I'll be in Beverly Hills on business in a few weeks. An old friend of mine will be coming up from La Jolla to hang out a bit and I'll be renting a car. We share an enjoyment for nice curvy roads, so I've been looking at planning a good route to the west for some good driving and some good food. On such short notice, and with exotics out of the price range, it looks like the rental will be a Mustang convertible. I know, I know, nothing special, but the new ones aren't bad, and at least it's topless and rwd. So...

What's a good loop? This route (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=16453784988188036653,34.029070,-118.756690%3B9940163964607398548,34.064608,-118.782414%3B2844274325074797228,34.103698,-118.791782%3B7463810373133581437,34.110760,-118.768080%3B3063500118582988073,34.066360,-118.672150%3B6722643218271763681,34.042000,-118.569130&saddr=Pacific+Coast+Hwy+%4034.029070,+-118.756690&daddr=Latigo+Canyon+Rd+%4034.064608,+-118.782414+to:Mulholland+Hwy+%4034.103698,+-118.791782+to:Mulholland+Hwy+%4034.110760,+-118.768080+to:Piuma+Rd+%4034.066360,+-118.672150+to:34.036444,-118.635864&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=5&sz=12&via=1,2,3,4&doflg=ptm&sll=34.088208,-118.642044&sspn=0.16605,0.204277&ie=UTF8&ll=34.090767,-118.731308&spn=0.166045,0.204277&z=12), in particular, looks promising. Any suggestions? Also, are they any nice, unique dinner spots in that area, preferably somewhere with outdoor seating and an ocean view?

mullholland drive but becareful

mullholland drive but becareful

Of the road or of other drivers? I'm not well-versed in those roads, but I vaguely remember hearing that drivers are dangerous on that road in particular.

Of the road or of other drivers? I'm not well-versed in those roads, but I vaguely remember hearing that drivers are dangerous on that road in particular.

or cops?

sorry yea mullhollan hwy watch out for cops

Thanks. I'm not planning to go crazy in an unfamiliar car anyway. Any other roads worth visiting in the area?

I'll be in Beverly Hills on business in a few weeks. An old friend of mine will be coming up from La Jolla to hang out a bit and I'll be renting a car. We share an enjoyment for nice curvy roads, so I've been looking at planning a good route to the west for some good driving and some good food. On such short notice, and with exotics out of the price range, it looks like the rental will be a Mustang convertible. I know, I know, nothing special, but the new ones aren't bad, and at least it's topless and rwd. So...

What's a good loop? This route (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=16453784988188036653,34.029070,-118.756690%3B9940163964607398548,34.064608,-118.782414%3B2844274325074797228,34.103698,-118.791782%3B7463810373133581437,34.110760,-118.768080%3B3063500118582988073,34.066360,-118.672150%3B6722643218271763681,34.042000,-118.569130&saddr=Pacific+Coast+Hwy+%4034.029070,+-118.756690&daddr=Latigo+Canyon+Rd+%4034.064608,+-118.782414+to:Mulholland+Hwy+%4034.103698,+-118.791782+to:Mulholland+Hwy+%4034.110760,+-118.768080+to:Piuma+Rd+%4034.066360,+-118.672150+to:34.036444,-118.635864&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=5&sz=12&via=1,2,3,4&doflg=ptm&sll=34.088208,-118.642044&sspn=0.16605,0.204277&ie=UTF8&ll=34.090767,-118.731308&spn=0.166045,0.204277&z=12), in particular, looks promising. Any suggestions? Also, are they any nice, unique dinner spots in that area, preferably somewhere with outdoor seating and an ocean view?I like to take PCH and use that as a starting point to run my different canyon roads inland several miles, then i turn around and run them the opposite direction back to PCH, then i go up PCH to the next road then run it all the way in and back etc. All these roads start at PCH. Just be advised that the CHP and L.A. County Sheriff and Ventura County Sheriffs all do very aggressive speed and double-yellow-line enforcement on just about all the canyon roads as well as PCH due to too much canyon racing. They all use moving and stationary Ka and K band radar as well as Laser. They hear you coming and wait till you come around a fast corner and they zap you before you can do anything about it so if you're going to be going fast, be on the lookout. My favorite roads (in order when driving west on PCH) are:

Latigo Canyon (pretty tight turns for about 13 miles then it ends at Kanan Dume).

Encinal Canyon - fast and flowing, nice views of the ocean when coming back down to PCH.

Mulholland Highway - my favorite road with lots of variety - and it's really long. It will take you past the famous Rock Store. Lots of radar all along this road.

Yerba Buena - this fun scenic road starts right next to the Neptune's Net fish restaurant on PCH and loops around the hills, eventually changes names to Little Sycamore, then ends at Mulholland Highway. I sometimes turn onto Mulholland but i usually turn around and take it back to Neptune's Net.

Deer Creek Road - This is more of a scenic road - it climbs quickly from PCH and has extremely steep drop offs with not much guardrail so take it easy on this road - especially when coming back down to PCH. This isn't a canyon racing road, but this road climbs really high and the ocean views from the top are breathtaking. Don't overheat your brakes on the way down. When you're driving west on PCH you have to look carefully for this road because it comes up quickly as you round a curve on PCH.

Some of these smaller roads are shown on Google Maps but they're not labeled, but if you zoom in and enlarge the map you'll be able to see the names suddenly appear.

For dinner, Gladstone's restaurant is right on the beach where Sunset Blvd ends at PCH. It has an incredible ocean view and outdoor seating.

Check Mountainblasting.com

I'll be in Beverly Hills on business in a few weeks. An old friend of mine will be coming up from La Jolla to hang out a bit and I'll be renting a car. We share an enjoyment for nice curvy roads, so I've been looking at planning a good route to the west for some good driving and some good food. On such short notice, and with exotics out of the price range, it looks like the rental will be a Mustang convertible. I know, I know, nothing special, but the new ones aren't bad, and at least it's topless and rwd. So...

What's a good loop? This route (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=16453784988188036653,34.029070,-118.756690%3B9940163964607398548,34.064608,-118.782414%3B2844274325074797228,34.103698,-118.791782%3B7463810373133581437,34.110760,-118.768080%3B3063500118582988073,34.066360,-118.672150%3B6722643218271763681,34.042000,-118.569130&saddr=Pacific+Coast+Hwy+%4034.029070,+-118.756690&daddr=Latigo+Canyon+Rd+%4034.064608,+-118.782414+to:Mulholland+Hwy+%4034.103698,+-118.791782+to:Mulholland+Hwy+%4034.110760,+-118.768080+to:Piuma+Rd+%4034.066360,+-118.672150+to:34.036444,-118.635864&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=5&sz=12&via=1,2,3,4&doflg=ptm&sll=34.088208,-118.642044&sspn=0.16605,0.204277&ie=UTF8&ll=34.090767,-118.731308&spn=0.166045,0.204277&z=12), in particular, looks promising. Any suggestions? Also, are they any nice, unique dinner spots in that area, preferably somewhere with outdoor seating and an ocean view?

A great guy to talk to on this would be Brewtech - look him up and PM him. He organizes an E39 meet in the Malibu area, and the routes he picked for the one I went on were superb. He's a really cool guy, so I'm almost sure he'll hook you up with the top-notch info.

I like to take PCH and use that as a starting point to run my different canyon roads inland several miles, then i turn around and run them the opposite direction back to PCH, then i go up PCH to the next road then run it all the way in and back etc. All these roads start at PCH. Just be advised that the CHP and L.A. County Sheriff and Ventura County Sheriffs all do very aggressive speed and double-yellow-line enforcement on just about all the canyon roads as well as PCH due to too much canyon racing. They all use moving and stationary Ka and K band radar as well as Laser. They hear you coming and wait till you come around a fast corner and they zap you before you can do anything about it so if you're going to be going fast, be on the lookout. My favorite roads (in order when driving west on PCH) are:

Latigo Canyon (pretty tight turns for about 13 miles then it ends at Kanan Dume).

Encinal Canyon - fast and flowing, nice views of the ocean when coming back down to PCH.

Mulholland Highway - my favorite road with lots of variety - and it's really long. It will take you past the famous Rock Store. Lots of radar all along this road.

Yerba Buena - this fun scenic road starts right next to the Neptune's Net fish restaurant on PCH and loops around the hills, eventually changes names to Little Sycamore, then ends at Mulholland Highway. I sometimes turn onto Mulholland but i usually turn around and take it back to Neptune's Net.

Deer Creek Road - This is more of a scenic road - it climbs quickly from PCH and has extremely steep drop offs with not much guardrail so take it easy on this road - especially when coming back down to PCH. This isn't a canyon racing road, but this road climbs really high and the ocean views from the top are breathtaking. Don't overheat your brakes on the way down. When you're driving west on PCH you have to look carefully for this road because it comes up quickly as you round a curve on PCH.

Some of these smaller roads are shown on Google Maps but they're not labeled, but if you zoom in and enlarge the map you'll be able to see the names suddenly appear.

For dinner, Gladstone's restaurant is right on the beach where Sunset Blvd ends at PCH. It has an incredible ocean view and outdoor seating.

Great posts, guys, especially this one; thanks. I PMed Brewtech as well. It's going to be a great time.