.
This is obviously a significant difference between real life motoring and the fake high-speed jubilance of racing games. The stakes are real: one bad decision, one late turn or too much speed can cause you to scrape the side of the rock wall or plummet 500 feet down into Solstice Canyon. The best advice one can have is to be careful and to realize the limits of your car and your own driving abilities.
It also helps to take the roads a little slower on your first run through. I had been on Corral Canyon before and was prepared for the sharp consecutive turns just after the El Nido community on the way down. I didn’t know about it the first time I drove Corral Canyon and nearly found myself in a guardrail and perhaps worse had it not been for anti-lock brakes.
But there were no such problems the rest of my journey through the Santa Monica Mountain roads that run north of Malibu.
From Corral Canyon I traveled three-quarters of a mile east on PCH to Latigo Canyon Road. It takes a while to hit the twisties, but once I did, Latigo proved to be an uphill dance that would challenge any soiree.
Aside from the thrills of steering and accelerating out of mountain turns, Latigo has an abundance of dazzling mountain views topped only by Piuma Road. There’s nothing like looking down over the guard rail and seeing spots of road you drove on five minutes earlier and then seeing road driven on two minutes before that just 50 feet below.
Latigo is also a fairly long road (well over 15 miles), but at least it leads to Kanan Dume Road, which can take you north to Highway 101 or back south to PCH.
I opted for neither, and instead selected Mulholland Highway due east. Although Mulholland goes from PCH all the way to Mulholland Drive in Calabasas, I stayed on the strip in between Kanan Dume and Las Virgenes (a.k.a. Malibu Canyon) Roads. For the first two miles or so, Mulholland is hairpin central, with one 180-degree turn after another.
A warning, though, medium-sized dogs can hug corners just as easily as cars can. Two feet over and my day of automotive bliss would have turned into gut wrenching sadness. Luckily for him and me poochy knew to stay to the side of the road.
Although Mulholland isn’t nearly as scenic as the others (it’s surrounded by trees and also goes through a valley, not up a mountain like the rest do), it is still rewarding for the driver. Aside from the abundance of hairpins close to Kanan Dume, Mulholland is relatively tame and more easily driven at higher speeds – a good training course of sorts.
On it though, I did encounter an enthusiast’s worst nightmare: the dreaded minivan. They just make you want to roll down the window and yell “get out of my way!” You shouldn’t of course – just slow down and pull off at a turn-around and wait for the slow poke to get further down the road.
From Mulholland, I hit Piuma Road, which is tops as far as scenic beauty is concerned. At one point you can look to your right and see the beach in Malibu and to your left see the valley beyond the mountains. It is truly spectacular.
Unfortunately for the driver, you don’t get to pay much attention to the view. Piuma isn’t as much a physical challenge as it is a mental one. There are fewer guardrails and it seemed like my car was dangling over a cliff half the time. It is certainly a wonderful generator of sweaty palms.
But before I could relax, the downhill delight of Las Flores Canyon Road (which led back to PCH) proved to be the most adventuresome and hair raising. Even though it would be a much different story on the way up, on the way down, I was greeted to hairpin turns with the rock face closer to the side of my car than any other road. With hardly any break in downhill motion, there is little use for the pedal on the right – brakes all the way. In fact, it’s just a good idea to leave your car in second gear and let your engine do the work instead of your brake pads.
My route was just one of the many a driving enthusiast can take through the mountains overlooking Malibu. There are also plenty of other driving playgrounds and they’re all quite a rush. Topanga Canyon, Puerco Canyon, Saddle Peak, Encinal Canyon, Cold Canyon, Old Topanga Canyon and the southbound-only Tuna Canyon Roads are just some of the major mountain passes.
For surfers and drivers alike, Malibu is paradise. While surfers may enjoy harnessing the power of a wave, they are at the mercy of Mother Nature as to when they can go out and how fun it will be. Motoring on the other hand can be enjoyed anytime (it’s much better and safer during the day mind you) and it requires harnessing a completely different power: horsepower. Driving well is an art like any other, and the canyon roads of Malibu provide a magnificent canvas to work with.
So forget the beach, and hit the open roads.
Tips for driving the canyon roads:
• Know your car’s limitation
• If possible, drive a car. SUVs are just not as fun.
• Drive slower on the first run of a road.
• Drive during the day. It’s safer and more scenic.
• Use lower gears when going down hills.
• Don’t get too dazzled by the scenery.
• Knowing where the road goes means you won’t get lost. Check a
map before your trip.
• Know your personal limits.
• Don’t be overwhelmed.
October 03, 2002
