Topanga — Close to Home, Yet a World Away | Whole Life Times

By Kim Zanti

Tucked into a canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains between the rolling blue Pacific and the San Fernando Valley mermaid exterior lo res lies the tiny town of Topanga—population 8,000, not including the coyotes or mountain lions. Initially a Chumash settlement, and later a getaway for wealthier Angelenos who bounced over dirt roads to enjoy the cooler summer air rising from the ocean, by the 1920s Topanga was a refuge for such Hollywood stars as Carol Lombard, who sought serenity in the sycamore- and oak-dotted hills. In the 1960s and ’70s, musicians Neil Young, Lowell George, Joni Mitchell, Mick Fleetwood and many others flocked to the solitude to live and record their music. Actors Sissy Spacek, Lynn Redgrave, Keith Carradine and Viggo Mortensen are just a few screen celebs who have called Topanga home at one time or another, and artist Chris Burden, whose installations Urban Light and Metropolis II are on view at the LA County Museum of Art, is one of many artists who call Topanga home today.

The formerly bohemian enclave, where single-family homes now often sell for seven-figures, is still rustic, yet offers luxury accommodations, sophisticated dining, shopping, entertainment, and the crown jewel—a rambling, pristine state park for hiking and biking. If you have only enough time for a weekend getaway, Topanga is just 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles, yet feels like a different world.

Where To Play

Playing in Topanga could mean anything from adventuring in the state park to an elegant dinner with local organic wines to an evening of professional theatre. A few options include:

Silver Horse Healing Ranch

If a gentle nudge towards self-realization is what you need, the Silver Horse Healing Ranch might be just the ticket. Light streams through eucalyptus and pepper trees as ranch owner Sara Fancy works with you and one of the ranch’s six horses, in a customized session that can range from building an authentic relationship with the horse to natural horsemanship.

Topanga Creek Bicycles

An international community of mountain- and long-distance touring cyclists has grown around this high performance bike shop. You can rent a bike (reservations recommended) for an organized Saturday morning ride, or pick up print and mobile maps, hop on your own two wheels and take to the hundreds of miles of heavenly mountain trails throughout Topanga State Park, considered the world’s largest urban wildland within the boundaries of a major city.

Yoga Desa

One of two traffic signals in Topanga is at the Pine Tree Circle shopping center. Yoga Desa studio is on the first level, in an airy space with subdued lighting and sprung wood floor. Drop in for weekend yoga (varying levels) or Tae Kwan Do. That graceful woman in Downward Dog on the next mat just might be singer Donna De Lory.

Theatricum Botanicum

This magical outdoor theatre offers an annual season of Shakespeare as well as socially relevant contemporary plays, such as The Women of Lockerbie (in which an act of hatred is converted into an act of love) and Cherry Docs (featuring a neo-Nazi skinhead and a liberal, court-appointed Jewish lawyer), plus sensational improv comedy with Off the Grid. Bring wine and a picnic to enjoy in the relaxed gardens.

8^th Annual Topanga Film Festival (7/28–31)

The producers ride the cutting edge of the “new era of global trans-format content” and strive to keep it green with good grub from environmentally friendly vendors and water that’s not “imprisoned in plastic.” You’ll see even more of Topanga at the festival’s multiple locations.

Where to Dine

Café Mimosa

Café Mimosa has been the hip local hangout for 20 years. Enjoy your coffee (a private blend) or Pirate’s Green Chai (made with hemp milk) with a vegan, gluten-free muffin or slightly more decadent scone. If you’re feeling it, the homemade cream puffs will make your eyelashes flutter. Browse an intriguing assortment of gift items while you watch a colorful array of characters amble through.

Canyon Bistro

Before catching a play or film, make time for Canyon Bistro in Pine Tree Circle. This newest addition to the localdining scene offers skillfully prepared California-French cuisine. If you go for Sunday brunch, the thick French toast with fresh berries and powdered sugar will be the stuff of your daydreams for weeks.

Inn of the Seventh Ray

This sublime local landmark, situated just above Topanga Creek, features organic produce and meat from local farms, and organic bread is baked daily. No preservatives, refined sugars or flours are used. After you’ve basked in the glow of your health-filled meal, find a memento of the good vibrations at the onsite Spiral Staircase gift shop and bookstore.

Where To Stay

The Mountain Mermaid

The Mermaid, named for one of the first families that settled Topanga in 1839, is located in the area known as Cheney Canyon, off Cheney Road. Now a California Point of Historic Interest, it began as a country club in the 1930s, evolved into a gay nightclub and then a gambling operation run by notorious gangster Mickey Cohen. In 1971, Joni Mitchell immortalized it in the song “Carey.”

The Mermaid now boasts three spacious rooms appointed with one-of-a-kind antiques and a collection of eclectic mermaids. Wild peacocks roam the exquisite gardens, and Monarch butterflies have an official waystation here on their migration. Stone steps lead to a glamorous azure swimming pool, where you can listen to a chorus of birds while you swim laps or float under the stars. Bring a copy of T. C. Boyle’s best-selling novel Tortilla Curtain, which is set in Topanga, to read by the pool.

Tuscali Mountain Inn Luxury B&B

This relatively new inn features two finely detailed rooms, one master suite, and inviting common spaces. Fall asleep on fine Italian linen to the sound of a burbling fountain and the scent of rose-perfumed air. Wake to morning papers on a private patio. Enjoy freshly prepared breakfast with vegetarian options, complimentary bathrobes, private massage, evening hors d’oeuvres and a fine selection of California wines.

There are a number of other dining and sleeping options in Topanga, too numerous to list here, so take some time to explore and find your favorites. Whether you stay for an afternoon or a weekend, you’re sure to head back down the canyon feeling rested and refreshed.

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Café Mimosa

395 S. Topanga Cyn. Blvd.

www.cafemimosa.info

310.455.4341