Runyon Canyon

Runyon Canyon is almost literally a hop, skip and a jump from where I live in Hollywood, CA - and I'm fortunate to have it so close by, as it's an easily accesable sliver of the outdoors (which has helped me retain my sanity in this crazy city I live in).
Some people wouldn't say Runyon Canyon is truly a "hiking spot" - in fact true outdoorsmen (or outdoorsWOMEN), hikers, campers, and mountain climbers would probably deem Runyon Canyon as more of a "dog park" than anything else - and to tell you the truth - the lower portions of the park are just that - a dog park (in the summer the loads of poop wafting in the air CAN get to you).

What many people don't know is that it's also a free outdoors yoga studio DAILY and a meeting place for the locals (on the weekends the park can get surprisingly crowded near the entrance points).

Personally, Runyon Canyon has been my training ground for the other hiking spots I plan on exploring this summer. It's about a 3.5 mile "loop" around the entire park which you can cover at a moderate walking pace in about an hour an a half (faster if you jog park of the way, which is what I usually do).

For more technical info (such as elevation) & other opinions on Runyon Canyon, check out Casey's ModernHiker.com blog.




When I first began visitng Runyon, I stuck to the simple "loop" - taking the long and graduated ascent to the eastern peak and coming down the steep quick eastern descent.

However I quickly found myself in better shape, so began doing the "loop" in the reverse order.

In time I got brave (and bored) so I began exploring the "advanced" trails - (taking the less traveled western ascent path) and the little offshoot trails which this path leads you towards.

There are many more interesting things to look at when you take the western trail to the upper peaks, and being that it's the more difficult path, you'll generally find it far less populated.

For example, there's an old abandoned mansion when you take the western trail (which you can access fairly easily if you park at the Mulholland Drive entrance to the park) and as of current, there's a "Prayer Box" on one of the western peaks.

In time I found that even the "advanced trails" weren't enough for my new found "adrenalin junkie" self, which led me to my next hiking destination: Griffith Park (The Hollywood Sign Hike).

Click here for my photos of Runyon on Flickr.com



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More info and reviews on on Runyon Canyon can be found on AllTrails.com