Henninger Campground is a sprawling trail camp in a scenic and special pine forest on Henninger Flats in the San Gabriel Mountains. From Altadena, it is a 3-mile one-way hike up Mount Wilson Toll Road to Henninger Flats, where the charming campground is accompanied by a visitor information center and tree nursery operated by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. ...Read more.

Sometimes it can seem ambitious just to go for a hike in the rugged San Gabriel Mountains, but Thaddeus Lowe was way more determined than that, devising an incline tram and railway to bring guests to a resort, tavern, and mountain overlooks that he created in the San Gabriel Mountains about a century ago. His railway and resorts have long been destroyed, but hikers can still visit the remnants. ...Read more.

Vetter Mountain has got to be one of the more scenic peaks in the San Gabriel Mountains, boasting a 360-degree summit that's a total stunner. For decades, hikers marched up the mountain to see the historic fire lookout tower that stood at the summit, but in 2009, the Station Fire destroyed the tower and scorched Vetter Mountain. The area is still in recovery from the wildfire, but trails to the 5,908-foot summit are open, allowing hikers to enjoy spectacular views over the San Gabriels. ...Read more.

For those times when you can’t get out of LA to go for a hike, the city offers several urban trails. Those who live around Loyola Marymount University (in Culver City, Ladera Heights, Marina Del Rey, Playa Vista, Westchester, West LA, etc.) may enjoy getting a taste of the outdoors along with some exercise on the LMU Trail, also know as Westchester Fire Road. ...Read more.

Good things do come in small packages, like Rocky Oaks, one of the tinier parcels in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The park covers less than 200 acres, but a collection of interwoven trails allow visitors to hike about 2 miles in this park. For a short and level half-mile loop, stroll around a seasonal pond that was used as a cattle pond when Rocky Oaks was a ranch. ...Read more.

The foreboding sounding Tarantula Hill, which also goes by the more welcoming name of Dawn's Peak, is a small, isolated mound in Thousand Oaks that hikers can summit for views over the Conejo Valley and into the nearby Santa Monica Mountains. If your spider senses are detecting pavement, that's because the entire half-mile-long trail up Tarantula Hill is paved. ...Read more.

Are you looking for a hike that's an action-packed adventure? Rarely does a 2.1-mile loop offer as much excitement as the hike to the Cave of Munits and Castle Peak. You'll start with a gradual warm-up across El Escorpion Park to Upper Las Virgenes Open Space Preserve to find a fun vertical cave just begging to be explored. You won't need any ropes or gear to get through the cave, just an adventurous spirit that will lead you out the top of the cave to a tough off-trail ascent to Castle Peak, a panoramic summit towering over the west end of the San Fernando Valley. ...Read more.

Perched atop a hill on the south side of Palos Verdes Peninsula, Deane Dana Friendship Park offers hikers panoramic ocean views on an easy 1.1-mile loop. While exploring the 123-acre park, the hike gains 200 feet to views west across the Pacific Ocean toward Catalina Island and around the south end of the peninsula toward Long Beach Harbor to the east. ...Read more.

Old Youth Camp Loop presents a short hike and a decent workout to the cool ruins of an abandoned and burned down camp in the Verdugo Mountains. In addition to the old camp, the 2.6-mile loop with 700 feet of elevation gain passes an overlook with broad views over the San Fernando Valley and several other scenic spots. The hike begins from the Stough Canyon Trailhead, where there is a nature center for another environmental experience. ...Read more.

Within the Verdugo Mountains, the small mountain range north of Burbank, you'll find a big league suburban hike up an abandoned fire road called Skyline Motorway. Skyline Motorway should probably be renamed Skyline Trail since the overgrown track is no longer suitable for vehicles. The Skyline half of the name is still quite valid though, as the trail presents sensational sights over the skyline of downtown Los Angeles (as well as Glendale, Studio City, and Burbank). ...Read more.