Los Angeles

Most trails around Los Angeles have now closed. You are about to read an unusual post for a hiking website, written during the coronavirus pandemic. Hikespeak.com is in no way qualified to offer medical advice. If the government issues any rules or guidelines that contradict something written here, ignore hikespeak and follow the recommendations of government and medical professionals. ...Read more.

The Santa Monica Mountains have significant parks with great hiking getaways. Often overlooked are smaller undeveloped pockets within the mountains that offer quick escapes from the stresses of Los Angeles. Longridge Park in Sherman Oaks is the latter, a 50-acre park with a 0.2-mile long use-trail. Longridge Trail has ridge-top views throughout its short run, like perspectives north across the San Fernando Valley and east toward the Griffith Park end of the range. ...Read more.

Las Virgenes View Park preserves nearly 700 acres of the Santa Monica Mountains adjacent to Malibu Creek State Park. The park has one established trail, Las Virgenes View Trail, which rises to a panorama-boasting ridge. The trail traverses grasslands and oak woodlands near Las Virgenes Road and then runs up a canyon to a ridge where it forms a small loop with mountain views in all directions. ...Read more.

The heart pounding on Heartbreak Hill comes from the heavy dose of elevation on this short trail, which climbs 600 feet in a little over a mile. The trail is steep from the start, but does taper out before a rapid rise to Heartbreak Ridge, just below a summit crest. The hike is easy-to-reach, setting out from Agoura Road near the Liberty Canyon Exit of the 101 Freeway. ...Read more.

In a rolling, grassy stretch of the Santa Monica Mountains near the 101 Freeway, Anza Loop Trail plots a course through history. Pause along the trail to study panels and plaques about the past - or just breeze through the loop and enjoy the present sights and sounds. Like Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Anza Loop Trail takes its name from Juan Bautista de Anza who led an expedition up California, solidifying a route that is now known as El Camino Real. ...Read more.

Do you want to combine a hike with a stair workout? If the answer is yes, head for the Calabasas Stairs, a long, straight flight of 375 steps that climb a slope in the Santa Monica Mountains below a Calabasas neighborhood. It is a 0.6-mile hike from Calabasas Road (just off Highway 101) to the base of the steps. Venturing to the top of the steps and back to the road is 1. ...Read more.

Existing without an official name until 2015, McAuley Peak was already a convenient destination along the Backbone Trail, hosting a distinct rock formation and panoramic views over the surrounding Santa Monica Mountains. The name - honoring conservationist, author, and literal trailblazer Milt McAuley - adds even more heft to the peak. This hike to the 2,049-foot crown of McAuley Peak begins from the Piuma Trailhead in Malibu Creek State Park. ...Read more.

The beautiful Santa Monica Mountains can be a busy place to hike. One trail you can take to feel like a ghost (not see any other hikers) is Phantom Trail. Located on the north side of Malibu Creek State Park, this scarcely visited single track is not as popular as neighboring trails, but you'll be dumbfounded as to why when Phantom Trail provides early panoramas over the rest of the picturesque park. ...Read more.

You might not realize that Hollywood has a lake until you look down on it from the top of Mount Lee by the Hollywood Sign. Numerous hikes lead to the Hollywood Sign and a level hiking trail wraps around Lake Hollywood Reservoir. To visit the Hollywood Sign, three peaks on the west side of Griffith Park, and Lake Hollywood, set out on the Hollywood Sign – Hollywood Reservoir Loop. ...Read more.

Burbank Peak is a summit-like perch at the end of a ridge extending west from Cahuenga Peak, the highest point in Griffith Park. Hikers have many reasons to reach the top of Burbank Peak. One popular motivation is delivering a message to the Wisdom Tree, a long pine on Burbank Peak that rises above the surrounding brush. The viewpoint also hosts an America Flag in honor of September Eleventh and views over Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley. ...Read more.