VideoAmericanGuru
LA's secret is that it's a mountain town wearing a city costume. The Santa Monica Mountains run straight through it, a 4,300 acre park sits above Hollywood, and the beach has a bike path longer than most rail trails. Skip the freeway clichés: done on foot and trail, Los Angeles is legitimately one of the best outdoor cities in the country.
Know before you go
- Location
- Southern California; 5.5-6 hrs from the Bay Area on Interstate 5
- Best seasons
- Oct-May is prime hiking; summer works at the coast, bakes inland
- Signature sights
- Griffith Observatory, Hollywood Sign trails, Runyon Canyon, the beach path, Getty views
- Traffic rule
- Plan one area per half day and never cross town at 5 p.m. This is law
- Dogs
- Very good: Runyon Canyon is famously off leash; most trails welcome leashes
- Smog note
- Winter and post rain days serve the hundred mile views
Griffith Park: the giant above the city
One of the largest urban parks in America hangs directly over Hollywood, and it's the anchor of any outdoor LA day. Start at the Griffith Observatory (free, magnificent, best at sunset when the city grid ignites), then pick your trail: the West Observatory Trail for an easy leg stretch with skyline views, or the real prize, the hike to the Hollywood Sign. The classic route from the Brush Canyon trailhead runs about 6.5 miles round trip to the ridge behind the sign, where the letters spread below you and the whole basin rolls out to the sea. Morning light beats afternoon haze, and shade is scarce; carry real water.
Runyon Canyon: the scene that hikes
Runyon Canyon is LA compressed into one loop: influencers, actual athletes, everyone's dog, and skyline views from the ridge, all in a 2.7 mile circuit rising straight out of Hollywood. It's not wilderness and doesn't pretend to be; it's the city's shared backyard workout, and as people watching plus views per minute, nothing in California beats it. Off leash through most of the canyon, which explains the golden retriever density.
The coast: 22 miles of bike path
The Strand runs from Santa Monica through Venice to Redondo, a paved beachfront path made for cruiser bikes and long runs. The essential stretch: rent bikes in Santa Monica, roll the pier and its 1922 carousel, drift through the Venice Boardwalk circus (drummers, bodybuilders, skate park at full send), and continue as far as legs vote. Ocean on one side the entire way. Two blocks inland from the boardwalk chaos, the Venice Canals are the neighborhood's secret garden: quiet walkways over arched bridges and mirror still water, a leftover dream from 1905 that somehow survived. For a quieter ocean fix, Point Dume in Malibu, 40 minutes up Highway 1, adds a bluff top whale lookout and one of SoCal's prettiest coves.
Views worth the detours
The Getty Center is free (parking fee only) and doubles as a hilltop garden with basin wide views, art included. Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook earns its panorama with a brutal little stair climb locals treat as a gym. And in the Santa Monica Mountains proper, Solstice Canyon (Malibu) hides a year round creek, ruins of a burned estate, and an easy waterfall walk that feels a hundred miles from the city it isn't.
🐾 Bringing your dog?
LA hikes with dogs better than its reputation: Runyon Canyon is the famous off leash canyon, Griffith Park welcomes leashed dogs on nearly all trails (including the Hollywood Sign routes), and Rosie's Dog Beach in Long Beach is the county's legal off leash surf zone. The beach bike path itself is leashed and busy; early mornings are calmer. Summer heat plus no shade is the standing caution on every inland trail.
Plan your day
Tell the planner where you're starting from and when, and it builds a timed itinerary from this guide's stops.
Quick answers
Can you really do LA without hating traffic?
Yes, with the one rule: one area per half day. Hollywood/Griffith is one block of time, the coast is another, and the 5 p.m. crosstown drive is never attempted. Break the rule once and you'll respect it forever.
Which Hollywood Sign trail is best?
Brush Canyon for the full hike to the ridge behind the letters; Lake Hollywood Park for the easy classic photo with zero climbing. The sign itself is fenced; nobody touches the letters.