Hiking in Los Angeles

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Hiking

"Nobody Walks in L.A." sang the Missing Persons back in the '80s, and it's as true as ever -- but people do like to hike. With so many different land- and seascapes to explore, hiking is a major pastime for many Angelenos who crave an escape from city life, heading for the hills en masse on weekends, often with dogs in tow. From almost anywhere in L.A., you should find a fine trail a surprisingly short hop away. Remember, the region can be dry and hot at most times of the year, so take plenty of water and liberally apply (and reapply) sunblock. Hats and sunglasses help with hydration and UV protection.

The coast, the Hollywood Hills, and the parent range of the latter, the Santa Monica Mountains, are convenient getaways. If you're in the Pasadena area, you'll have easy access to the surprisingly wild San Gabriel Mountains of the Angeles Crest National Forest and the gentler San Gabriel Valley. Farther afield, look into some more extensive hikes in the Verdugo or Santa Susana Mountains. Don't venture deep into the national parks and forests alone. Griffith Park is one thing; the Angeles National Forest is quite another. Despite an active park ranger presence there, the Angeles Forest is rugged, parts of it are quite dense, and a person alone and injured could face serious hazards.

For information on hiking locations and scheduled outings in Los Angeles, contact the Sierra Club (3435 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 320, Los Angeles, 90010. 213/387-4287. www.sierraclub.org). Or, check out Outdoors, the quarterly calendar of events put out by the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (401 W. Hillcrest Dr., Thousand Oaks, 93160. 805/370-2301. www.nps.gov/samo).

Hollywood Hills

One of the best places to begin isGriffith Park (Ranger Station, 4730 Crystal Springs Dr., Los Feliz); pick up a map from the ranger station. Many of the paths in the park are not shaded and can be quite steep. A nice, short hike from Canyon Drive, at the southwest end of the park, takes you to Bronson Caves, where the Batman television show was filmed. Begin at the Observatory for a 3-mi round-trip hike to the top of Mt. Hollywood.

For a walk, run, or bike ride, theHollywood Reservoir (aka Lake Hollywood) Trail is probably one of the best spots in all L.A. The 4-mi flat walk around the reservoir provides great views of hillside mansions (including the spread once owned by Madonna, with its controversial striped retaining wall), the hollywood sign, and the reservoir itself. The park is open dawn to dusk. To get there, exit U.S. 101 at Barham Boulevard (near Universal City). Look for Lake Hollywood Drive soon on your right and take it, making sure you stay the course through its tricky turns. Park when you see the gate. The reservoir was built by the god of Los Angeles water, William Mulholland; its dam has a memorable movie cameo in Roman Polanski's Chinatown.

The 3-mi Mt. Lee Trail, which begins in Hollywood near the junction of Beachwood and Hollyridge drives, climbs 500 feet to L.A.'s most famous landmark, the hollywood sign. You can't walk around the sign, but you can get about 100 yards from it, which is pretty good for snapshots.

The stroll in Franklin Canyon is just above the northern reaches of Beverly Hills. Less than 2 1/2 mi, it's often used by film crews. Pick up a map from the visitor center (follow Franklin Canyon Drive to Lake Drive, then turn right to find the Franklin Canyon Ranch House). Docent-led walks are also available.

Santa Monica Mountains

The Santa Monica Mountains are an unlikely swath of natural beauty that extend into the city. Although the climate is Mediterranean, the plants suggest more of a prairie, with golden grasses and gnarled live oak. Some of Los Angeles's best-known natural beauty spots, such as Topanga Canyon and Leo Carrillo State Park (with its tide pools and coves), are within the bounds of the Santa Monicas, or you can head farther out of the city to the wilder terrain of Point Mugu State Park.

Who knows how many of Will Rogers's famed witticisms came to him while he and his wife hiked or rode horses along the Inspiration Point Trail from their ranch, nowWill Rogers State Historic Park (1501 Will Rogers State Park Rd., Pacific Palisades. 310/454-8212). The point is on a detour off the lovely 2-mi loop, which you pick up right by the riding stables beyond the parking lot ($7 per car). On a clear (or even just semiclear) day, the panorama is one of L.A.'s widest and most "wow" inducing, from the peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains in the distant east to the Oz-like cluster of downtown L.A. skyscrapers to Catalina Island looming off the coast to the southwest. If you're looking for a longer trip, the top of the loop meets up with the 65-mi Backbone Trail, which connects to Topanga State Park. And don't forget Will Rogers's home, which reopened in 2006 after extended renovations that shored up the building's foundation and repaired damage from floods and earthquakes.

Malibu Creek State Park (1925 Las Virgenes Rd., Calabasas. 818/880-0367) has some of the best hiking in the area, and if you bring a swimsuit, you can take a dip in the rock pool. See the wild country that has doubled as Korea in the M*A*S*H TV show and as assorted alien worlds in the original Star Trek series.

Another way into the Santa Monicas is via the Trippet Ranch entrance toTopanga State Park (Entrada Rd., Malibu. 310/455-2465), which gives you several options: a 1/2-mi nature loop, a 7-mi round-trip excursion to the Parker Mesa Overlook (breathtaking on a clear day), or a 10-mi trek to the Will Rogers park. Parking is $4. (Exit U.S. 101 onto Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Woodland Hills and head south until you can turn left onto Entrada; if going north on PCH, turn onto Topanga Canyon Boulevard -- a bit past Sunset Boulevard -- and go north until you can turn right onto Entrada.)