Celebrity Dirt: Hiking in Los Angeles

If you’re looking for a solitary trail where you can commune with nature Walt Whitman style, this is not it. Runyon is very much an LA hiking spot. Crowded with runners, walkers, and tons of dogs, this place is THE place to be seen in your hiking shoes. That being said, it’s actually a pretty nice spot, and offers some great views of the city and a good workout (my butt is usually sore the following day). If you’re not one for crowds, you’ll probably want to stay away on the weekends.

This park is home to the nonprofit TreePeople, so you can expect to see groups of school children here learning about plants and whatnot. The park also houses an amphitheatre, and they organize some pretty cool events like night hikes. This park connects to Fryman and has a MUCH better parking situation, so if you want to kill two birds with one stone I suggest starting off at CCP and then making your way to Fryman and back— it doesn’t take too long and it’s pretty low on the strenuous scale.

When I first came here, I felt like I definitely was not in LA anymore. Something about this place made it seem VERY far removed from traffic and obnoxious movie mogul types. Walking around is here pretty scenic— there are 2 lakes and many a duck to be seen. There were a lot of kiddies when I was here— in addition to the ducks there’s also a nature center, which seems to draw families.

This is a favorite of mine— I used to come here all the time. It’s not the longest of hikes, but it connects to Coldwater Canyon Park if you feel like you want to continue the burn. There are some pretty steep parts to this trail, so you might just get those sculpted calves if you make it a habit of coming here. Parking can be a bit of a pain—there’s a small pay lot, but you’re probably better off leaving your car on Laurel Canyon Blvd. Also, this place is popular with the pups, so keep an eye out for “presents” owners have failed to reclaim.

Topanga State Park is the motherload when it comes to hiking in Los Angeles— it stretches from the San Fernando Valley all the way to the beach. There are tons of entry points to the park, but my favorite is at the top of Reseda Blvd. in Tarzana. The trails are very popular with mountain bikers, and the last time I was there I counted more bikers than hikers. But there are some smaller trails (the Bent Arrow in particular), that are restricted to bikes and dogs so you can enjoy some peace and quiet.

This park is on the beach’s doorstep, so you can usually feel a nice ocean breeze while you’re breaking a sweat. What I love about hiking is here is that you have tons of options— you can hike all the way to Topanga to see Skull Rock (which sounds a lot cooler than it actually is), or you can hike around Temescal and see the “waterfall” (which is more of a trickle thanks to low rain fall).

Solstice Canyon is a pretty little place boasting tons of trees, a waterfall, and ruins! Well, these aren’t exactly “ruins” in the Greek sense— a Canyon house burnt down here in the ‘80s and the ruins were never cleaned up. But it’s fun to see them just the same. And unlike Temescal, Solstice does offer more of a real waterfall. Once you see the ruins you can hike up to the Rising Sun Trail where you can see some pretty nice views of the ocean— this is Malibu, of course.