LA - favorite 'gravel' rides?
 

i'm near the san gabriels, and most of what we've got here is fireroads with singletrack climbing up to and back from. it's more tame mtb than gravel riding.
i'm going to make a concerted effort to spend less time on the roads with the earlier sunsets but i'm really not into grinding (walking) up deeply rutted trail to start every single ride. iirc the santa monicas aren't much different tho dirt mulholland seemed better.

no need for epicness, but some nice flow would a great change of pace. i envy those pics of east coast rides.

Neil Shirley rides out of Santa Clarita and is one of the best gravel riders in the country. So see if you can follow him on Strava and/or perhaps contact him through Road Bike Action magazine.

And then there is Amanda Naumann riding out of Orange County.

Finally, there is some great riding out in the Redlands area. The Redlands Strada Rossa in March is a great ride.

This is coming soon in Temecula: http://spndxstampede.com/

I'm going to be moving to LA early next year and looking to get in miles on the cross bike, thanks in advance for all of the advice here.

Santa Monica's would be your best bet for long fireroad riding. San Gabes are my favorite, but as you mentioned, more on the MTB side of things.

You could also ride the Verdugo range from its start in Glendale to finish its in Sunland. Out and back is about 25 miles of fireroad.