Topanga Lookout Trail

I’ve been wanting to do this hike for many years. I’ve seen photos of the spray painted platform at the end of the trail and it was supposed to be an easy hike with stunning views.
There were some heavy clouds rolling in over the mountains this morning though so we couldn’t see squat. Great for hiking, not so great for the view. 

We were not so upset about the clouds. We have seen these mountains and the view many times before, our target was that spray painted platform. It was pretty easy to spot the trail, just follow the tags!

After a short hike we arrived at this tower. We got super excited but also very confused; was this it? It doesn’t look anything like on the photos, and this one was fenced off, you were supposed to be able to walk on it!

I quick look at the directions which said “follow the ridge past the tower”.

We started to get a little suspicious when the trail got smaller and smaller, and when we eventually hit these boulders we thought it’d be a good idea to look a little closer on those directions. Yep, we made a wrong turn.

Got a different view of the tower on our way back.

This path looks much better!

We made it to the Topanga Lookout! It used to be a fire tower, but then I read somewhere that it burnt down, ironically.

I forgot my spray paint at home, but we brought snacks!

The whole thing took us two hours, which was great. Gives us time for a speed nap before the afternoon shenanigans start.