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Welcome to LAist City Treks, a series of easy hikes and walks that will helps you explore the parts of Los Angeles and SoCal that we rarely get to see — or only see through the car window. Expect to get about 5K steps, and plenty of photos for your social media channels. Keep scrolling, because you'll also find three recommendations for grabbing a quick bite to eat once you're finished.
Where are we headed?
We're heading to spectacular city views as we walk across the Park to Playa Bridge and make our way to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. If it's a clear day, you can even take in the Hollywood sign. And if you're feeling up to the challenge, check out as many of the Culver City Stairs — 282 steps in all — as you dare. Tag us on social media @LAistOfficial and #LAistTreks
Why now?
You can't get lost on this trail because it's all fenced in. But you'll still feel like you're getting away from it all in the middle of the city.
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This hike explores a scenic, three-mile stretch of the Park to Playa Trail. The full Park to Playa Trail spans over 10 miles, from the Baldwin Hills Parklands down to the Pacific Ocean. The trail was years in making, as cities and communities pieced the necessary land together like a jigsaw puzzle. The big missing piece was a bridge spanning busy La Cienega Boulevard. The bridge finally opened during the pandemic, but it remains unfamiliar to many.
So go now, before the summer heat becomes an issue, and check it out. The Park to Playa trail has six segments: You could also plan do do little pieces of it over several weekends, and then you'll have Park To Playa bragging rights.
Quickly, what can I expect?
- Route conditions: Rolling terrain, mix of pavement and dirt trails
- Difficulty: 3 out of 5, with 5 being the hardest (most of the route is easy, but there is one brief, challenging stretch
- Distance: About 3 miles, with the option to add on distance (and stairs!) at the top
- Dog friendly: Kinda — leashed dogs are allowed on the trail, but technically not the overlook. However, leashed dogs can be seen everywhere
- Costs/Parking: Parking is free during the week, $7 per car on weekends. There is also a 25-cent shuttle service option on weekends
- Trailhead bathroom: Yes. There are also bathrooms at the Stoneview Nature Center (closed Mondays) and at the turn around point.
Map it!
Want to take this map with you?
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Click here and then select "Send directions to your phone." NOTE: The Google Maps directions send you up a steep hill to get to the bridge. We'd rather avoid that. So we recommend you park at the Doris Japanese Garden entrance and then follow our directions outlined here to get to the lower parking lot. It's a much friendlier path. Once you are at the bridge, the Google Maps directions will work just fine.
OK, let's get started...
Entrance to the Doris Japanese Garden at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
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On either side of the entrance, you'll find ornate carved lions... or is that a dragon? Either way, pay your respects.
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The fenced in koi pond is a bit weathered. But still pretty to look at.
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The turtles seem to hid in plain sight here.
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Choose the center path as you walk into the Japanese garden. You want to walk so that the koi pond is on your immediate left. (If you choose the wrong path, you could be in for a very steep hill.)
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If you stick to the center path, and keep the koi pond on your immediate left, this trail should soon come into view. See that yellow metal pole up ahead? That's your sign you're on the correct path.
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A few more steps, and look to your left: You'll see the lower parking lot, and the bridge that we're about to walk over. You might be wondering — couldn't I have just parked here? But this parking lot is not always open. In the future, though, look for its entrance immediately to the left as you are entering the park. It's a narrow, one-way road. And if the gate is open, you are free to head on in, according to park officials.
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Enter the Kenneth Hahn Recreation Area entrance at 4100 S. La Cienega Boulevard in Baldwin Hills and make your first left into a parking lot. From there, you'll travel back through two parking lots — almost as if you are heading back to La Cienega — until you hit a cul-de-sac and see the distinctive red entrance to the Doris Japanese Garden. You'll park here, and then venture through the gate, stopping to say hello to the ornate carved lions on either side. The garden here is a little weathered and worn, but you can still enjoy the koi, the turtles, squirrels, ducks and other wildlife that make their homes here.
Upon entering, choose the center path so that you keep the koi pond on your immediate left as you walk on by it. Keep on this path, and, as you can see in the photos above, you'll see a yellow metal pole up ahead — that means you're in the right place. A few more steps and the lower parking lot, and the bridge, will soon come into view on your left. (This path is all so new that you won't even find it yet on the park's own maps! And if you don't stick to the right path, you could end up on a nearby trail that has a grueling 12% grade.) Continue on the path as bends and curves down into the lower parking lot, and the eastern end of the bridge.
Here, the hike begins in earnest.
What's with that name?
This covered bridge honors the person who helped create it.
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This isn't just for looks. It's a critical crossway for critters dodging cars.
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This is probably where you'll do a doubletake: The optics of a convicted felon’s name engraved into the steel truss of this bridge may seem surprising, but there’s no denying that Mark Ridley-Thomas helped create more open space in South L.A. as a member of the county board of supervisors.
As you walk over the bridge, the beds of native landscaping to your right aren’t just for show; they offer safe passage for the park’s critters to cross over bustling La Cienega Boulevard. After you step off the bridge, you'll follow the fenced trail as it begins to gently zig and zag its way up the hillside.
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Watch out for art work
This is L.A., and so you're never too far from creativity, even on the trails. About 500 feet past the bridge you’ll find one of a half-dozen “Citizen Seeds” sculptures created by artist Kim Abeles. The installation calls attention to the area’s biodiversity and history.
Keep walking, enjoying the twists and turns of the road as you continue a gradual climb.
Detour at the Stoneview Nature Center
A few more hundred feet on your right is the Stoneview Nature Center. Completed in 2017, the county-run complex is a model of adaptive land use, sitting as it does on an abandoned oil mine. Amble along a well-curated trail that takes you past meditative gardens, compost stations, a labyrinth, even a “bee hotel.” There are many classes held here, such as cooking and art creation for kids, yoga in the shade for adults. (You can also drive directly to the center.)
The entrance to the Stoneview Nature Center, which is definitely worth exploring.
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Raised garden beds are just once place where visitors here can learn about raising their own food and native plants.
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Shhhh! It's yoga time on the weekends under the trees here. Extra umbrellas also provide some shade.
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Cooking and arts classes are held here, too.
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There are many places to have a picnic in this area.
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If you like to garden, you'll find plenty of resources here.
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On a breezy day, you can hear the gentle sounds of the wind chimes here, made from kitchen and gardening tools.
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Plan ahead, and find your secret spot to break out a picnic. If the breeze is just right, you just might be serenaded by the soothing sound of metal music. I’m talking, of course, about the two unique wind chimes in the nature center's avocado and orange groves. Designed by the art collective Fallen Fruit, the chimes are made up of discarded kitchen utensils and cookware donated by neighbors.
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What's this mural in the middle?
The Lavendar Chiveevi mural. It is a dedication to the land, and its people.
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Exit Stoneview and make a right, continuing on your walk. You'll soon come up on Lavender Chiveeví, a Los Angeles County commissioned mural that honors the biodiversity of the plants found in the area, the surrounding community and roads, and the indigenous people who once called the area home.
Active oil pumpjacks can be seen in the distance, part of the Inglewood Oil Field. The trail will dip once more before it begins a climb of 200 feet over the next half-mile.
Don’t worry, you got this! Just take your time.
Along the way, take an opportunity to pause and turn. At several points, you can enjoy the blissful feeling of seeing nature all around, and barely any signs of "civilization" beyond a glimpse of some power lines and the whirring of traffic in the distance.
Final push to the top
Make your way to the top, and you'll find it's always busy with people getting in a workout or just enjoying the sweeping views. When it's a clear day, you can make out the Hollywood sign.
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The trail will lead you to the edge of the parking lot at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Outlook. Walk all the way through the parking lot, and just before you hit the street on the other side — Hetzler Road — take a right and walk into the outlook area. This spot is almost always busy with people walking dogs, working out and chatting with friends.
Walk past the bathrooms and events area and begin making your way to the left, along a new series of fenced trails, and head to the outer edge and outlook. You'll know you're going in right direction when you hear lots of voices. Follow the voices.
You'll then walk out into an opening and all your hard work will be rewarded with sweeping cities views.
The turnaround point
The famed Culver City Stairs are no joke. There are 282 steps in all.
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Now, you have a decision to make: Turn back, or explore the Culver City Stairs and the trail that zig zags around it. Just remember, what goes down, must come up, and these stairs are no joke. Also fun: Just watching others navigating the stairs while you enjoy the vistas before you including the Hollywood sign, DTLA, and more.
When you're ready, make your way back the way you came, back down the trail, across the bridge, and back up past the koi pond to your parking spot.
Done! Where to eat?
LAist's Associate Editor for Food and Culture, Gab Chabrán, recommends the following three places in the area to grab a bite to eat when you are done:
Loqui
No one gives you side eye for ordering a taco on a fresh flour tortilla (instead of corn) at Loqui. There are also plenty of bowls with the protein of your choice served with rice, beans and man options for vegetarians. They also have extra sides of protein (shrimp, chicken, etc.) for those watching the carbs. And chips and quac for those who are not.
Pann's
Step back into the year 1958, slide into a red booth, admire the Googie architecture and enjoy some classic diner fare at Pann's, such as eggs and buttermilk biscuits, hot cakes, and country fried steaks, milkshakes, burgers and more.
Location: 6710 LaTijera Blvd., Los Angeles
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Post & Beam
If it's a Saturday or Sunday, and you're not too grimy from the hike, head to Post & Beam for their weekend brunch. They're known for Southern food with a California twist, such as shrimp and grits and fried chicken and waffles and pecan pie French toast. Plant based and gluten free options, too.
Location: 7367 Santa Rosalia Drive, Los Angeles
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where to next?
Any suggestions for great hikes in and around L.A.? Don't keep it to yourself! Let us know, and we might check them out for a future story.
Haddad is the author of the hiking bible 10,000 Steps A Day in LA and the upcoming Inventing Paradise: The Power Brokers Who Created the Dream of Los Angeles. Read more about Haddad here.
Updated May 20, 2024 at 11:00 AM PDT
The difficulty level has been updated to reflect that most of this trail is easy, but there is one brief hill that is challenging.
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