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 Reporter |
Summary: Fire-ravaged Devil Canyon with it's spectacular rock formations created 80 million years ago in a marine environment makes for a haunting yet beautiful and easy hike. The trail begins off a dirt parking area past an open gate on the north end of Topanga Canyon Blvd. The trail descends into the canyon below and after some water hopping the scenery improves. Live Oak and Willow trees fill the canyon and sandstone geology of the wildest kind begins to unfold. There are caves to be discovered in the tributaries along the way (Falls Creek) if you don't mind some bushwacking. At about 2.3 miles you will come to a locked gate haulting all progress. Feeling adventurous? Jump the gate and hike up the creek for awhile and you will find a neat looking old concrete dam. Be careful climbing around on it, it's a long way down from the top of the dam into the bottom of Devil Canyon. Trailhead: From the 118 Freeway exit at Topanga Canyon Blvd. Drive up the little road at the north end of Topanga past an open gate into a dirt parking area. The trailhead starts on the east side of the parking area and heads northeast down into the canyon. (Lat:34.27829 Lon:-118.60372) Trail Guides for Devil Canyon: Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles by Jerry Schad (Wilderness Press) Best Seasons: Year-Round User Groups: Hikers, Dogs, Bikes, Horses, Ranger Contact: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (805) 370-2301 Localhikes Reporter: This hike was submitted by Eric Altizer, who has posted 13 other hikes on this site Trail Reviews Page 1 of 5 Submit your own review 
Reviewed by JRB on 2/4/2010 Note of advisory: The January rains washed away about a quarter of the trail leaving you to follow the stream bed. This means walking through ankle deep water for a fair amount of the time. Also at about 2/3's of the way to the damns, several Range Rover sized rocks have avalanched into the canyon blocking all of it except a 3-4 foot passage to the left of the canyon. To pass this, you need to wade through mid-calf deep water. There is also a fair amount of flash flood debris blocking the remaining trail making passage tedious. Things may improve when it dries up with time. Still a pretty nature hike but much more difficult than previously. Expect to get wet and muddy. 
Reviewed by Mpk Meanderers on 1/1/2010 Great hike! Wonderful geocaches. Cool and lots of stream crossings. We saw a spring and lots of deer and coyote sign. More birds than I've seen in three years of hiking in the area.
Reviewed by DJA and KBM on 8/29/2009 Do not do this hike on a hot day. There is no shading. That said we will go back to do it when the weather is cooler probably like October. It was very difficult to actually find this place. But, once you find it there are lots of scenic things to see. FYI the trail head is through the condos and down the concret stairs. There are also recent houses that they are building in the area which make it confusing and hard to find. We were really surprised with the history there were randomn fireplaces and foundations where houses obviously used to be but there was nothing left. This was in my opinion and easy trail more moderate on a hot day like today because there is no shading. It's a well maintained trail though.
Reviewed by Johnny B on 6/18/2009 Went with a group of friends last night. Parked on poema walked through the parking lot of some condos to and open gate and down some concrete steps. This led us to a path and we saw the first dam. We hiked up a very wide path which narrowed into an awesome trail meandering up through shallow creeks. Carefull of the poison oak it is everywhere. We made it up to the big dam in under an hour, and walked back down in 40 minutes. Very nice hike. We will do it again.
Reviewed by Bruce on 6/14/2009 My step son and I hiked today well past the Dam in the picture. Some water in the creek, we did not see any ponds or lakes being formed. I agree, we should have worn long pants and maybe brought a machete. But it was fun and a very near by trail head for us. We found what I think must be wild orchids. We parked at the end of Poema then had to walk past a bunch or really ugly huge houses. The trail head we recommend is at the end of Macoda, which runs into LaQuilla. 
Reviewed by Dean on 4/12/2009 I was there yesterday. Looks like they are building a small lake where the creek meets the beginning descending trail. Its about the length of a football field but half as wide. The old southern debris dam is revealed and being shored up. Very strange walking through it. I did get permission from the property owners in Ybarra Canyon to pass through - join me at http://www.meetup.com/localhikers
Reviewed by Elizabeth on 3/29/2009 Not exactly sure if I did this exact hike since with all of the houses/apartments, a trailhead (with parking) was difficult to find. We parked at the end of Poema by the Estates neighborhood gate. The guard said it was fine to enter the gate on foot to access the trail. The walking directions to the trail I hiked are: Left on first street after going thru gate, right on next street, left on next street, and at the end of that street there is a sign pointing right to trails. There are a few trails on the right side of this road, or you can stay on the road until it ends into a dirt parking area. From there, the trail goes up the hills and provides good views. The burnt trees had spring wildflowers growing around them - very pretty.
Reviewed by roland13x on 12/13/2008 The burn area was pretty scorched, though there's some signs of life coming through the ground. I ended up running out of daylight so I just hiked around the hilltops. There's lots of old ruined buildings and foundations that made for some good photos. Also ran into a pack of 4 or 5 coyotes chasing some rabbits, so be on the look out. Next time I'll try to stick to the trail, but this was a fun adventure. Notice: Traveling in the backcountry can be hazardous. You are responsible for informing yourself about these hazards and taking necessary precautions. Information on this web site comes from volunteer reporters and may contain errors or omissions. A current guidebook and proper equipment are essential for safe enjoyment of the hikes posted on this site. Keys: California Hiking, California Trails, California Hikes, Los Angeles County Hiking, Los Angeles County Trails, Los Angeles County Hikes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||