Riding the Malibu canyons with DROC
The canyons behind Malibu, Latigo, Mulholland Highway, Piuma and Stunt Road, are the most famous motorcycling roads in Southern California, and the most watched. DROC runs them at least twice a year.
The pattern is usually the same: the canyons in the morning, then down to the coast and east to Bike Shed LA for Italian Bike Day, which DROC has ridden to 30 times in various forms. The other route to Bike Shed goes over Angeles Crest instead.
The roads themselves
The canyons are the ride, not the coast road. Malibu Canyon and Las Virgenes cut inland from the sea; Latigo Canyon is the technical one, tight and relentless and the reason most people come; Decker Canyon, State Route 23, is steeper and more serious again; Mulholland Highway ties them together past the Rock Store; and Kanan Dume is the fast way back through the tunnels.
Pacific Coast Highway is open, and still a building site in places. It reopened in May 2025 after the Palisades Fire closed it for five months, but Caltrans repair work continues with completion estimated in autumn 2026. Expect intermittent lane closures and reduced speed limits between Temescal Canyon and Carbon Beach Terrace, and budget more time on the coast leg than the map suggests.
Ride the canyons in the morning. By early afternoon on a weekend the Rock Store stretch of Mulholland carries as many spectators, cyclists and sightseers as riders, and Latigo becomes an exercise in patience.
How DROC rides it
- Latigo Canyon is the signature climb: tight, well surfaced, and busy with bikes on a weekend.
- The Rock Store on Mulholland is the traditional stop, and it is worth seeing once even if you do not linger.
- This is heavily patrolled and heavily photographed. Ride it like somebody is watching, because somebody is.
- Pacific Coast Highway on the way in or out adds distance but makes it a proper day.
- PCH is slower than it looks. Ongoing fire-recovery work through autumn 2026, with lane closures and lowered limits east of Malibu.
- Latigo is the technical one. Blind, tightening corners with no run-off and a drop on one side. Ride your own pace.
- Sand and gravel at canyon mouths. The bends nearest the coast collect it, and it does not clear on its own.
- Heavily watched. Mulholland and the Rock Store area draw enforcement precisely because they draw riders.
- Cyclists everywhere on a weekend morning. Especially Latigo and Mulholland. Hang back and pass wide.
Every time we have ridden it
- Ride to Malibu Canyons & Italian Bike Day at Bike Shed – October 2024, October 2024
- Ride Malibu canyons and lunch at Bike Shed for Italian MC Day – November 2023, November 2023
- DROC-DOC Malibu Canyons March 2022, March 2022
- DROC – DOC Malibu Canyons ride August 2021, August 2021
Route plans
These are the actual route plans DROC has used, with the map for each. Ride leaders pick from these rather than inventing a route every time, which is why the same roads come up again: they work. Nothing stops you riding them on your own.
| Route | Length | Hours | Map |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malibu all canyons | Full day | Route | |
| Malibu longer | Full day | Route | |
| Malibu | Full day | Route | |
| Malibu short loop and Bike Shed | Full day | Route |
Ride it with us
Malibu days are long and usually tie into Italian Bike Day at Bike Shed. Ground rules and hand signals are on the rides page.