Solstice Canyon
Santa Monica Mountains
Nestled in a shady, riparian canyon just inland from Malibu, Solstice Canyon offers a serene escape that weaves natural beauty with architectural history. The main Solstice Canyon Trail runs about 2.1 miles round-trip, and the National Park Service estimates you’ll need 2–3 hours if you include a climb up the Rising Sun Trail for ocean views. For a more complete experience, you can take the Solstice Canyon Loop (about 3 miles) via AllTrails, which brings you through lush creekside terrain, shaded paths, and up to ridgelines.

Along the way, you’ll pass the ruins of the Keller House, a century‑old stone hunting cabin, and the remains of the Roberts Ranch “Tropical Terrace” mansion, designed by architect Paul Revere Williams — now a hauntingly beautiful brick-and-stone shell. Further on, you’ll find a perennial waterfall tucked into the canyon, plus creek crossings, shady benches, and a thriving native habitat for wildlife like acorn woodpeckers, lizards, and hawks. If you take the Rising Sun Trail up, you’ll be rewarded with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and sweeping vistas across the Santa Monica Mountains.

Fryman Canyon
Studio City and the Hollywood Hills
Perched in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains just above Studio City, Fryman Canyon Park is a leafy, 122-acre oasis that feels surprisingly wild despite being in the city. The main hiking route is the Fryman Canyon Loop: about 2.6–3 miles long, with an elevation gain of roughly 450 feet, and it typically takes around 1 to 1.5 hours to complete. There’s also a shorter 1.5‑mile loop starting from the Nancy Hoover Pohl Overlook, which climbs through shady chaparral and eucalyptus groves before descending back into the canyon. The trails are well maintained — some paved, some old fire roads — and moderate in difficulty, making them accessible for walkers, runners, and leashed dogs alike.

What makes this hike special are the hidden gems tucked into the canyon and the scenic payoff. As you hike, you’ll pass through a verdant “rainforest” section with trickling streams, wooden footbridges, and a surprising old, rainbow-painted Jeep half-buried in the hillside. Native wildlife — like desert cottontails, fence lizards, and red-tailed hawks — is common, and the vegetation shifts from chaparral and sagebrush to more shaded groves, depending on which fork you take. At the Nancy Hoover Pohl Overlook, you’re rewarded with sweeping views across the San Fernando Valley, the Hollywood Hills, and even distant mountain ranges. After your hike, you can explore more of the park’s features: the Betty B. Dearing Trail connects to nearby Wilacre Park, Franklin Canyon, and Coldwater Canyon, and the canyon itself houses year-round springs and deeply wooded areas perfect for relaxing.

Hogback Trail to the Griffith Observatory
Griffith Park
Climbing up through Griffith Park, the Hogback Trail is a rewarding, heart‑pumping route that weaves together fire roads and single‑track paths to deliver some of the most panoramic views in Los Angeles. Depending on how far you go, the Hogback Loop is about 10 miles long with roughly 1,800 ft of elevation gain, and takes around 5–5.5 hours. Although parts of it are strenuous, the effort is worth it: you’ll pass through rugged terrain, encounter ridge-top overlooks, and even cross through a tunnel near the Observatory.

Atop the climb, you come to Dante’s View, one of Griffith Park’s historic folk gardens, where you can pause and take in sweeping views of the Observatory, downtown L.A., and the San Fernando Valley. From there, a descent toward the Observatory along the wide fire road gives you a bird’s-eye look at the iconic structure just before you arrive. Once at Griffith Observatory, you can lodge your hike with more sightseeing — walk around the perimeter lawn for skyline views, peek inside the exhibits, or explore nearby trails like the West Observatory Trail, which offers more ridgeline outlooks over Los Feliz, the Hollywood Sign, and the L.A. basin.

Rose Bowl Three Mile Loop
Pasadena
Encircling the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, the Rose Bowl Loop is a flat, paved trail of about 3.1 miles (5 km) that’s beloved by walkers, runners, bikers, and dog‑owners alike. It’s a very accessible outing — easy parking (especially around Lot I), restrooms, and a well-maintained surface make it a solid choice for a morning workout or a relaxed evening stroll. With only about 130 feet of elevation gain, the trail is classified as easy and typically takes around 1–1.5 hours to complete, depending on your pace. What makes this loop special isn’t just the exercise — it offers a little piece of Pasadena charm. As you walk, you’ll pass alongside the historic Rose Bowl Stadium, peer out over the lush Brookside Golf Course, and enjoy sweeping views of the San Gabriel Mountains rising in the background. At one point, the trail crosses over the Arroyo Seco, giving you a moment of connection with the creek below. Because the trail runs on public roads bordering the stadium and golf course, there’s a continuous sense of movement and community: local runners, families walking their dogs, cyclists — it’s very much part of Pasadena’s neighborhood fabric.

Echo Mountain Trail
Altadena

High above Altadena in the San Gabriel Mountains, the hike to Echo Mountain via the Sam Merrill Trail is a dramatic journey through history and rugged canyon terrain. The trail is roughly 5.6 miles round‑trip, with about 1,400–1,460 feet of elevation gain, and typically takes 2.5 to 3 hours to complete, depending on your pace. Starting from the Cobb Estate gate at the end of Lake Avenue, you follow a series of dusty switchbacks into Las Flores Canyon before rising up to the summit.

At the top, you’ll discover the evocative ruins of the Turn-of-the-Century Echo Mountain House and relics from the Old Mount Lowe Railway, including iron rails, machinery, and foundations of what was once a grand resort. There’s even an “Echo Phone” — a metal megaphone mounted so that sound bounces across the canyon in a fun, haunting way. If you keep going past the ruins, the trail can extend to Inspiration Point, which delivers sweeping vistas of the San Gabriel Valley and beyond.

In the wake of the January 2025 Eaton Fire, many of Altadena’s beloved trails remain closed as the landscape recovers. While routes like the Eaton Canyon Trail, Altadena Crest Trail, and several lower mountain paths are off-closed according to some sources. Similarly, following the recent Palisades Fire, many trails in Malibu and Topanga Canyon remain closed. California State Parks and the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority report that the Temescal Canyon Trail, Rogers Road Trail, Bent Arrow Trail, and several other routes, are currently off-limits. For now, it’s safest to check current road-and-trail alerts from the Angeles National Forest or LA County before planning a hike, as conditions are still evolving.