Biohazard and Crime Scene Remediation in Topanga, CA

Topanga is an unincorporated census-designated place in western Los Angeles County, California, tucked into Topanga Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The name Topanga comes from the Tongva word Topaa'nga, which may mean 'where the mountain meets the sea' or 'a place above.'

Topanga was first settled by Mexicans in 1839, became a weekend getaway for Hollywood stars in the 1920s, and turned into a magnet for artists and musicians in the 1960s, when Wallace Berman settled there in 1965 and Neil Young later lived in the canyon.

The US Census counted 8,560 people in Topanga in 2020, up from 8,289 in 2010, and Census QuickFacts counts about 3,120 households averaging 2.85 persons.

Topanga State Park, within the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, is the largest park in the Santa Monica Mountains and one of the largest open-space preserves surrounded by a city anywhere in the world.

Topanga Canyon Boulevard, State Route 27, is the only through-route across this part of the mountains, linking US-101 in the San Fernando Valley to the Pacific Coast Highway.

Topanga Creek forms the third-largest watershed draining into Santa Monica Bay.

By land area Topanga is the largest unincorporated community in Los Angeles County, although most of its territory is undeveloped mountain open space under ZIP code 90290.

Topanga was counted as a census-designated place for the first time only in the 2010 census, despite its long history as a settled canyon community.

In January 2025 the Palisades Fire severely impacted Topanga, forcing evacuations, destroying structures and closing the canyon's roads.