Topanga (Tongva: Topaa'nga) is an unincorporated community in western Los Angeles County, California, United States.

[2] Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills.

The narrow southern portion of Topanga at the coast is between the city of Malibu and the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades.

For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Topanga as a census-designated place (CDP).

Topanga is the name given to the area by the Native American indigenous Tongva tribe,[4] and may mean "where the mountain meets the sea"[5] or "a place above."

[6] It was the western border of their territory, abutting the Chumash tribe that occupied the coast from Malibu northwards.

The rolling hills and ample vegetation served to provide both privacy and attractive surroundings for the rich and famous.

Charles Manson had previously been living in Topanga, where he had briefly befriended both Neil Young and Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys.

Topanga Canyon Boulevard, State Route 27, is the principal thoroughfare, connecting the Ventura Freeway (US 101) to the north with Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1) on the south.

North of the Old Topanga Canyon Road intersection, the boulevard traverses the Santa Monica Mountains.

Topanga Canyon contains lands of Topanga State Park, the largest park in the Santa Monica Mountains and one of the largest open space preserves surrounded by a city in the world,[citation needed] as well as the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

The Chumash people considered Lower Topanga a sacred, economic, and cultural meeting place for tribes all along the coast.

William Randolph Hearst owned the property for a time and turned it into a weekend getaway spot with beach shacks for his and Marion Davies' guests.

They maintained their houses without assistance, sometimes digging them out of the mud after floods or setting backfires to prevent a spreading wildfire from burning down their neighborhood.

Even though the Lower Topanga community occupied less than 2% of the total purchased land, State Parks had an aggressive policy to relocate everyone and bulldoze all of the houses.

[25] A group of 10 Lower Topanga poets calling themselves the "Idlers of the Bamboo Grove" published a book of the same name in 2002, celebrating their community and lamenting the prospect of having to leave.

In the 1950s, blacklisted actor Will Geer had to sell his large Santa Monica home and move his family to a small plot in the canyon where they could grow their own produce.

[28] After surviving extended battles with county officials the 9-acre (3.6 ha) property was sold in 2002 by its founder's heirs.

Topanga Days Country Fair features music, belly dancing, over 80 unique craft vendors and a variety of food from Cajun to Mexican to vegan.

The location of Topanga in the Santa Monica Mountains also makes the natural surroundings an important part of the culture.

Streams, waterfalls, cliffs of exposed bedrock, landmark rock outcroppings, and overlooks with panoramic views of the mountains, Pacific Ocean and Los Angeles are common attractions.

There are many trails for short walks, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, birdwatching, and rock climbing, all of which are important parts of the local community.

[35] The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) operates the Malibu/Lost Hills Station in Calabasas, serving Topanga.

The Tongva Valley, which appears in the 2013 videogame Grand Theft Auto V, is based on the Topanga Canyon.