Get up close and personal with two of L.A.’s landmarks on this moderate 6.5 mile out-and-back in Griffith Park — the iconic Hollywood Sign AND the Batcave from the 60′s TV series “Batman.” This dog-friendly route is popular with local hikers, fitness buffs, and equestrians, and is a good way to tack a local workout into your hiking routine. This mostly shadeless route is rarely steep, but it does have a very steady incline for almost the entire route. Be sure to bring water – especially if it’s a sunny day – and watch out for rattlesnakes!

The Basics:

- Distance: 6.5 miles, round trip
- Elevation Gain: 1098 feet
- Time: Under 3 hours, with breaks
- Trail Condition: Good. Most of the trail is on well-maintained and well-traveled fire road, with a bit of distance on paved road, too. However, there is very little signage along the way, and none of the junctions are marked – so make sure you study up before you hit the trail.
- How To get There: From the south side of Griffith Park, head north on Canyon Drive from Franklin Avenue. Once the road enters Griffith Park, it’s stopped by a locked gate at the trailhead. Park in the small lot at the trailhead, along the street, or in the spillover lot just south of the trailhead.

- Map Trailhead

The Notables:

- Local L.A. hike with easy access
- Dog-friendly trail
- Wide dirt path
- Good workout
- Get to see the Batcave AND the Hollywood Sign!

IMPORTANT: This trail will take you very close to the backside of the Hollywood Sign, but actual access to the Sign is fenced off. Hopping this fence – or approaching the sign from any other route – is dangerous and will get you in serious trouble. Assume you’ll get caught – there are tons of cameras watching the Sign from every angle.

More Pictures:

- on Flickr

A heavy writing workload and a really persistant shoulder injury had kept me off the trail for a little while, so when Team WWED invited me along for a short local hike, I really couldn’t pass up the opportunity. So we decided on a trail that I, as an Angeleno of 6 years and counting, had never done – a hike to the Hollywood Sign.

At the end of Canyon Drive, north of Franklin, there’s a small parking lot near the gated trailhead, as well as a larger spillover lot just a bit further south. Park here and hike north – but before the gate, hang a sharp right onto a dirt road.

This is not on the route to the Hollywood Sign, but this very short side-trip will take you to another Hollywood landmark – the Bronson Caves – perhaps better known as the BATCAVE.

You can (and should) walk through the cave if you’re not claustrophobic. It’s very short, just be sure to stomp around a bit in case any rattlesnakes are taking a nap in there.

These caves are probably most recognizable from the 60′s Batman series, but they’ve also been used in a lot of movies, too. Here’s a YouTube clip I found that shows some of the angles and shots in films like Army of Darkness and The Searchers (which is a really amazing western if you haven’t seen it yet):

On a clear day, it is also possible to see the Hollywood Sign from the other side of the Caves. While we could make it out, the hiking weather on this particular day was “extra hazy.”

Return back down the dirt road and take a left at the pavement, heading toward this locked gate.

You are now on the dirt-path continuation of Canyon Drive. Here, the trail begins its moderate but relentless climb – about 600 feet in a mile. There’s a bit of shade in these early parts of the trail, but it’s few and far between – so if it’s hot or sunny, be prepared to sweat!

Like I mentioned, this is a popular trail. You’ll be sharing it with joggers, dog-walkers, babies in action-strollers, hiking groups, boot camps, and equestrians. Be sure to give the horses ample room if you’re passing.

About 1.1 miles on the Canyon Drive Trail, you will reach a three way junction with the Mullholland Highway – another wide dirt path. Take a left at this junction and hike west. For the next 0.9 miles, the trail is mercifully level, although you’re still exposed to full sun.

You’ll also start to see the Hollywood Sign from some interesting side angles, too (interesting = difficult to see):

If it’s clear, you’ll actually have better views of the Griffith Park Observatory and Mount Hollywood to the east.

1.7 miles after starting on Canyon Drive, the fire road hits another 3-way junction with Beechwood Drive. Keep to the right to stay on the Mullholland Highway and continue another 0.3 miles to another junction – this time with the paved Mount Lee Drive.

If you just want views of the Hollywood Sign, you might be better off taking a right here and descending a bit – but if you want to top Mount Lee and get behind the sign, take a sharp right onto Mount Lee Drive and start steep incline.

From here, it’s about another 0.9 miles to the summit of Mount Lee. The road wraps around the north side of the peak, so you’ll get a few valley views before the road turns back to the south face. If it were less hazy, you’d be able to see the San Gabriels pretty well from this vantage point, too:

As soon as the road rounds a sharp bend to the south face of the peak, you’ll be able to see the Hollywood Sign behind the scenes – and through a fence.

Even though you can’t get really close to the letters, it’s pretty cool to see them from this angle, and realize how big they actually are.

… and just in case you were thinking of it:

Just to the left of the locked gate at the Mount Lee radio towers, there’s a short path that climbs to the actual summit of the mountain, just next to some USGS seismic monitoring equipment. Soak in the views of L.A. and the Hollywood Reservoir from here, then return back the way you came.

Thanks to Team WWED for the invite and hiking company, and to the City Stream for a much better shot of the Hollywood Sign than I could get on this hazy day.

If you’re one of the few non-natives who actually stick around Los Angeles when Holiday Season hits, and you want to try to work off some of that Thanksgiving turkey, you might want to join up on a ranger-led hike to the Hollywood Sign in Griffith Park.

On the mornings of November 27th and 28th from 8 to 11AM, Ranger Ernie Ybarra will lead groups on a moderate 4-6 mile hike to the giant wooden letters. It’s actually illegal to get right up next to the Hollywood sign, and this trek will lead hikers to a spot above the sign itself. However, Ranger Ybarra assures me that the view from the top “is one of the most beautiful views in the world.”

A quiet, tryptophane-filled Los Angeles viewed through cool morning air? Sounds pretty amazing to me!

Meet up at the Griffith Park Visitor Center at 8AM. More information below:

4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles
Information: (323) 644-6661, ext. 1549
ernie.ybarra@lacity.org

via Griffith Park Wayist

Image by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid.

So the next time you’re hiking in Griffith Park and you think to yourself, “hey, this is an easy hike. I don’t really have to pay attention to my surroundings. I mean, there’s no possible way I could find myself grasping onto a tree while hanging over a cliff, unable to signal nearby firefighters,” I’d suggest you think again.

Know where you’re going and watch what you’re doing. Don’t end up on Hiker Hell.

The LA Cultural Heritage Commission voted 3-1 to recommend historical cultural monument status yesterday afternoon.

The potential update to the park’s signs will eventually be decided by the City Council, sometime within the next few months.

Nice work, everyone!

Via Daily News.

This Thursday, October 30th, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission will be holding a meeting to determine whether or not to recommend Griffith Park as a Historic-Cultural Monument.

The title change wouldn’t just give the 4200+ acre park a fancier title on its business cards, either — it would protect both the open space and existing structures from future development plans without extensive review — including bizarro plans like the 2005 proposal to add multi-story parking garages and aerial trams.

The designation is notable in that it would protect the park in its entirety — preserving its overall character and design in the face of anyone trying to make a quick buck — and elevate it to the level of Golden Gate Park, Balboa Park, and Central Park, which all also share the same Historic-Cultural Monument title. Additionally, as an LA Times Letter to the Editor points out, preventing development inside Griffith Park would essentially force L.A. to develop new parks throughout the city, instead of focusing all its efforts on one central park.

If you can make the meeting, it’s at 10AM in Room 350 of City Hall. Otherwise, visit the Friends of Griffith Park site to sign up for info, and be sure to contact your city council member to let them know how you feel.

Image by Marcy Reiford.

LA.com’s Daily News is reporting hikers are damaging the re-opened trails of recently burned areas of Griffith Park by straying off trail and trampling over recovering chaparral. And who, you might ask, is doing all of this irresponsible hiking? According to the News, “elite hikers of the Sierra Club.”

Up to 500 Sierrans hike Griffith Park three nights a week, and apparently their reckless off-trail stomping isn’t news either to park rangers or Sierra Club hike leaders. Endangered Species Task Force hike leader Rosemarie White recalled running into another group of Sierra Club hikers while leading a moderate on-trail hike: “They were coming straight up where there was no trail, grabbing branches like it was the cat’s meow.”

Large-scale off-trail hiking can increase erosion and destroy plant habitat anywhere, but in this area of fire recovery, stomping boots can crush new seedlings, kick up roots, and displace planted mulch and seeds.

But that doesn’t matter to hikers like Andy Serrano, who

said a trail is a trail, with many undesignated paths leading to stairways, bridges and other man-made features.

In some areas, he said, the unofficial trails are the only way to get from place to place, as from Lake Hollywood to Mount Cahuenga.

“I’m a fast hiker, but I don’t blaze new trails,” Serrano said. He added that, without the sporting element, many hikers would rather stay home. “They won’t come. I wouldn’t come.

“I’d go to the gym, where there are pretty girls in leotards,” he said. “The smaller trails … are very steep. You do some technical climbing. There are rocks. They’re more challenging.

“The fire trails are like a sidewalk. There’s absolutely nothing interesting there.”

Hey, Andy, you know what? I don’t like fire roads, either. But when I want a challenging trail, I find a challenging trail. I don’t make my own.

Also, you’re in the Sierra Club. Act like you at least have an ounce of respect for the natural features that others protected so you could enjoy them.


Via CurbedLA.
Photo by Al.Hermmann.

In happier wildfire-related news, the Mount Hollywood hiking trail has officially re-opened in Griffith Park, after being nearly decimated by a wildfire earlier this year that took down almost a quarter of the park.

Our local ABC affiliate has a short video of the actual opening, complete with showboating Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

For more information on what’s still closed over at Griffith, be sure to check out their new recovery blog. I don’t do much hiking up there, myself, but it looks like they’re handing out hefty fines to hikers who stray from the open areas …