Part 2
It’s been a year, so I should finally write this update, especially since near the end of 2021 with the Omicron variant becoming dominant here in LA, isolated (or at least social bubble isolated) outdoors recreation is important again.
One big change is that with the resurgence of traffic, it is no longer easy to get to Orange County, so not as many excursions down there. Also, from an LA Times article I learned that Bolsa Chica became too popular, with too many people and especially dogs disturbing the birds.
I found that Google Maps wasn’t adequate for my explorations, so I invested in a subscription to the Alltrails app. I had been using it on an unpaid basis, but the subscription gives access to more trails, some I never dreamed existed.
Trails may be urban walks or strenuous on rough trails with sun exposure. Study maps beforehand and look up trail descriptions if you can find them. If it’s not a city park, or even if it is one, make sure you take at least water, snacks, and a hat. For hikes in the whittier Hills, take lots of water.
First off is an easy one, the Sepulveda basin and Lake Balboa in Anthony Beilenson Park in Van Nuys. Fires left a lot of the area barren and blackened but there are still some interesting things. Unfortunately the extensive Japanese Gardens are still closed. Mostly flat and easy to navigate with a smartphone. You can walk around Balboa Park:
Nearby is the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Preserve and Woodley Park with trails along the large ponds that attract plenty of birds.
It is possible to walk all the way around the Woodley Lakes Golf Course if you are gunning for your 10,000 steps. On one leg you can parallel the LA River which might be scenic if it were ever cleaned up.
South of Burbank Blvd. are trails near the Sepulveda Dam with a good photo op. Some of the trails here are kind of rough and could be cleaned up. You might want to keep your eyes open, and stay away if it is raining.
Nearby is Los Encinos State Historic Park which is free and open for short walks with a few historic buildings.
Los Encinos State Historical Park (ikemi.info)
For a little climb there is the short trail in Deervale-Stone Canyon Park, Sherman Oaks. Its Crisp Canyon Road trail head is unmarked and almost invisible.
Near Marina del Rey are the Ballona Wetlands. Short but interesting trail. You cannot park nearby since all available parking is occupied by an encampment. You can park on the other side of Lincoln Bld on Bluff Creek Dr., where you can also access the educational Ballona Discovery Park.
Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve (ikemi.info)
In the same area is the Bluff Creek Trail which parallels Bluff Creek Dr. The map shows two parallel trails, but the lower one is closed. At street level there are short unconnected accessible trails. The main trail gives you a view of what were the old Hughes Aircraft facilities which are now occupied by Google and Youtube. The hangar in which the Spruce Goose was assembled is easy to see. If you return by the street, you may get hassled by guards if you have a camera.
Bluff Creek Trail (ikemi.info)
If you want to see all the backed up container ships, you can get a great view from Deane Dana Friendship Park. Plenty of parking but when I was there the large visitor center was closed. Nice elevation gain if you want a workout.
Deane Dana Friendship park (ikemi.info)
If you want another view of container ships, there is a short trail around the top of Signal Hill. Park at or across the street from Hilltop park. The trail starts at the park, but over half of the walk will be on streets. Some parts of the trail may be hard to find.
Back on the flatlands is Alondra Park to the west of El Camino College. The pond is kind of scenic.
If you want some elevation gain and some great views, you can now walk from the Hahn Rec. Center overlook to the Culver City Overlook. You can park in Hahn (free on weekdays) near the Japanese Garden. Pick one of the legal, civilized trails to one of the overlooks. You should be able to see the Culver City overlook as well as a lot of other sights. You should also be able to view the new pedestrian bridge that crosses La Cineaga Blvd. Hike down and cross it. This takes you to the lovely Stoneview Nature Center, which has one of the few open visitor centers in the area. You can continue on to the top and the Culver Center Overlook, where the visitor center is still closed.
Hahn Viewpoint to Baldwin Overlook (ikemi.info)
If you want even more of a workout, you can get to the Overlook via the Culver City Stairs. These are popular and you may have to park blocks away, but you wanted a workout anyway. Very crowded.
Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook via Culver City Stairs (ikemi.info)
Moving closer to Downtown, you can get some good walking climbs at Ascot Hills Park which is on LADWP land. A little run down, but there are some good views from the top.
Near Dodger Stadium is Elysian Park, which has plenty of hills. There are picnic areas where people tend to clump but there are also plenty of trails and roads with adequate room. This was where the Firecracker 5/10K was run.
If you keep going to Griffith Park you can park on the N side and start hiking from various trail heads. You can visit the Travel Town Museum for starters for free and have a walk around it, or even take a ride on the miniature train for a small fee. There is also a trail that starts right by it, wraps around and comes out at the Live Steamers Museum which is closed for the pandemic.
Rattlesnake Trail (ikemi.info)
If you go up to the Caousel area (closed of course) you can take numerous combinations of trails, such as loops to the Old LA Zoo and the FernCanyon trail. The Zoo area has lots of picnic areas
Fern Canyon Trail (ikemi.info)
Hike to Old LA Zoo, Griffiths Park (ikemi.info)
An area which I would never have visited before but has been wonderfully rehabilitated is Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park. The only shortcoming is that you cannot circumnavigate the lake since the NE side is blocked by a golf course.
Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park (ikemi.info)
In a similar vein is the creatively named Recreation Park at E. 7th St. and Park Ave. You may be better off searching for the Yokkaichi Japanese friendship park. There is also a bandshell and a pond for practicing fly fishing casting. There is a clubhouse for a fly fishing association, but I don’t know if it is functioning during the pandemic. There is a short flat trail.
Moving far to the north for something completely different is the Hacienda Hills Trailhead for the Puente Hills Landfill Native Habitat Authority. I hiked around there decades ago and a lot of work has been put into developing these trails. Warning: the very ornate gate does get locked on time (check the posted hours) and there is not another legal access point nearby. These trails can be very steep so be prepared for some serious hiking, although the trail surfaces are in good shape. You may be hiking under power lines, but one canyon I entered (steep to get into and steep to get out of) allows you to believe that you are far away from any civilization.
Hacienda Hills State Park (ikemi.info)
In roughly the same area and not too far from Arroyo Pescadero is the Worsham Canyon Trail. This is another challenging loop but the biggest challenge is figuring out where to enter it. I entered near Whittier College, parking at Penn Park. Other hikers told me that it was fine to enter from that direction in spite of some signs. The other entry point is from Turnbull Canyon Road, where there is very little parking. Kind of barren till you get to the S side.
Schabarum Regional Park has numerous trails. I parked near the equestrian center and entered the trail system there. There are apparently other trail heads. These hikes are in the hills so they do have elevation gain.
Schabarum Park trails (ikemi.info)
Another good no nonsense walk up is Nike Hill near Rio Hondo College. Look for signs on Workman Mill Road and there is a small dirt parking lot. The trail head is marked and there are a lot of warnings to stay on the trail. There is shade and picnic benches at the top, along with the guard shack that once protected the base. This was a command and control site with no missile launchers. The launchers were located in the maintenance yard of a park in the NE quadrant of where Rosemead intersects the 60 Freeway at the end of Chico Ave., not too far from Progress Brewing. There is parking if you want to go for a walk on flat terrain for a change. Last 2 photos in this gallery are of the maintenance yard. Due to the elevation, the launcher doors are not visible.
Another flat walk is the Whittier Greenway. This follows the railroad bed with parks and educational/historical signage along the way, plus some art on the W side. I did it in two trips since it is 4 miles one way, which is the limit of my range due to arthritis.
Whittier Greenway (ikemi.info)
Whittier Greenway, eastern half (ikemi.info)
Another concentration of Nike missile bases is in the Palos Verdes Peninsula. In fact, the Rolling Hills City Hall was a missile base building and the launchers are in the maintenance yard (again). There are trails that start from the park near the city hall. Not too steep to hike around there. When the city hall was open, they were nice enough to print out trail maps for you.
If you want more of a challenge, there are many trails, usually steep, in the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve and the Portuguese Bend Preserve. https://www.rpvca.gov/1155/Portuguese-Bend-Reserve
Main entrance is at the end of Crenshaw Blvd. Past a certain point, you have to pay for parking via an app. If you are cheap like me, you can park a ½ mile or so back from the trailhead for free.
Palos Verdes Nature Preserve (ikemi.info)
If you want something flat in the area, you can try the Boundary Trail which takes you past backyards. You can find the trail on Google, but the entrance is not marked, and it can be challenging to follow in places. You are in town, so you really can’t get lost.
I did challenge the traffic and made a few forays into Orange County. I decided to actually spend some money for an overnight campsite in Chino HIlls and do some more hiking there.
Camping fee includes real showers. When I was there the camp ground was not crowded. Hard to believe there are shopping centers a few miles away.
Chino Hills State Park (ikemi.info)
A less ambitious trip was to Irvine Park to ride the train and visit the zoo. You can walk around the park without crowding.
The Fullerton Arboretum was finally reopened. Flat walks in a very pleasant and interesting environment. Parking lot may get crowded and you may have to park on surface streets in the frat area.
Fullerton Arboretum (ikemi.info)
Finally, I made a trip to Franklin Canyon in Beverly Hills, very late in the day. A winding road gets you there, but I have to admit it was scenic with low stress trails.
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