This is just the way Griffith envisioned it. When the park was
originally dedicated, he hoped that it would become "a place of
recreation and rest for the masses, a resort for the rank and file,
for the plain people." Nowhere has that vision been more obviously
achieved than on the rewarding three-mile round-trip hike from the
parking lot at Griffith Observatory to the summit of Mount
Hollywood, which, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, is always bustling
with activity. The wide, well-traveled dirt path from the Charlie
Turner Trailhead to the 1,625-foot summit is a route with
ever-improving views of the city below. At the tip of one of the
switchbacks, the iconic Hollywood sign on nearby Mount Lee is
literally at eye level.
At the top of Mount Hollywood are arguably the best views of the
city - on clear days, downtown looks so close that you feel like
you could reach out and touch it - and of the entire geography of
the L.A. area, including
Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Long Beach,
and
Catalina Island. Elsewhere in the park, it's possible to get
the same sort of solitude so easily found in Topanga. In the
southwest corner of the park are the Bronson Caves, familiar to
anyone who watched the 1960s TV show
Batman as the Bat Cave.
1 Will Rogers State Historic Park 1501 Will Rogers Park
Road, (310) 454-8212,
www.parks.ca.gov
2 Sullivan Canyon Trailhead is at the intersection of
Bayliss and Queensferry roads. From Santa Monica, travel east on
Sunset Boulevard; turn left on Mandeville Canyon Road; turn left on
Westridge Road; turn left on Bayliss Road; follow Bayliss to
Queensferry Road and park on the street.
3 Santa Ynez Waterfall Start from Trippet Ranch at Topanga
State Park, 20825 Entrada Road, (310) 455-2465,
www.parks.ca.gov
4 Griffith Park Observatory and trailhead located at 2800
East Observatory Road, (323) 913-4688,
www.laparks.org