Secret Walks #10, Fern Dell, 1 mile

My dad was in the CCC, so I have a warm spot in my heart for park projects built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Fern Dell in Griffith Park is part of the land deeded to Los Angeles by Colonel Griffith J. Griffith in 1896. In 1914, the city began developing the trails, bridges, and grotto pools, and importing the trees for the short but sweet stretch we hiked today. (Leave it to LA to plant redwoods next to sycamores and palm trees.) The work continued through the 1920s, and then into the '30s when the CCC added terraced pool gardens, and the "faux-bois" handrails from concrete made to look like wood (pictured below). Though our drought starved most of the rock-lined stream beds, Barbara and I saw patches of water with curious crayfish and gathering goldfish. A lovely, zen start to a busy Sunday.