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PleasureIn the Parks
PARKS ARE THE HEART OF THE CITY
Skip theBeach! TAKE A SPLASH IN WEST HOLLYWOOD
SummerIn y t i C e h T e k i H TakeA LOS ANGELES AND WEST HOLLYWOOD FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
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PLEASURE IN THE PARKS
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SU M M ER 2 018: SU M M ER I N T H E CI T Y
Who needs a beach when you’ve got a pool? If you live in West Hollywood (or are visiting) you can take a splash inside the city limits.
It’s been said that parks are the heart of a city. That’s certainly true in West Hollywood. Parks keep the city alive and thriving.
08 SKIP THE BEACH! TAKE A SPLASH IN WEST HOLLYWOOD
SummerIn y t i C e h T 22 TAKE A HIKE
Here’s how to view Los Angeles and West Hollywood from a different perspective
WEST HOLLYWOOD MAGAZINE
P U B L I S H E R /E D I TO R- I N - C H I E F Henry E. (Hank) Scott henry@westhollywoodmag.net C R E AT I V E D I R EC TO R Allana Johnson allana@yokcreative.com SALES & MARKETING D I R EC TO R Doug Stichler Doug@WeHoMediaCo.com CO N T R I B U TO R S James Mills: Writer and editor Casey Schreiner: Writer Derek Wanker: Unikorn Photography Ignacio “Iggy” Lopez: Iggy Photography A DV E R T I S I N G ( 3 2 3) 2 4 3 -7521 advertising@westhollywoodmag.net FO L LOW U S westhollywoodmag.net facebook.com/westhollywoodmag.net instagram @westhollywoodmagazine
WHMC, 1138 Hacienda Place, No. 211, West Hollywood, CA 90069. (323) 454-7707 6
S U M M E R I N T H E C I T Y: S U M M E R 2 0 18
, e m i T r e m m u S asy
E s I g n i v i L e h t d an SUMMER TIME, AND THE LIVING I S E A S Y I N W E S T H O L LY WO O D. I F YO U ’ L L L E T YO U R S EL F TA K E A B R E A K , T H AT I S .
One of the great things about our small city is that you don’t have to go far to enjoy yourself. No, we’re not talking about restaurants, bars and nightclubs (although we have plenty of those). We’re talking about enjoying nature, the beautiful clear skies and the trees and the vegetation and the views. This issue of West Hollywood Magazine is intended to be a guide to the best of all that. James Mills, who has covered West Hollywood for a long time,
explores its parks. James not only talks about their amenities but also explains their history.
By Henry E. (Hank) Scott
Hank Scott is editor and publisher of WEHOville. com, West Hollywood Magazine and GayLife LA.
Then Casey Schreiner, publisher of ModernHiker.com and the expert on hiking in greater Los Angeles, offers advice on where to take a hike near West Hollywood. Nothing better than a hike to get you out of your head and out of your house and get a new perspective on life and the city. You also might want to take a dip. You don’t have to drive to Santa Monica or Malibu to do that. This issue of West Hollywood Magazine calls out some pools – both that are owned by the city and some hotel pools open to locals – where you can splash and relax. If relaxing with nature isn’t your thing, just flip this magazine over check out L.A. Pride. It’s the second largest event (after Halloween Carnaval) in West Hollywood and draws tens of thousands of people to Santa Monica Boulevard and West Hollywood Park for the annual Pride parade and festival on June 9 and 10. That, and the city’s lengthy list of One City One Pride events, are a great way to have fun and soak up some of West Hollywood’s history and culture. Of course, if that isn’t your thing, you can take a hike!
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Take aSplIn asWesth Hollywood T H E C I T Y ’ S A Q U AT I C C E N T E R AND SEVER AL HOTELS ARE OPEN TO LOCALS
Who needs a beach when you’ve got a pool? If you live in West Hollywood (or are visiting) you can save yourself that long drive to Will Rogers Beach and take a splash inside the city limits. Perhaps the city’s best known pool, at least among us locals, is the one at West Hollywood Park (which also is home to WH2O, the West Hollywood Aquatic Club.) The pool, aka the West Hollywood Aquatics Center, offers a variety of programs at its location adjacent to the West Hollywood Library. And the water is heated. The pool’s hours are varied, and it is closed for certain holidays. The best way to find out those hours, and the admission price, is to visit the Aquatic Center website at https://www.weho. org/residents/recreation-services/parksand-facilities/west-hollywood-pool.
Note that the park is under renovation, so there will be a period in the next year or so when the pool isn’t at all available The good news, however, is that it will be replaced by a four-level, 75,000-squarefoot Aquatic and Recreation Center that will have two rooftop pools, one for swimming competitions and training for them and one a recreational pool.
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SUNSET TOWER HOTEL
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AstroTurf. Ping-Pong. Sexy sun bathers and some over-the-top parties. The Standard Hollywood’s pool is known as a gathering place for the hip. While pool access is reserved for hotel guests, local folks can buy day passes, but you should call first to check the price and availability.
The pool at the London offers sweeping views of the hills and the city and a saltwater splash that might remind you of the ocean.
P H O N E I S (3 2 3 ) 65 4 -710 0
It doesn’t get more old Hollywood than this. The building that is the Sunset Tower, was home over the years to celebrities such as
M A R I LY N M O N R O E , ZSA ZSA GABOR, J O H N W AY N E A N D H OWA R D HUGHES.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It’s still a go-to place for celebrities, which the hotel makes sure is paparazzi-free. The chaises on the pool deck offer a great view of the city, and there’s great dining as well. Those who aren’t hotel guests can reserve a spot for $75 a day.
THE MONDRIAN SKY BAR
But remember that old saying: “You get what you pay for.” At the London, those who aren’t hotel guests must pay $300 for a cabana, and there’s a minimum $500 charge for food and drinks.
8 4 4 0 S U N S E T B O U L E VA R D (323) 650 -8999 The Sky Bar at the Mondrian Hotel is a lounge with great views, both of the city below and beyond and those lounging around the very popular swimming pool. The pool is open to non-guests from one to five p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, with admission at the doorman’s discretion. And then there’s the bar and restaurant, great places to wind up an afternoon of sunbathing and pool diving. 11
a saltwater splash that might remind you of the ocean.
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e r u s a el in the CIT Y. THAT’S CERTAINLY TRUE IN WEST HOLLY WOOD. PARKS KEEP THE CIT Y ALIVE AND THRIVING.
The city has seven parks, ranging from West Hollywood Park and Plummer Park, both large and always busy, to Havenhurst Park and Formosa Park, both small “pocket parks” that only get a handful of people. In between those extremes are Kings Road Park, Hart Park and Laurel Park, each with varying degrees of activity. “Trees and parks are so important because they clean the air we breathe, provide perches for birds to sing and shaded space for people to sit and reflect on things,” said Victor Omelczenko, a former member of the Public Facilities Commission.
P s k r a P
ILLS BY JAMES M
IT’S BEEN SAID THAT PARKS ARE THE HEART OF A
P A R K S A R E N ’ T J U S T A P L A C E F O R N AT U R E A N D
E S C A P E , T H E Y A R E A L S O A P L A C E F O R A R T . That’s why the city’s parks have many statues and sculptures, some large, some small. There are also several large murals such as the ones on the three sides of the five-story West Hollywood Park parking garage, or the recently painted mural on the wall at the new dog park in West Hollywood Park or the mural on the side of Plummer Park’s Community Building.
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g n i v i r h t d n a ial ve “PARKS ARE A NATUR AL GATHERING P L AC E FO R C O M M U N I T I E S . W H AT B E T T E R W AY T O E N H A N C E O U R P U B L I C G AT H E R I N G P L AC E T H A N WITH ARTS AND CULTURE?” said
Rebecca Ehemann, the city’s public art coordinator.
West Hollywood has a $105,000 budget for Art on the Outside, which places works of art on street medians and in parks. That Art on the Outside money doesn’t come from taxpayers, but from developers who are required to either place art on their property or pay an in lieu fee to the Urban Art ordinance. Andrew Campbell, the city’s arts manager, notes West Hollywood is an incredibly sophisticated community that appreciates art and the way it can beautify the city and its parks.
“Art provides an opportunity for people to see the park in a new way. They may go to the park many, many times, but you add an element of art in that park and suddenly they may look at the park in a completely different way,” said Campbell. “It can truly change their perspective.” Beyond art and escape, parks are a place for recreation. Obviously, there are recreation facilities such as the swimming pool, tennis courts and basketball courts. The city’s Recreation Services division also offers many recreational activities for youth and adults alike, as well as classes, day trips and other excursions.
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With a motto of “Parks Make Life Better!” the Recreation Services division has a busy schedule this summer, especially in July which is Parks and Recreation Month. “We hope lots of families and individuals will join us for the summer of activities that we have planned,” said Stephanie Martinez, the city’s recreation services manager. “We’ve got classes, movies, dances, concerts and more. It’s going to be fun.” For more information about classes, activities and events, visit weho.org/ recreation
K I N G S ROA D PA R K
1000 Kings Road (at Romaine)
Filled with residents walking their dogs, chatting with neighbors, enjoying the fresh air and green plants, Kings Road Park is the busiest and most successful of any of the parks created since the city was founded in 1984.
The half-acre site was originally the gardens of the Dodge House, the architecturally acclaimed protomodern-style home built in 1916, designed by noted SoCal architect Irving Gill for Walter Luther Dodge, who had become rich with his foot bath tablets called “Tiz” for tired feet.
Today, the park includes mere traces of the original gardens with the large, oldgrowth trees throughout and a pergola at the entrance. The rest of the park is new, the highlight being a tall, stone waterfall and pond surrounded by lush tropical plants. There are also plenty of benches, picnic tables, a children’s play area and an on-leash dog play area. The park also includes an art tribute wall to the Dodge House, plus a stone abstract sculpture near the front and a recently installed 15-foot-tall bronze sculpture of a tree sapling near the waterfall. A community building, opened in 1999, includes restrooms, plus a meeting/ event room, complete with a fireplace and adjacent kitchen, which can be rented. The park is a regular spot for outdoor concerts sponsored by the city. Hours: Monday - Friday 9 a.m. to dusk Saturday - Sunday 10 a.m. to dusk
L AU R E L PA R K 1343 Laurel Avenue (south of Sunset Boulevard) Opened in 2011, Laurel Park is a work-inprogress, a “passive park” for which a final use has not yet been determined. Residents living nearby frequently come to the shady neighborhood park to get fresh air, walk their dogs and catch up with neighbors. The park includes benches and a picnic table surrounded by lush greenery in the front as well as an unofficial off-leash dog park on the south side (i.e., the city turns a blind eye to people letting their dogs to run free in the fenced-in area). In late April 2018, the city unveiled a 10-foot-tall bronze sculpture titled “One Another” by WeHo resident Maxwell Carraher in the back of that fenced-in area, the first art work for Laurel Park. As Rebecca Ehemann, the city’s public art coordinator, explained, the sculpture is “discovery artwork,” deliberately placed off the beaten path. “You have to come and discover it at the back of park. It’s a contemplative piece and we want people to come spend time with it,” said Ehemann. The front of the property was always intended to be a park, so the city opened that area as Laurel Park in February 2011. That same year, the City Council also removed low-income housing from consideration for the property, but did not make a decision on what to do with the house. At preliminary public meetings held in 2013 and 2014, residents seemed to favor making the house into an arts center for art exhibitions, author readings, music recitals, lectures, meetings, etc.
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SAL GUARRIELLO VETER ANS MEMORIAL 8449 Santa Monica Boulevard (at Holloway Drive)
Another idea recently circulated is establishing an artist-in-residence program which would allow artists to move into the house for a specific period of time (likely one year). In the meantime, the house remains closed to the public. The city has done needed maintenance work such as install a new roof on the 100-year-old house while awaiting a final decision before doing any further renovations. Hours: Monday - Friday 9 a.m. to dusk Saturday - Sunday 10 a.m. to dusk
H AV E N H U R S T PA R K 1351 Havenhurst Avenue (south of Sunset Boulevard) Once the site of a community garden, Havenhurst Park opened in February 2009, the first of two “pocket parks” built in conjunction with adjacent residential buildings by developer Richard Loring. The 6,000-square-foot park is built around an L-shaped, 12-unit condominium building, designed by noted Los Angelesbased SPF:a architects. Havenhurst Park is both a public park and the courtyard area for the building. The city has a 99-year-lease on the park. The quiet park is easily overlooked, but offers a respite from the nearby hustle and bustle of the city. Designed by landscape architect Katharine Spitz, Havenhurst Park has benches throughout and a water feature near the back, plus a small Gramophone-like sculpture titled “With An Ear
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to the Earth” by artist Steve Roden. The drought-tolerant fruit trees, scrubs and wild herbs planted throughout were meticulously chosen. A sign near the park entrance provides a detailed guide to each plant, along with its uses and benefits, thus offering an educational component to a park visit. Hours: Monday - Friday 9 a.m. to dusk Saturday - Sunday 10 a.m. to dusk
FO R M O SA PA R K 1140 Formosa Avenue (just north of Santa Monica Boulevard) Opened in August 2009, this was the second “pocket park” in the city that developer Richard Loring created. This park was built in conjunction with a fourstory, 11-unit, bright red contemporary condominium building by acclaimed architect Lorcan O’Herlihy, immediately north of the park. As with Havenhurst Park, this park serves the dual function of being both a public park and the courtyard area for the condos. The city has a 99-year lease on the 4,600 square-foot park. Formosa Park, designed by landscape architect Katharine Spitz, features cement and wood benches scattered throughout as well as a metal picnic-like table and a metal shade structure. There is a raised platform area in back that could be used as a tiny stage for performances or public gatherings. The park also includes a water feature and a metal tree sculpture titled “Tree Form” by artist Karl Saliter. Hours: Monday - Friday 9 a.m. to dusk Saturday - Sunday 10 a.m. to dusk
This mini-park is frequently a gathering places for rallies and marches, which step off from here. With a huge water fountain on the
corner, it’s hard to miss, making it the perfect place for such events to take place. Named after late City Councilmember Sal Guarriello, a veteran of World War II, this area was dedicated in November 2003 and honors military veterans. A row of five cement shields commemorating the five branches of the United States Armed Forces sits beside a low wall with four flagpoles. A large concrete container holding a tree and other plants is engraved with quotes about war, peace and military service. With benches, trees and a grassy area, this mini-park offers an ideal chance to relax, play, or watch traffic and people go by. Hours: Open 24 hours a day
M AT T H E W S H E P A R D TRIANGLE North side of Santa Monica Boulevard at Crescent Heights Boulevard The two small, triangular patches of land on either side of Crescent Heights are another frequent spot for rallies and stepping off point for marches. With flagpoles, benches, trees and succulent plants, they are also a perfect place to stop and observe the world going by.
Named after the gay Wyoming college student who was brutally beaten, tied to a fence and a left to die in 1998, this is where the city places commemorative markers related to the LGBT rights movement. One plaque is dedicated to late gay activist Morris Kight, while another honors lesbian activist Ivy Bottini. A third marker honors the transgender rights movement and a fourth one commemorates lives lost to AIDS and serves as the start of the West Hollywood Memorial Walk. The most prominent marker in this mini-park is on a large, triangular-shaped metal post that honors the “Queer Village in Protest,” a two-week, non-violent protest and hunger strike in September and October 1991, following Governor Pete Wilson’s veto of LGBT workplace protections. Hours: Open 24 hours a day
H A RT PA R K 8341 De Longpre Avenue (west of Sweetzer Avenue, just south of Sunset Boulevard) Sandwiched between the Standard Hotel and the Sunset Tower Hotel, Hart Park is easily overlooked since it sits just below Sunset Boulevard. Large, mature trees, shrubs and vines block out noise from the busy thoroughfare above, making it a tranquil place to escape the world. Best known for the off-leash dog park filled with pine mulch, Hart Park is busy throughout the day with people bringing their canines to romp and play, while their owners visit with other owners (or “guardians” as the city prefers to call them). The park includes a picnic table, a water feature and an AIDS memorial area with the quote “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die” written in a curving, low cement wall. Hours: Daily 6 a.m. to midnight
PLU M M E R PA R K 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard (at Martel Avenue) Constantly filled with children playing, seniors chatting or playing chess, adults exercising or sunbathing, people playing basketball or tennis, residents going to meetings or performances, Plummer Park is exactly what people think of when they think of a community park. It’s active, it’s vibrant, it’s busy, and it’s frequently crowded, but it somehow never feels overcrowded. The eight-acre park is one of the few remaining green spaces on the city’s Eastside. With residential areas surrounding it, the park serves as a community gathering spot, whether it’s for official city meetings or just catching up with neighbors. In many ways, the park serves as an extension of people’s living rooms since they spend so much time there, sometimes the entire day. With many Russian-immigrants living nearby, the park includes a Russian Veterans memorial honoring Russian soldiers who died during World War II. There is also a small plaque honoring those who died in the Holocaust during World War II. The park has seven tennis courts on the northern end, plus two basketball courts, as well as playground equipment for children, exercise equipment for adults, plus plenty of benches and picnic tables. There’s also the grassy lawn beside Fiesta Hall which can be used for any number of things, from sunbathing and exercising to movies in the park or outdoor concerts. Every Monday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., a farmers market is held in the north parking lot, off Fountain Avenue. Fiesta Hall, opened in 1951, is an auditorium for performances and meetings. Meanwhile, Great Hall/Long Hall, opened in 1938, serves as
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a space for meetings and exhibits. The Community Center, opened in 1999, has both a Teen Center and a Senior Center, plus plenty of meeting rooms. Plummer Park is the oldest park in West Hollywood, dating back to the 1870s when Captain Eugenio Plummer built a six-room farmhouse on his large ranchero, which extended all the way to what is now the Hollywood Bowl. Plummer gradually sold off parcels of his land and also allowed his backyard to be used as a community park. Dances were frequently held in his barn, which is where Great Hall/Long Hall now sits. By the mid 1930s, Plummer was out of money and signed the remaining land over to the County of Los Angeles, with the condition he be allowed to continue living there. The County dedicated it as Plummer Park on December 4, 1938, with tickets for the ceremony and party selling for 75 cents. Some say the City of West Hollywood was born in Plummer Park since the 1984 incorporation ceremony was held in Great Hall/Long Hall. Upon creation of the city, the county transferred the park to the city ownership, although a condition in the deed says it must always remain a park, otherwise it reverts back to the county. With the park so heavily used, upkeep and maintenance is constantly needed. However, in the early 2010s, the city planned a $41 million redesign for the park, which included digging a 179-space underground parking garage in the center portion of the park that would require demolishing Great Hall/Long Hall and cutting down the mature, old growth trees in the park center. The plan also included a complete renovation of Fiesta Hall and building a new Tiny Tots preschool.
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While some residents favored the upgrades, many others felt the extensive redesign would completely change the character of the park. Resident Stephanie Harker rallied the neighborhood and led the success effort to halt the park construction just a few weeks before it was scheduled to begin in early 2012. Those actions likely were fortuitous in the long run because in mid-2012, during a state budget crisis, Sacramento snatched away a huge chunk of the redevelopment money the city had earmarked for park construction. Hours: Daily 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
W E S T H O L LY W O O D P A R K 647 San Vicente Boulevard (between Melrose Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard) It may be a giant mess right now, but in three years, West Hollywood Park will be a showcase, a regional park everyone will be proud of. Right now, it is just a matter of waiting out the construction. If it feels like the park has been under construction for a decade, it has. Sort of. We’re now in the fifth year of construction, out of the past ten years. But it’s been done in two phases with a five-year break between the phases. In 2009, the city had groundbreaking on the first phase of the park redesign. With a cost of $64 million, that first phase was completed in 2011 and 2012
with the opening of the West Hollywood Library building and accompanying parking deck and with three rooftop tennis courts on the southern end of the park. Meanwhile, phase one also included the great lawn, promenade and basketball courts on the northern end. Now, the park is in the second phase of the makeover, projected to cost $95 million, which includes erecting a huge, five-story recreation center beside the parking deck. The rec center will have two swimming pools on the roof (one lap pool, the other a wading pool), a giant gymnasium, meeting and conference rooms, and a grand staircase leading from the park to the building. Even though ground breaking on this second phase of the park reconstruction, was held in January 2017, residents have seen little evidence of progress other than a giant pile of dirt behind the construction fence. All that is about to change, however. Workers have been excavating the El Tovar parking lot where the recreation center will be built. Early this summer they plan to start pouring the foundation, with steel beams going in by the end of the summer, according to Christina Sarkees, the senior project management supervisor. From there construction will move quickly, with the recreation building projected to open in late 2019. Meanwhile, construction on a new children’s playground area is slated to begin in summer 2019 and finish in summer 2020. Also in the plan is “Robertson Commons,” a quiet area adjacent to Robertson Boulevard with trees, walkways and benches for reading or chatting with friends.
As for the current swimming pool and auditorium, both will ultimately be demolished, but not until completion of the recreation center. Shortly after the demo, work will begin on an AIDS Monument set to go into that space. Sarkees reported they hope to be through with all phases of park construction by late 2020 or early 2021. “Once the actual vision of the complete project is finished, the park really is going to be a beautiful destination in West Hollywood, which is already a destination city,” said Sarkees. Since 1979, WeHo Park has been the home of the annual LA Pride festival held each June. That event brings many thousands of people to the city for the singers, dance areas, community booths, exhibitions and celebration of LGBTQ pride. Thanks to resident demands, two dog parks (one for larger dogs, one for smaller dogs) have been built on the northern end of the park, on either side of the basketball courts. Opened in January 2018, the two parks, both covered with AstroTurf, have been instant hits. The dog parks are the busiest places in the park now. “The dog parks have activated that part of WeHo Park like nothing else,” said local resident Manny Rodriguez. “The dog park is a real social scene now. Forget about the dogs, the people come there for the social aspects.” Hours: Daily 6 a.m. to Midnight
P O I N S E T TI A PA R K 7341 Willoughby Avenue (bordered by Poinsettia Place on the east and Romaine Street on the north) Approximately 10 acres in size, Poinsettia Park actually is just outside West Hollywood’s city limits in the City of Los Angeles. However, it is a major destination for WeHo residents. It has a large outdoor recreation area that includes a baseball field, a soccer field, eight tennis courts and outdoor basketball courts, plus exercise equipment and a handball wall. Many area adult sports leagues, including kickball, softball and hockey, use the fields. The recreation center, built in 1976, includes an indoor gymnasium with a stage area for performances, dance and music room, plus rooms for meetings and classes. The center offers many classes for adults such as Zumba, flamenco dancing, tap dancing and belly dancing, plus meditation and yoga. Poinsettia Park has a large children’s playground and offers a pre-school program as well as many after-school activities and classes for kids. The park also runs a summer camp, winter camp and spring camp for kids. “Anytime school is out, we offer all-day camps,” said facility director Glenn Campana. “My staff is well trained to take care of our programs, especially dealing with children. We have an 8-to-1 ratio of children to staff. The camp fees are very reasonable, $90 per week per child, and that includes lunch and a snack.” Hours: Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday closed.
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t n e r e f f i d A perspective HERE’ S HOW TO VIE W LOS ANG ELE S AND WE S T H O L LY W O O D F R O M
While sunny summer days and rising temperatures send many local hikers to the higher elevations of the San Gabriel Mountains, you don’t need to put a hundred miles on your odometer to get dirt on your boots. Head out early or in the late afternoon to avoid the hottest part of the day and enjoy these closer hiking options.
R U N YO N C A N YO N
Yeah, we know – you’ve been here, done that – but for all its loud Bluetooth conversations and overpriced yoga pants, the “One L.A. Trail Everyone Has Heard Of” is still a great place to hike. Stick to the paved route for a gentle ascent or burn some extra calories and put those boots to good use on the tougher outer trails. It’s also the only trail in Los Angeles County where you can legally let your dog off-leash, and one of the best places to catch a sunset, too.
TR E B E K O PE N S PAC E Before you ask, yes, it’s named for that Trebek, who donated these 62 acres in 1998.
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R U N YO N , YO U ’ V E P R O B A B LY S E E N I T – this small network of fire roads and rugged trails lies just to the west of Runyon. You can cover about three miles of hiking from the end of Curson Avenue or from tiny trailheads off Nichols Canyon Road or Castair Drive. It’s one of the Hills’ bestkept hiking secrets.
EILEEN GETTY RIDGE TR AIL If you’ve spent more than, say, 72 hours living in L.A. County, eventually someone’s going to ask you how to get to the
Hollywood Sign. The best hike to that sign is also one of the toughest and most rugged in Griffith Park. This three-mile out-andback starts with a no-nonsense climb up to Burbank Peak (home of the Wisdom Tree), then follows a rough-and-tumble ridgeline trail past Cahuenga Peak to the backside of Mount Lee. The early section of the trail near the Wisdom Tree has unfortunately seen a lot of graffiti and litter recently, so do the park a solid and bring a trash bag with you to haul some trash on your way out.
W I L AC R E PA R K Just off Laurel Canyon Boulevard, the Betty B. Dearing Mountain Trail gives hikers a gentlygraded route to spectacular views of the San Fernando Valley. On clear days, you’ll also have nice sight-lines to the San Gabriels and even the Santa Susanas. Although this route has become more popular in recent years, it remains a less crowded,
lower-key alternative to Runyon, with lots more shade along the way. Stop off at the TreePeople headquarters along the three-mile loop trail or add on another 2.3 mile out-and-back in shaded Fryman Canyon Park, which lies just to the southeast of Wilacre off Mulholland (even though most people just call this whole area ‘Fryman Canyon.’)
FR A N K LI N C A N YO N PA R K The 605-acre Franklin Canyon Park is the geographic center of the City of Los Angeles, which also happens to be part of one of the world’s largest urban National Park units – the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. This quiet corner of the mountains just north of the Beverly Hills Hotel is a quick escape from urban life, and features a surprisingly varied network of trails. Families can stroll around the northern section of the park, where a three-acre lake provides great bird-watching and a visitor center offers ranger-led programs year-round. Or sweat it out on the Hastain Trail to the south on rugged ridgeline trails. You can even combine both sections into one big loop trail as long as you don’t mind a bit of roadside walking – just make sure you watch out for the notoriously trigger-happy stop sign cameras when you’re headed to the trailhead.
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Pride means different things to different people