Hiking 11 Peaks Across Griffith Park in Los Angeles

the Griffith Park traverses a challenging and unique hike that crosses Griffith Park and visits most of its Peaks while also visiting the iconic Hollywood sign in Griffith Observatory the trail is about seven miles one way with 2 000 feet of gain and it can be done as a long out and back or with a ride share to the start there are a few sketchy parts of this Trail but it's a fantastic adventure and one of the best trails in Los Angeles just don't do it when it's hot as there's no shade here's all the information on this great Griffith Park Trail we started by arriving early and parking a car at the parking lot by the merry-go-round good morning it's 6 30 and we are starting the adventure after parking we walk to the intersection and called an Uber and it took about 10 minutes for it to arrive in the early morning only in La do we grab an Uber to get to the start of our Trail there's our Uber 17.15 minutes later we are walking through the gate and starting the hike up to the Wisdom Tree the drop-off here is called the Wonder view trailhead Star Energy Griffith Park Traverse all right so if you guys saw the California bucket list video then you know we uh hiked up to the wisdom tree and that's where this hike is starting too so basically just straight up to the Wisdom Tree [Music] these are the first three Peaks we're doing Burbank kawanga and mount Lee it's only about a half mile to get to the Wisdom Tree but it's about 600 feet of elevation and it goes up pretty much the entire way it's pretty that there's some wildflowers and it's a nice morning where you can hear the birds it doesn't make L.A seem so crazy right now it was a beautiful time to be hiking and we had wildflowers around us pretty much the entire day it didn't take long for us to gain enough elevation to start seeing the sun and it was about 7 15 when we were here I'd be a little longer before we made it into the sunrise there's not a lot of on this Trail so that's why we start it's early it's gonna be a hot day I think check it out it's purple and yellow for the Lakers as we continued up we were surrounded by tall yellow mustard plants and I'm pretty sure that once it gets hotter this is gonna dry out and be pretty overgrown it is such a pretty time to be here I haven't been here in the spring with all these flowers and it's all green you guys look at that the melon layers the cross Griffith Observatory and downtown LA sticking up that's a site I've never seen before we even got some California poppies it's always cool when you see the California poppy you guys I can't get over this today if you watch the other video with Amy and I the trail looked nothing like this and it is just every Bend is beautiful I mean look there's some purple flowers right there get ready because I'm gonna be talking about flowers the entire video but it was an incredible time to be here and spring is definitely a nice time to hike in Griffith Park also we are almost done with the first 600 feet that we're heading but we gotta get Peak number one first which is right there [Music] Jared we've officially made it to Peak number one and more to go ten more to go sitting at 1690 feet this is the top of Burbank Peak our first of the 11 Peaks from here it was incredible to see the views out towards downtown LA and the sea of clouds that was in front of us number one next Peak is that one and then that the back of the Hollywood sign and mount Lee all right Jared you ready for Peak number two from here the trail heads out toward kawanga Peak on the alien Getty Ridge Trail basically the entire rest of the trail you're going to be above the clouds and have amazing views in every direction all this fog makes me feel like we're in higher elevation mountains than we actually are over there it looks like we're up really high and then over there it doesn't the trail here is easy to follow but let this be my first of many reminders that you need an all Trails map it's incredibly easy to get lost especially on further parts of the trail yeah Peak number two kawanga Peak we started way down there that's Peak number one and here we are cherry taking his selfie on Peak two and then there's Peak three right there kawanga Peak is the tallest of the Park's Peaks at 1820 feet the views from up there are not as good as they were along the Ridge Trail and then on the way down you have to watch out because it can be a little bit slippery if you're doing this and you're a little unsure in your footing this is definitely the sketchier part you kind of have to down climb just a teeny bit get down to the trail it's very manageable that section but it is steep then you have to go back up to get over there while there are any sections with six to eight hundred feet of elevation gains again there's tons of up and downs the entire Trail basically you're going up one Peak and immediately back down before you go up another first view of the Hollywood sign we have made it to the road that takes us to the Hollywood sign and mount Lee as you leave the Ridge Trail you'll be on a paved road called Mount Lee Drive which takes you all the way to the summit this road goes along the back side of the Hollywood sign and then ends at a dirt path that goes up to a small hill for a good view number three not Lee that was hard and the Hollywood sign normally this place is swarming with people but it's about eight o'clock right now so nobody's here we actually got the bench you have a little bit of snack before we continue on I've never seen it like this before I've seen it a lot of times in downtown L.A but it's pretty cool to be able to see that fog Griffith Observatory just sitting out there in like a sea of fog and to see the skyscrapers poking out just a teeny bit four and I think this is one of the longest ones we're gonna do Mali sits at 1 680 feet and it's definitely worth doing especially if you've never seen the Hollywood Sign from this angle plus there's even some wildflowers near the Hollywood sign which is a sight to see this is the part of the trail I don't know so from here on out I'm basically going to be following my phone to make sure I don't miss any of the cutoffs to get to the other Peaks we're on this paved section for just a little bit before we have to hit some type of spur [Music] there's a pretty good view of our next few Peaks that we're gonna hit one two three sadly our nice time on the paved Road has come to an end and we're taking that cut off right there up to Mount Chapel While most of the Park's main trails are on dirt roads this Trail Only Hits the dirt roads a little bit before going off on single track Spurs up to the different Peaks also the hike from The Wisdom Tree to mount Lee is popular and well traveled but these next Four Peaks don't get the same amount of visitors and they're a lot more rugged that's another trail that will take you to the Hollywood Sign you can watch a video on that right here it goes to the old Batman caves as well Jared just looked up what this plant is called which looks like it has spider webs all inside of it what's it called Jared it's called the cobweb thistle cobweb thistle that's a fitting name on this part of the trail there were more poppies and wildflowers to see which was cool it was a good steep uphill though and relatively overgrown in sections so I was glad I had a map to follow [Music] Trail is basically scrambling from here all the way up there [Music] well that one was an adventure with all the bushwhacking Peak number four [Music] Peak number four was Mount Chapel which sits at 1 614 feet unfortunately that elevation that we gained we have to lose because we're going down all the way down there and then up to those Peaks this peak had a really cool view of Mount Hollywood and Griffith Observatory out in the distance and it was pretty steep to get down and definitely a good one to have hiking poles on overall having a hiking pool is nice on this Trail as you'll use it a lot on the downhill parts the Griffith Park like this this in Los Angeles if you're doing the trail without taking an Uber this is where the trail would Loop so you would hike up on the b-rock trail which you don't see in this video and then you would go all the way out to the wisdom tree and back and then you'd go around to mount Hollywood and the others and return to the Merry-Go-Round parking area getting a little tired but luckily there's a power up I can take right here just joking don't graffiti thinks it's not cool so according to all Trails we're on top of Mount baby Bell so uh I guess Peak number five but I don't really know if this qualifies as a peak or not I don't see any markers onward to the next one which is actually Mount Bell right in front of us what qualifies as a p let me know in the comments I'm not exactly sure I'm not sure what the elevation of that one is as it doesn't show up on the park map but it was easy to get to the top of and then we headed back down the other side we're only on the nice dirt road for 30 seconds before we apparently have to go up this steep Trail just another reminder that you really can't do this without a map there was no signs or anything for this Trail but it was on the map up to mount Bell all the trails we're doing in this video were on the map and they're all worn trails that showed other people had hiked them it's also not meant for tall people we made it to Peak six that was a tough one Mount Bell sits at 1582 feet well I wouldn't say that this Trail is incredibly tough it's definitely got really steep sections and there's no Switchback so you're going straight up and straight down so it's tougher than it looks on a map you can see all the different trails that go through Griffith Park there are so many ways to get up a lot of these mountains and just to experience this beautiful natural area from there we made our way back down another steep trail with lots of wildflowers and great views eventually it connected with a dirt road again which I didn't see a name for on the map but which was heading towards North Trail oh there's tacos up there Jared's describing how this is actually called Taco Peak my guess is this is one of the taco shells and then the trail hit the other side of the taco shell after all the meat and goodness is that right this is the meat area right here confirmed Taco Peak was a nice quick climb up to the summit this is not a Trello do in the summer it's 10 o'clock in March and it's hot Taco Peak actually has something on top of it looks like a old military bunker or something we've made it to Peak number seven Taco Peak sits at 1572 feet and you can even start to see the Hollywood Sign from here as you make your way down from Taco Peak you'll connect to North Trail we're leaving the single tracks behind for a little bit we get to walk this nice dirt road all the way up to the top of Mount Hollywood this is a pretty awesome area for views looking back the way you came and down towards b-rock Three Peaks left one's right there the other two are out there and then we parked right down there that's the other peaky that people do b-rock if you want to do 12 but it's closed right now because of the birds nesting I'll play a few clips from up there because Jared and I did that like a year ago yeah something like that and it is really cool when it's open [Music] I think Mount Hollywood is going to be the easiest Summit we've done all day we just got to walk a dirt road all the way to the top once you make it to Mount Hollywood you'll no doubt be greeted by a lot of other people who are doing this hiking trail the hike up to the top of Mount Hollywood is popular for workouts running and just people looking to get out Peak number eight Mount Hollywood is a personal favorite of mine as the views from up here are some of the best that you can get in all of Los Angeles you can see the Hollywood sign the observatory downtown L.A and even out to the ocean if it's clear I especially love hiking up here for sunset [Music] next stop right here as you make your way back down and right before you connect with the Hogback Trail you'll see Dante's View this was named after a Man Who Loved Griffith Park and who came up here and created this beautiful garden it was severely damaging a fire but it's still beautiful and it's maintained by the friends of Dante's View if you're looking for a good spot to rest on the mount Hollywood hike or this hike we're doing today there's shade and picnic benches here we got our snacks at Mount Hollywood but I probably would have came down and done it at Dante's view lots of picnic benches nice views really relaxing area continuing on you'll be hiking the Hogback Trail for the next two peaks this Trail has a stunning exposed Ridge line which is fun to hike it has great views in both directions [Music] but I'm gonna say it one more time do not do this in the summer it will be way too hot it is very hot today at 75 degrees along the way there's a little spur trail that goes up to another High Point only about 25 feet above the trail supposedly this is another Peak but again it wasn't on the map so according to all Trails this is a peak Hogback Peak number nine but we don't know if it's an actual Peak or not I had never hiked the Hogback Trail before but I know it's a popular one and it's easy to see wise it was a pretty sweet Trail after leaving Hogback Peak going to Glendale Peak the all Trails map actually goes way down into that Valley and up and around but I mean assuming it's open which it is today you can take this Hogback Trail which is much quicker to get to Glendale Peak this is a really cool Ridgeline that we're on you can see b-rock really great down there plus you can see this cool Ridgeline going out in front of you and down into downtown LA on that side I really like this hike it's it's a little tough but it is a lot of fun the nice thing about doing the trail the way that we did is that from Mount Hollywood it's basically all downhill all the way back to the car [Music] this was especially great because it was getting hot later in the day and it allowed us to just soak in the views without having to exert too much energy parking lot where we parked right down there check it out there's a bridge I was pretty surprised to see this bridge way up on the Hogback Trail but it was nice because it allowed us to cross a ravine that would have been a lot of down and up climbing if it wasn't there if anybody has any information on this bridge let me know in the comments because I couldn't find anything online we've ever seen Van Dale Peak after all the Peaks you've already done Glendale Peak is actually a pretty easy one going this direction as it's straightforward and it gets climbed a lot look at how many wildflowers are on the trail look at all the white and the purple and the yellow there's even some poppies up by Jared this one little spot going up to Glendale Peak and the part at the beginning near The Wisdom Tree were the two best places I saw wildflowers on this hike we have made it to Peak number 10. Glendale Peak wins my Peak award climbing up here with all the wildflowers in the view of Griffith Observatory that's my favorite Peak so far one left if you're doing this hike I highly recommend just going back out the way that you came for Glendale Peak and not continuing on like we did you'll see why in a second so this is the part after Glendale Peak which is very very sketchy this part was about a 40-foot climb down and it was relatively vertical with lots of loose footholds Jared and I both made it down without any problems but I would recommend you don't go this way [Music] nice work Jared that's the side we came down right there once we made it down we connected with Vista Del Valle Drive a paved Road we made it to a popular Viewpoint you can just barely see downtown L.A today but you can see Griffith Observatory beautiful it was pretty hazy for us but I imagine this would be an amazing view of the downtown LA skyscrapers if it was clear there were a decent amount of people up here just hanging out reading books and soaking in the views heading into our last peak of the trail and we're heading back to the Merry-Go-Round parking lot from here we left the crowds behind to finish our last mile hiking the Griffith Park Traverse this is a nice downhill portion of the trail and it's like the first shade we've had the entire Trail one last uphill push and then it's back to our car this feels steep after all we done after the short uphill we made it to the 1100 foot Beacon Hill and the freeways came into view we have made it to Peak 11. only thing left let's go get some lunch unfortunately I do have to say the last Peak was relatively anti-climactic with lots of trees and not great views from here we took a Spur Trail down to the parking lot and again make sure you have a map so you know where you're going these Trails don't have any signs and are easy to miss if you look way out in the distance you can see that bridge that we crossed up there we're passing another small collection of poppies we finally saw the parking lot went down to the dirt road that connects to it and ended our hike I decided to extend this video a little bit longer since I know you guys love seeing lunch spots made it down to the arts district in L.A to one of my favorite places to have lunch and then there's also a great ice cream spot here since it's so hot and we did a lot of miles to hiking I always butcher the name of this place so I'm not even going to try it but they make awesome sausages and it's a great spot for lunch in the arts district they have all sorts of crazy sausages here even one with rattlesnake and rabbit plus they have a bunch of different mustards that you can put on it health food if I'm ever in the Art District it's pretty hard to pass up one of my favorite ice cream places salt and straw so we ended our day with the scoop I got the cinnamon Snickerdoodle is it good perfect that's it for our early Adventure I have to say that was an iconic Trail being able to see Griffith Observatory the Hollywood sign and just have that experience in La is something I would not forget two things first I would say when you go down Glendale just go back to where you came don't go down the sketchy part second wear long pants it's uh definitely a lot of overgrown plants there so you don't want to scratch your Jared wear long pants I did not lastly go early it's gonna get hot there's no shade but overall that is one of the best hugs I've ever done in Los Angeles let me know what you think in the comments and we will see you on the next [Music]

Channel: California Through My Lens

Views: 24,164

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Id: WOqpKSLSW9k

Length: 20min 19sec (1219 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 30 2023