Canyon Dip and Sip

Hike at Tuna Canyon Wine at Taste Rosenthal

07.20.2015

Secluded at 1,500 feet in the Santa Monica Mountains, Tuna Canyon Park in Malibu is quiet even on a weekend afternoon. And that's great if you like your hikes quiet. Get to the heart of Tuna and discover a 1,255-acre mountainous preserve of Pacific-hugging panoramas and hiking trails, plus a marquee vantage marked by … a giant heart! This 3.8-mile (round-trip) hike to the preserve's western viewpoint, Big Rock Lateral, features great views and a huge hand-strewn rock formation of a heart. Start at peak elevation and head downward into the canyon along a wide dirt trail. All in, it's a 750-foot descent, filled with views of golden hills specked with sagebrush and the ocean as a steady presence. The trail ends at a clearing that looks ideal for extra-terrestrial landings, protruding to the ocean and wowing with western views up the coast of Malibu. The giant rock heart found here might be still and stoic, but your heart will be flipping for joy.

SIP TIP: Afterwards, drive a few miles down the road for food trucks and a flight of wines at Malibu's Rosenthal Tasting Room (18741 Pacific Coast Highway), a beachfront favorite for flopping onto charming oversized patio furniture and sipping from a selection of Rosenthal and Surfrider wines. Weekends have food trucks and live music.

The trailhead is at 2804 Tuna Canyon Rd., Topanga. Pass through a white gate to begin the hike. Keep right at the path's junctures. When you reach a clearing, make a hard left to continue downhill. The road ends at a final clearing; then turn back the way you came. Free street parking. The hike is dog friendly! No dogs at Rosenthal. 

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