Tuna Canyon, while not very long, is perhaps one of the best roads in Southern California. That's quite a statement, I know, but how many roads in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area are one-way through a very narrow canyon with no driveways or cross streets? Some people might prefer one-way uphill as it affords a greater level of safety, but with a little restraint you can prevent yourself from flying off the edge of the road (no guardrails to save you here) and have a great time.

Finding the "entrance" to this road can be a little challenging; while the southern end is very visible from PCH the northern end isn't quite as well marked. The simplest way to get here is to take Topanga Canyon and head west on Fernwood Pacific Dr. Fernwood will turn into Tuna Canyon, and at the intersection with Saddle Peak Rd. stay to the left as the road winds its way downhill. A few miles further and you will come to a set of gates and some big construction signs warning you of possible washouts. This advice should be given a lot of thought after a major storm, but the last time I was up this way the roadway was in great shape.

The upper section (blue on map) is fun in itself, but with quite a few driveways, blind corners, and the lack of a centerline it is best to use some restraint here. Once into the one-way section, however, the fun begins in earnest. The heart of this road is a single lane, very twisty, downhill stretch following the river canyon down towards the ocean. There really aren't any straights to speak of, although there are a few places you can get up a little speed, but the name of the game here is hairpin corners.

Scattered throughout this section are stop signs, which don't have anything to do with oncoming or cross traffic, but instead are placed just ahead of areas that commonly washout. The idea being that you are forced to stop and make sure there is actually a road surface there to drive on instead of being launched into a newly formed crevice. I guess we should be happy that the County cares so much for our safety, but in the daytime it is pretty easy to see if the road is passable or not.

After winding your way down the hill you will drop down to the "bottom" of the canyon and run in a mostly straight line towards PCH. The pavement down here is in worse shape than the rest of the road, and there are signs posted warning you of oncoming construction traffic. I shudder to think what that encounter would be like, as there is really no line of sight around most of those corners and even at 35mph you wouldn't have much time (and nowhere to go) if you came upon some heavy machinery headed uphill.

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