Latigo Canyon Road, Malibu
A tight canyon climb from the Pacific Coast Highway up to the Kanan Dume ridge, turning almost continuously through the coastal side of the Santa Monica Mountains.
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Planning the drive
Latigo packs 98 counted bends into 10.2 miles, 24 of them full switchbacks — more switchbacks than any other road mapped here, stacked almost continuously from PCH to the ridge. The grade stays moderate (7.3% at its steepest), so the demand is sustained direction-change and working through the switchback sequence cleanly, not outright steepness. The upper road also provides access to the Backbone Trail, so watch for hikers entering and leaving the trailhead area mid-corner. LA County Parks: Backbone Trail — Latigo Canyon access
Plan the coastal and ridge ends as separate parts of the drive. PCH supplies the coast approach, while Kanan Dume is another road to consult when choosing a return through the canyon network. Check current county closures before joining the roads into a loop; the route shown here describes Latigo itself. LA County: current road closures
Roads to connect
- Pacific Coast Highway · MalibuThe Malibu coast road at Latigo’s southern end.
- Kanan Dume RoadA broader connection between the coast and the canyon network to consider for your return.
Driving notes updated .
Road shape
- Length
- 10.2 mi
- Bends
- 98
- Switchbacks
- 24
- Bends per mile
- 9.6
- Turning per mile
- 1106°
- Curviest rank
- 11of 168
Measured from the OpenStreetMap centreline at a 20 m sampling step — road shape only, not a safety or speed judgement. How bends are counted.
Elevation
- Total climb
- 2,962ft
- Climb per mile
- 290ft
- Highest point
- 2,110ft
- Steepest grade
- 7.3%
Sampled every 100 m from USGS 10 m elevation data, a public-domain federal dataset. Total climb counts vertical change in both directions, so it does not depend on which way you drive. How elevation is measured.
Speed limits
Varies
Documented sections
Documented only where scoped: 30 mph (PCH to Malibu northern city limit); 30 mph (Kanan Dume to the Malibu boundary specified in the adopted April 30, 2019 county order). These sections do not cover the whole selected trace and have not been checked against current signs.
Documented only where scoped: 30 mph (PCH to Malibu northern city limit); 30 mph (Kanan Dume to the Malibu boundary specified in the adopted April 30, 2019 county order). These sections do not cover the whole selected trace and have not been checked against current signs.
Posted signs always govern. How speed evidence is handled.
Sources
Difficulty 3/3 (Demanding) is our editorial rating of width, bends and sightlines; “Technical” describes character, not a target speed. Full method. Identified from:
- Rennlist · Question for CA members
- Helen’s Cycles · Our favorite rides and routes
- City of Malibu · Municipal Code, Chapter 10.08, Speed Limits
- Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors / Public Works · Traffic regulations, adopted April 30, 2019
- OpenStreetMap road data (2 ways in this trace)
Reviewed 2026-09-09. The trace shows selected road sections, not a navigation route.
Roads nearby
Distances are approximate straight lines between road centers, not driving distances or direct connections.