Results tagged “hiking”

SFist does this column daily, so when we saw this facebook update from a friend, we giggled. He "has decided that Runyon Canyon park is way gayer on a weekday morning than The Abbey is on a Friday night." We believe many LAist readers would agree on this one. Of the hundreds of Yelp reviews of Runyon, many talk about how the park is quite the scene. "Runyon is one of two hikes I do regularly now. It's the easy option. I love tracking all the cosmetic surgery...and that's just the guys," wrote Richard P., who also likes the hike from Ferndell Canyon up to Griffith Park Observatory. "The downside to the Griffith option: about 75% fewer hot bodies and absolutely no celebrities. So you chooses your poison."

Amid cooler weather, firefighters continued to increase containment on the 7,128-acre Sheep Fire today. However, the low-pressure system that brought record lows to Southern California this week is moving out, which will increase temperatures starting tomorrow. Containment, currently at 85 percent, is still expected by Saturday, according to officials tonight.

Fire crews have contained the Station Fire to 87%, up 6 points since Friday evening and are optimistic the fire will be knocked down soon. However, officials have extended the expected containment date from tomorrow to Saturday. Acreage burned still stands at 160,557, or over 250 square miles.

Since the torrential rains of 2005, the Mount Wilson Toll Road leading up to Henninger Flats and Mount Wilson has been closed. The popular, yet historic, trail has been a favorite for outdoors enthusiasts. The fire road leads into the hills above Pasadena and offers sweeping views across the San Gabriel Valley and beyond towards downtown and Catalina Island. After nearly four years, it officially opened last Friday to hikers and mountain bikers.

          

It's no Mount Whitney, but the hiking to the top of Sandstone Peak is truly satisfying. Your journey to the top, elevation 3,111 feet, has sights and sounds different than the Santa Monica Mountains we know closer to Los Angeles. Forget the city noise below Runyon Canyon or the families splashing about at Malibu Creek--the trails of Circle X Ranch on the western part of the range are mostly quiet with lone birds heard echoing through the canyons and the sights of sheer cliffs dropping off into deep canyons is exhilarating.

Filmmaker David Lynch and musicians Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse collaborated on a special CD, photography and book project, which LAist told you about last month. Tonight, the trio are signing their limited-edition book Dark Night of the Soul at Book Soup at 8 pm. They’ll also sign ONE ITEM in addition to a purchased copy of the book. This is not a ticketed event, so get there early. Attendance is on a first-come-first-served basis.

When Casey Schreiner graduated from Boston University, the Connecticut native moved to Los Angeles, like many, with a dream of landing an entertainment industry job. "I flew out here with a duffel bag and an air mattress, hoping to land some sort of writing job," he explained. And a job he got--a fun one, too. The 28-year-old West Hollywood resident (just moved from the Miracle Mile) has been writing for G4’s “Attack of the Show” since its beginning days. "It’s a great place to get my hands the latest gadgets, technology, and web sites--and has been a good outlet for all of the jokes about Mac OS X and Star Trek fan-fic that I can’t make in mixed company."

Is it Griffith Park if it's not with the spastic Councilman Tom LaBonge? Tonight, as per usual with solstice time (it was officially yesterday), he organizes a community hike to Mount Hollywood. And because LaBonge is the President of the Sister Cities of Los Angeles, Inc., there will be a potluck of world cuisines to snack on, too. “This hike has become a tradition in Council District 4, for avid hikers and the international community as well,” he said. “There’s an unparalleled view of Los Angeles from the peak at sunset, which is really inspiring.” If you go, it starts at 6 p.m. Meet at the Griffith Observatory parking lot.

Like Runyon Canyon, Temescal is one of the more popular hiking trails immediately accessible to Angelenos. Runyon is a city park so it is not under the threat of closing like 80% of states parks in Gov. Schwarzenegger's budget plan. Temescal, however, runs through two state properties. One is Temescal Canyon Gateway Park, which is under two conservation agencies not threatened with closures.

As one of the advocacy tools to save most of state parks in California from being slashed from the budget is to have a weekend of support. Next weekend, the California State Parks Foundation is asking us all to camp, visit or otherwise bring attention to the state parks issue. While there, take a photo of you holding a sign and submit it so Sacramento can feel bad, or something. Meanwhile, the organization continues its 40 best state park trails podcast series. Recent episodes featuring Los Angeles area trails include Temescal Canyon, the river trail at Rio de Los Angeles State Park and La Jolla Canyon at Point Mugu State Park. You can listen to these three episodes below:

              

It's one of the city of Los Angeles' better ideas: an interconnecting network of trails in the equestrian friendly Northwest Valley. The 117-acre Palisades Park--not to be confused with the one in Pacific Palisades or in Santa Monica--is one of the many, stretching close to three and a half miles from Tampa Boulevard to Reseda Boulevard between the Limekiln Canyon Trail and the ones in Eddleston and Aliso Canyon parks.

              

A few weeks ago, the Bird Sanctuary Trail finally opened back up after the 2007 Griffith Park fire left it unusable to the public. It's a relatively short hike, but one that offers great views and connects to a wider system of trails.

It was back in 1992 when the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan went into effect, setting course for the city of Los Angeles to preserve the historic 1924 drive through a set of land use regulations and improvements. Among those was the Core Trail, some 22 miles in length, roughly from near the Hollywood Bowl to Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Approaching 20 years since it became law, some are wondering why nothing has been done.

One of the losses in the Griffith Park fire, which began two years to the date, was the bird sanctuary trail off Vermont Blvd., north of the Greek Theatre. Today, after thousands of volunteers--most notably the Pacific Asian Volunteer Association who adopted the project--the trail once again opened to the public. Of course, Griffith Park's loudest cheerleader, Councilman Tom LaBonge, was there to tell everyone about it and take a hike with them. The short loop trail has some nicely shaded portions and crosses a small stream.

              

Into the hills of Sherman Oaks where expensive homes sit and windy roads lay are many a cul-de-sac. One of those areas off Beverly Glen leads a few Angelenos in the know about a little-known hiking trail in a practically ignored city park called Deervale (it's not even listed on the city's website).

              

Just a few minutes north of the busy Los Feliz Boulevard is a peaceful outdoor setting, perfect for a light snack or lunch. Owned by a music producer, Trails Cafe sits on Fern Dell Drive inside Griffith Park's Western end serving up homemade and organic-vegetarian friendly food to hikers and those who just want to sneak away from the urban feeling, if only for a half hour.

              

The Garden of the Gods is more about exploring than hiking. The 23-acre park, most known for once being a part of the famous Iverson Movie Ranch (it set the scene for the wild west, Africa and Asia), has one small official trail and a lot of rocks to scramble and climb (not with gear, though).

       

There's something very different about hiking on the interior of Catalina Island, something you can't get on the plethora of trails immediately surrounding Los Angeles. It's the deafening sound of silence--that ever-present rumble of freeways we are so used to on the mainland is no where to be heard on Catalina, where this past weekend a new 37.2 mile cross-island trail opened to the public.

Starting Saturday, outdoors fans of Catalina Island, just 22 miles off the coast of San Pedro and Long Beach, will have a new trail check out.

                     

Who wants to spend hundreds of dollars a year on a gym membership when Mother Nature gave us California's glorious and varied landscape to explore for free, right? Some of the spots get talked about more than others, while others just sit quietly, doing their thing, and possibly remain unexplored. Up above Burbank are some lovely hills--you may have driven up there to have a meal with a view at Castaways, or you may have stuck to the lowlands--and they boast Wildwood Canyon park. There are a couple of miles worth of trails (described as "moderately strenuous") open inside the park, so grab your shoes and some water, and head on over.

           

A short drive past the western edges of the San Fernando Valley proves the Los Angeles' area's immediate surrounding beauty. Across the street from Malibu Creek State Park, King Gillette Ranch is a simple park offering trails into the Santa Monica Mountains and one short, but steep hike to a hill with sweeping views of the mountains (see the above photos).

Locally, we've got trails maintained by the city, county and state governments. But one of the lesser known functions of the National Park Service is their National Trails System, which self described as "the network of scenic, historic, and recreation trails created by the National Trails System Act of 1968."

Over the last forty years, the California State Parks Foundation along with its 100,000 members has grown into a powerhouse advocacy group on behalf of keeping nature available to us. Now in their 40th year, they are celebrating by producing 40 short podcasts, each with a resident sharing their favorite trail.

Verdugo Mountain Park is now the 6th largest park in Los Angeles, thanks to Councilwoman Wendy Greuel's $2.7 million expenditure of Proposition K money to purchase 225 acres of open space, securing it from outside development. The park is located in the northeast Valley at the edge of northern Glendale and is home to an annual hike and trail run in November.

Casey Schreiner at ModernHiker trekked over to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park this past weekend to see how the wildflower blossoms are doing: "While the wildflowers still aren’t out in force quite yet, there are a few areas in the north end of the park that are pretty colorful," he wrote. The park's website publishes a weekly wildflower report (scroll down) or you can call their wildflower hotline at (760-767-4684) for updates. Also: It's not just Anza-Borrego where wildflower blooms can be seen, check out bloom reports at Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley National Park, Mojove Desert National Preserve and the various high desert wildlife sanctuaries run by LA County. And the valley-based Theodore Payne Foundation runs a great hotline for local blooms that will begin on March 6th.

Parking at the popular Wilacre Park (see LAist's photo essay) in Studio City used to $3, but no one parked in the pay lot because street parking on Fryman Canyon was a free-for-all. That didn't help the residents who had to fight the crowded side streets abut an empty parking lot.

          

Whether it's walking, running, riding a bike or a horse, Limekiln Canyon is one of Porter Ranch's great secrets (and just one of the many connecting recreational trails). For over a mile and a half along and below Tampa Avenue between Rinadli and Sesnon lies the small canyon where residents enjoy one of LA's best assets--nature. Here's a little of how it looks.

       

Today, Pinnacles National Monument begins its second 100 years. It's not exactly local to Los Angeles, but it's one of the many California wonders run by the National Park Service and here at LAist, we always encourage the exploration of the region and state.

Councilmember Tom LaBonge, who represents Griffith Park, loves loves loves to hike and be in what he calls the greatest park in the world. Often, he holds hikes with residents and tomorrow is no exception.

Shots likes these make us want to go hiking right this moment. Just a few miles north of Altadena in the Angeles National Forest, LAist Featured Photographer (from Flickr) Matt McGrath took this shot last spring when the water flow was fairly high in the Arroyo Seco. But with a good amount of snow arriving early this year, chances are that water will be running soon.