Los Angeles Walking + Hiking
LA is beloved for primary things: weather, sunshine, and great outdoors.
My Intel
When considering walking and hiking activities these top 3 things have been taken into consideration: 1. Beauty alongside at least a medium amount of rigor 2. Dog friendliness, and 3. Accessibility or parking
These are what’s kept in mind when making favorites.
Griffith Park
There’s a reason Griffith Park is listed as one of the top sights of LA. It encompasses the architecture of the observatory but is also the “largest municipal park with urban wilderness” in the USA. I recommend walking up to and around the Observatory itself, open Tuesday-Sunday, with splendorous views of the city, including a look at the token Hollywood sign.
The views from the observatory offer a particularly expansive grasp of the city of LA. There are other attractions in the park including the Greek Theatre, the zoo, golf courses, tennis courts, and numerous trails around all these establishments.
Griffith trails encapsulate an idyllic LA, a kind of brilliant desert energy enriched with local flora and fauna throughout. Parking lots and street parking are available, the Observatory opens noon-10 PM and 10-10 PM on weekends.
View
View from the observatory
Trail from the Roosevelt golf course
Rose Bowl, Brookside Park
The Rose Bowl is a notable attraction and a boasting point of the city of Pasadena. The track adjacent to the Rose Bowl Stadium is a walk that feels like a familial place that could be anywhere except the view is greatly mountainous.
Brookside just next to the track has more typical hiking, meaning up and down trails. These inclines are short, more categorically hilly rather than mountainous, and enjoyable for a jaunt.
The open green space surrounding is also a perfect place to picnic, throw a frisbee, and lounge. There are picnic tables scattered throughout the area. Both are open all hours with ample parking. There’s a children’s music on-site and a recreation center nearby as well.
View of the sun around the track
Angeles Crest
Angeles Crest is the most mega East LA spot for hiking. This includes for meandering mountain-scape views, overlooks, and undulating terrain. Most explicitly a highway, Angeles Crest makes for a winding uphill drive that some speeders take to do drift sort of situations at. At the various stops, lookout points, and camp sites, there are trails and paths worthy of the pickiest hiker.
It can be windy up at this tip-top and there’s no cell service, but the air is wonderful. The drive up and down is for the confident behind the wheel.
Deb’s Lake
Deb’s Lake around Montecito Heights in Northeast LA is one of those secret oases of the east side. The pond itself is small and seems almost out of place up on the hill.
The paths up to and around the lake are versatile, you can take the wide paved road or the slimmer trails surrounded by trees and flowery plants. There are hills, steep inclines, and easy meandering. Note that if you’re hiking with a pup, be careful around the early summertime when tons of prickers fall to the ground and can get stuck in dogs’ paws.
Unlike Runyon and Griffith which have become rampant with regulars and tourists, this spot is a local haven, so remember to be respectful in this regard.
Deb’s Lake. If you’re searching for the location on Google Maps, ‘Deb’s Parking Lot’ will bring you to the base park and trailheads
View of DTLA mid trail
Runyon Canyon
Runyon is one of those iconic hiking destinations. It’s an excellent hike mostly uphill and a good workout. It provides exquisite views of the surrounding city of LA. It’s usually crowded on weekdays and weekends, and regulars will often let their dogs off-leash.
There are numerous entrance points, all have undulating vistas. I recommend the North Fuller Ave starting point from which you can easily walk or run up towards various lookout points.
There are steps and natural steps on the steeper inclines of Runyon which make for a challenging sprint up
Eaton Canyon
Eaton is like the cousin to Runyon where the trails share a medium strenuousness. However, they’re around the river and have flat trails as well as steep inclines. The canyon is under the San Gabriel mountains and provides a rugged, immersed-in-the-wilderness type of hike more so than the aforementioned. There’s a waterfall trail that most people visit the canyon for.
View part way to the top of one of the trails
The San Gabriel mountains in the distance at the trail head by the Nature Reserve
Bottom line
There are SO many trails, parks, and places to explore afoot in LA…sometimes the more off-the-beaten-path, the better the view. Sometimes the more on the path, the better the view. There’s versatility.
*Safety tip
Coyotes are often seen at any and all of these locations. If you encounter one or more, back away, and if they approach toss a rock their way unless it’s pup season in the springtime which means you should retreat as they’re likely guarding a den.
