Say Eagle Rock to most Angeleno urbanists and you think about the neighborhood tucked into the northeast hills beneath that boulder looming by the freeway.

To those (like me) who prefer dirt over pavement, then this location triggers your thoughts westward to the heart of Topanga State Park as its Eagle Rock is a popular destination for park users.

It’s especially a great place for cyclists as there’s access to so much to in the area.

You can either just pass through connecting east off of “the Hub” on Temescal Ridge or through the many possibilities towards Topanga Canyon to the west.

The other option is to do a three mile loop bounded by the Backbone Trail to the north and Eagle Springs Fire Road to the south.

It’s hard to choose between which direction is best to do the loop as both offer great views with some punchy climbing sections involved.

Topanga / Eagle Rock Loop – 31.1 Miles / 3,754 Feet of Elevation (link)

Another unique characteristic no matter which way you access is the underlying Red Rock which pokes its way in and out of the Santa Monica Mountains in a few places.

On this particular ride, we didn’t actually target Eagle Rock, but seeing how we were making good time (so far), this was a nice little diversion to make.

Strangely, I had never set foot on this rockscape before this ride, let alone thinking anyone would climb it on a gravel bike no less.

Dylan making it up was quite the achievement, not necessarily that it’s the steepest slope out there, but navigating that rock can really stall your momentum.

It was also New Bike…Month for Sam

In a way, it reminded me of Eldred, one of top three steepest in America where it gets exponentially tougher the last 20 yards as the cracks in the century old concrete make it nearly impossible to stay upright.

Nonetheless, better Dylan than me and we continued on to have fun as there are so many dirt options abound.

While not planned, you ride this area odds are you’ll be like us and cannot avoid the attraction that is Eagle Rock.