Kanan Road / Kanan Dume Road is a major mostly north–south road that runs for , connecting the

Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle del Conejo'', meaning "Valley of the Rabbit") is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County, California, Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles C ...

and

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

with

California State Route 1 State Route 1 (SR 1) is a major north–south state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, ...

and Malibu in Ventura and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

counties. It is used by 40,000 commuters per day.

Name

Kanan Road was named after the Kanan family, several of whom migrated from

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

in the 1940s, then acquired land in

Agoura Hills Agoura Hills () is a city situated in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 20,330 as of the 2010 United States census, 2010 census, which decreased to 20,299 in 2020. Agoura H ...

in the 1950s. Kanan Dume Road was named as such because it was intended to extend Kanan Road to

Point Dume Point Dume is a promontory on the coast of Malibu, California that juts out into the Pacific Ocean. The point, a long bluff, forms the northern end of the Santa Monica Bay. Point Dume Natural Area affords a vista of the Palos Verdes Peninsul ...

Route

From the north, Kanan Road begins at Westlake Boulevard in

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees pr ...

in eastern

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises ...

, then travels west for before crossing into

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

. The road then travels south, intersecting with

before entering the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses this mountain range. Because of its p ...

and rising to an elevation of , where it intersects with

Mulholland Highway Mulholland Highway is a scenic road in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, that runs approximately through the western Santa Monica Mountains from near U.S. Route 101, US Route 101 (Ventura Freeway) in Calabasas, C ...

. South of Mullholland, Kanan Road becomes Kanan Dume Road and continues through the Santa Monica Mountains to

in Malibu. The of Kanan and Kanan Dume Road between U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 are signed County Route N9. The southern-most of Kanan Dume Road feature an eight percent grade, with the final also featuring a deep,

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

filled, middle lane

runaway truck ramp A runaway truck ramp, runaway truck lane, escape lane, safety ramp, emergency escape ramp, or truck arrester bed is a traffic device that enables vehicles which are having braking problems to stop safely. It is typically a long, sand- or gravel- ...

. Communities that Kanan and Kanan Dume Road travel through include

and Oak Park in

and

and Malibu in

. Kanan Road is a Los Angeles County Designated Disaster Route and is the primary evacuation route for much of Malibu and 5000 additional residents in unincorporated Agoura and

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

. Kanan Dume Road features three tunnels within the

, named (from north to south) T-1, T-2, and T-3.

History

Kanan Road was developed by

Lou and Mark Boyar Lou may refer to: __NOTOC__ Personal name * Lou (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Lou (German singer) *Lou (French singer) * Lou (surname 娄), the 229th most common surname in China * Lou (surname 楼), the 269th most common ...

in 1964 as a way to connect their new community development Oak Park to

and the

. Kanan Dume Road was completed in 1974, pushed through by

residents who wanted a quicker connection to the coast. Several congressmen including Barry Goldwater Jr. opposed Kanan Dume Road, as they believed it would lead to indiscriminate use of the

, which they wished to preserve. Their efforts led to the creation of the

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is a national recreation area containing many individual parks and open space preserves, located primarily in Southern California's Santa Monica Mountains. Located in greater Los Ange ...

, which prevented extensive development in the area despite Kanan Dume Road being built. After a series of crashes and resulting deaths, a

was added to Kanan Dume Road's southern terminus in 1987. The maximum allowable weight for trucks was also dropped from 14,000 to 8,000 pounds that year.

Notable landmarks

Notable landmarks on Kanan and Kanan Dume Road include (from south to north):

Backbone Trail The Backbone Trail is a long distance trail, long-distance trail extending 67.79 miles (109.10 km) across the Santa Monica Mountains in the U.S. state of California. Its western terminus is Point Mugu State Park, and its eastern terminus is ...

, Calamigos Ranch, Rocky Oaks Park, Mae Boyar Park, and

Oak Park Library An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

. Schools on Kanan Road include (from southeast to northwest): Willow Elementary, Oak Park High, and Oak Hills Elementary.

In popular culture

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'' character

Kanan Jarrus Kanan Jarrus (born Caleb Dume) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr. He is featured as one of the main characters of the animated series ''Star Wars Rebels'' (2014–2018) and related works. His ...

, born Caleb Dume, was named after Kanan Dume Road. Kanan Road was also referenced in the 1979 song ''Music into Gold'' by John Stewart featuring

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasing the album ...

. Films shot on Kanan and Kanan Dume Road include '' Heaven Can Wait'', '' Deep Impact'', ''

Poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...

'', and '' Phantasm''.

References

{{SMMNRA Streets in Los Angeles County, California Oak Park, California Agoura Hills, California Malibu, California Santa Monica Mountains