Runyon Canyon, 4.7 miles

One of, if not the most popular urban hiking spots in L.A., Runyon isn't listed in any of the hiking books Barbara and I follow, but anyone who hikes LA knows Runyon and we certainly couldn't leave it off our list! We "loosely" followed instructions from the hikingguy.com website. You can't really get lost in Runyon. The main trail and Hollywood sign are always in view, and paths are filled with hikers willing to show you the way. Located on the cheekbone of Hollywood on Fuller, north of Franklin and west of LaBrea, the 160-acre park began as "No Man's Canyon," a seasonal campsite for the Gabrielino/Tonga Indians. In 1867 "Greek George" Caralambo received the land in appreciation for his service in the US Army Camel Corp. It changed owners 6 times—some built bungalows, a famous Irish tenor built a mansion with terraced gardens, guest houses, and a tennis court, inviting movie stars like Janet Gaynor, Charles Boyer, Will Rogers, and Errol Flynn to stay; another commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to expand it to a "play resort" with a pool pavilion. (Fancy, right?) The last private owner razed the mansion and guest houses in an effort to develop the land into estates. (A fail.) After destruction and a 1972 fire, when the city of LA bought the land in 1983, stone foundations were all that remained of Runyon's bedazzled past. In 1999 the city dug tunnels under Runyon for the Metro Red Line from the Valley to Hollywood so as we hiked, trains ran deep, deep beneath us! After a detour to artist Robt. Wilson's Rock Mandala, Barbara and I headed for Inspiration Point for our first KILLER view. Couldn't resist a pic at the remains of the OUTPOST sign, a 30-ft. high, red neon sign (largest in the US built to outshine the Hollywood[land] sign.) The red neon once overlooked the ritzy Outpost Estates to the east but was dismantled in WWII. Next, a simple but exhausting climb up to Clouds Rest 1,040 feet above LA, for the 180 view of the city behind the Invisible Man (?) then up to Mulholland and our return down the west ridge on the Indian Rock Hiking Trail. Tons of happy dogs trotting off the leash, hikers of every age carrying babies, weights, water bottles... There's nowhere to park, no shade, and not a flat trail in the canyon. In other words: Runyon is utterly fantastic.