AllTrails Hollywood Sign via Innsdale Drive, 2.1 miles. 

With the eyes of the world focusing on Los Angeles in two weeks for the Super Bowl, Barbara and I decided to take a pre-game hike to the Hollywood sign for a close look at LA's most famous landmark. Note: this hike leads to what Griffith Park deems one of the best views of the sign—not the sign itself—but if you continue hiking another few miles, Mt. Lee Drive will get you to the sign. And it's worth noting that accessing the sign via the Innsdale Trail is much better than the Beachwood alternative. We arrived at 8:15 and were able to park next to the trailhead. The Innsdale Trail is a nice hike above Lake Hollywood with a quick pass through a small bamboo forest, and ends at Mulholland Highway—always with a close view of the sign above us. Erected at a cost of $23,000 in 1923 for the Hollywoodland real estate development (choice lots at $150 to $400 per lot at "easy terms" in a planned community of English Tudor, French Normandy, Mediterranean, and Spanish architecture to create an Old World feel.) In 1947, the "land" portion was removed and the sign and land were donated to the city of LA. Aging, she went through a period of neglect until 1973 when the city gave her a facelift and named her a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Landmark. The facelift didn't hold, so in 1978 the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce started the Save the Sign Campaign. Hugh Hefner threw a fundraiser. Donors came to the rescue, including Alice Cooper who funded the third "O" in honor of Groucho Marc, and Warner Bros. Records that funded the second "O" because they are awesome. Since then, the 99yo has had a few paint jobs and, as one of the world's best-known monuments, she was looking great for her close-up for us today. When Barbara and I reached the "photo-op" plateau, we stopped for some pix and retraced our steps. A nice hike with an old Hollywood feel and sweeping views of the basin—and yes, one of the closest and best views of the sign you'll find in LA. Awesome for photos.