60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Los Angeles: Including Ventura and Orange Counties

by Laura Randall

Overview

It's Time to Take a Hike in Los Angeles!

60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Los Angeles shows readers how to quickly drive to and enjoy the best hikes from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.

With time, health, and pin money at a premium, this handy guide helps Angelenos get back to nature without going out of town. From Palos Verdes on the coast to Santa Clarita to the north and the expansive San Gabriel Mountains, it details 60 hikes and walks within roughly an hour's drive of Los Angeles, encouraging even the most time-starved trekkers to get on the trails and get healthy.

Extensive at-a-glance information makes it easy to choose the perfect hike based on length, difficulty, scenery, or on a specific factor such as hikes good for families, runners, or birding. Each trail profile includes maps, directions, driving times, nearby attractions, and other pertinent details.

Having lived in just about every area of Los Angeles, author Laura Randall provides key in-the-know information about traffic patterns, the best times to hike, how to avoid expensive parking fees, and the best burrito joints near the trailhead.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781634040365
Publisher:	Menasha Ridge Press
Publication date:	02/09/2016
Series:	60 Hikes Within 60 Miles
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	1,054,981
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

A native of suburban Philadelphia, Laura Randall lived in Washington, D.C., and San Juan, Puerto Rico, before moving to the Los Angeles area in 1999. Her byline can be found in a variety of newspapers and consumer magazines, including the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Sunset Magazine, and the Christian Science Monitor. From the Westside to the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, she has lived in many Los Angeles neighborhoods and can lead you to excellent trails in just about any pocket of the city. Randall is also the author of Peaceful Places: Los Angeles.

Read an Excerpt

ELYSIAN PARK: WILDFLOWER TRAIL

• DISTANCE & CONFIGURATION: 2.5-mile loop
• DIFFICULTY: Easy
• SCENERY: Wildflowers; birds; groves of ficus, oak, and sycamore trees
• EXPOSURE: Sun and shade
• TRAFFIC: Moderate
• TRAIL SURFACE: Packed dirt
• HIKING TIME: 1.25 hours
• ACCESS: Daily, 5 a.m.–9 p.m.; free
• MAPS: USGS Los Angeles; at kiosk near Grace E. Simons Lodge
• WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE: No
• FACILITIES: Restrooms, picnic tables, water fountains, playground
• CONTACT: 213-485-5054; laparks.org /dos/parks/facility/elysianPk.htm
• COMMENTS: No bikes are allowed on this trail, and dogs must be leashed.

IN BRIEF

Yellow wildflowers and birds dominate this easy loop trail in the spring. It’s a popular jogging path year-round, but it never seems overcrowded. A small secluded garden with a bench can be found at the midway point.

DESCRIPTION

The 600-acre Elysian Park is the city’s oldest park and second only in size to Griffith Park. No stranger to controversy, the park saw three of its communities uprooted to make room for Dodger Stadium in 1950, and later it was divided in half by the Pasadena Freeway.

Still, it’s a great place for a solitary run or hike, though its lack of good trail maps can be confusing for those unfamiliar with the area. Birders also frequent the park; recent sightings include red-tailed hawks, western bluebirds, black-headed grosbeaks, and Lucy’s warblers. On weekends, the park is full of picnicking families, exercise hounds, and nature lovers. If there happens to be a home baseball game, the area is even livelier; try to plan your visit so it doesn’t coincide with the beginning or end of a game, or you will likely find yourself caught in a massive traffic jam.

The Wildflower Trail begins just beyond a lush, grassy picnic area landscaped with palm trees and picnic tables. Look for the white fire-road gate near the sign for Grace E. Simons Lodge, a rental facility for birthday parties, weddings, and corporate gatherings. Begin walking on the dirt trail past rows of tall pine and sycamore trees. To your right is a shady ravine that serves as a buffer to Stadium Way, which runs parallel with the first leg of the trail. In the spring, you’ll soon reach the thick patches of yellow wildflowers that give the trail its name. At about 0.5 mile, the path dips downward and gives way to prominent views of both sides of I-5, one of L.A.’s busiest roads. Hiking this trail during rush hour makes it all the sweeter as you look down on the gridlock below. Beyond the freeway and industrial areas that surround it, you can also see the Verdugo and San Gabriel Mountains. It’s not long, however, before the path curves around to the left and heads uphill away from the freeway. Just shy of 1 mile, you’ll pass a green water tower and glimpse private homes on the right, though they are well shrouded by trees and brush. As the uphill path levels, you’ll reach a shady resting place with a bench, trash cans, and landscaping. This is the Marian Harlow Memorial Grove, a peaceful place to stop and rest for a moment.

For a shorter hike, take the path to the left of the garden back to the trailhead. To extend this hike, you can continue to the right for another mile or so. The trail widens a bit here and on clear days has views of the downtown L.A. skyline—first filtered through the trees, then wide-open views. You will probably see more foot traffic along this leg of the trail, as it can also be easily accessed from a small parking lot on Academy Road. At 1.2 miles, you’ll pass another trail that leads back to the parking lot. I had intended to take this trail back to my car, but the cloudless day made me want to prolong the hike, so I continued on the main trail as it loomed over Grace E. Simons Lodge and the Chavez Ravine Arboretum on my left. After about 0.5 mile, I reached the Academy Road parking lot and reversed course on a paved path that led back to the parking lot.

NEARBY ACTIVITIES

Take some time before or after your hike to walk through the open-air Chavez Ravine Arboretum, near the parking lot for Grace E. Simons Lodge. Founded in 1893 by the Los Angeles Horticultural Society, the arboretum has more than 1,000 varieties of trees from around the world, including redwoods from northern California, pines from the Rocky Mountains, and eucalyptus from Australia. For more information call 213-485-5054 or visit laparks.org/dos/horticulture/chavez.htm.

GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES

N34° 5.210' W118° 14.596'

From I-5, take Exit 138 (Stadium Way), and follow signs to Dodger Stadium. In 0.8 mile, turn right at Grace E. Simons Lodge, and park along the curb or farther down the road in the parking lot adjacent to the lodge. The trailhead is just behind you to the right.

Table of Contents

Overview Map

Overview Map Key i

Acknowledgments viii

Foreword ix

Preface x

60 Hikes by Category xiii

Introduction 1

Downtown Los Angeles (Including Griffith Park, Hollywood, Baldwin Hills) 10

1 Baldwin Hills: Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area Trails 12

2 Burbank Peak to Mount Lee 16

3 Elysian Park: Angels Point to Bishops Canyon 20

4 Elysian Park: Wildflower Trail 23

5 Ernest E. Debs Regional Park: City View and Walnut Forest Trails 27

6 Griffith Park: Amir's Garden 31

7 Griffith Park: Charlie Turner Trail 34

8 Griffith Park: Hollyridge Trail 38

9 Mount Washington: Jack Smith Trail 41

10 Runyon Canyon 44

West (Including San Fernando Valley, Verdugo Mountains, Santa Monica Mountains) 48

11 Arroyo Sequit Trail 50

12 Caballero Canyon Trail 53

13 Calabasas Peak Motorway 56

14 Franklin Canyon: Ranch and Hastain Trails 59

15 Fryman Canyon Loop 63

16 Grotto Trail 66

17 Malibu Creek State Park: M*A*S*H Trail 69

18 Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park; Hub Junction Trail 72

19 Paramount Ranch: Hacienda Trail to Backdrop Trail 75

20 Peter Strauss Trail 79

21 San Vicente Mountain: Old Nike Missile Site 83

East (including Glendale, Pasadena, San Gabriel Mountains) 86

22 Arroyo Seco: Gabrielino National Recreation Trail 88

23 Beaudry Loop 92

24 Brand Fire Road Trail 96

25 Cherry Canyon Park 99

26 Deukmejian Wilderness Park Trails 103

27 Eaton Canyon Falls and Henninger Flats 107

28 Josephine Peak 111

29 La Canada Fire Road to Gabrielino National Recreation Trail 114

30 La Tuna Canyon 117

31 Legg Lake Loop Trail 120

32 Lower Arroyo Seco Trail 123

33 Millard Canyon: Sunset Ridge Trail 127

34 Monrovia Canyon Park: Bill Cull and Falls Trails 131

35 Mount Wilson Trail to Orchard Camp 135

36 Sam Merrill Trail to Echo Mountain 139

37 Stough Canyon Nature Center Trail 143

38 Switzer Falls via Bear Canyon Trail 146

39 West Fork Trail 149

Coast (including Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Palos Verdes) 154

40 Charmlee Wilderness Park Loop Trail 156

41 Corral Canyon Loop 159

42 Palos Verdes: Ocean Trails Reserve 162

43 Paseo Miramar Trail to Parker Mesa Overlook 166

44 Portuguese Bend Reserve: Burma Road Trail 170

45 Solstice Canyon and Rising Sun Trails 173

46 Temescal Ridge Trail 176

47 Will Rogers State Historic Park: Inspiration Point Loop Trail 179

Orange County and La Puente Hills 184

48 Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Huntington Beach 186

49 Crystal Cove State Park: El Mora Canyon Trail 190

50 Hacienda Hills Trail 194

51 Hellman Park: Peppergrass Trail to Rattlesnake Ridge Trail 197

52 Oak Canyon Nature Center: Bluebird Lane and Wren Way 201

53 Peters Canyon Regional Park: Lake View Trail 204

Simi and Antelope Valleys 208

54 Corriganville Park: Interpretive and Loop Trails 210

55 Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area: Devil's Chair Trail 214

56 Davis Park in Towsley Canyon: Canyon View Loop Trail 218

57 Hummingbird Trail 221

58 Pacific Crest Trail at Vasquez Rocks 225

59 Placerita Canyon: Walker Ranch 229

60 Wildwood Park: Lizard Rock 233

Appendix A Outdoor Shops 237

Appendix B Hiking Clubs and Organizations 238

About the Author 245

Map Legend