Secret Stairs #17: Fellowship Park, 1.5 miles, 148 steps.

Driving up then down the (gulp) top-of-a-roller-coaster 32% grade Baxter Street—one of LA's steepest streets—on a rainy morning gave me a pre-Halloween fright. But a small price to pay for the discovery we made on foot. Even some residents of Echo Park aren't aware of Fellowship Park, founded in the 1900s, a treasure tucked high in the hills with a dazzling view of downtown. Hard to believe we were near the center of LA as we wound along a dirt path through a quiet woodland filled with pine, oak, walnut, Chinese elm, and palm trees. Homes, some built as far back as 1902, are tucked throughout and accessible by the path and by walk-streets only. No cars, no bikes. This morning's light rain made the hike more winsome—serenaded by roosters and birds, welcomed by dogs, and surrounded by dewy green. Special in every way.