After having lived in LA for a few years, I had surprisingly never been to Runyon Canyon, despite it being so popular. I was able to make it out there for the first time a couple of weeks ago, with a fellow fit girl that I have met through my Instagram community. It’s definitely a trail where you can see some fit, glamorous, gorgeous LA types (almost seems like a requirement to already have toned abs…). Despite that aspect of LA-ness, it is definitely worth it to make a quick trip here because of the gorgeous views at the top!
The Hike: It’s not a tough hike unless you are a warrior and want to sprint up the incline. It is definitely no Koko Head Trail. 🙂 Otherwise I would say it’s a fairly moderate hike where the only strenuous part of the hike is a short uphill climb (with dirt stairs). Round trip it is roughly 2.5 miles. A great place for you to bring your dog if you have one!
The Journey: There are two landings on this hike – the first, at the lower level, you get a great view of LA’s vastness. To the left all the downtown LA buildings are visible and on a clear day, you look over to the right and can see the ocean and Santa Monica, perhaps even Catalina Island on a super, super clear day.
As mentioned, this is a generally moderate hike but there is an area (after the first landing) that has a bit of an uphill where you may break a little sweat. Just a few short steps though and you are up to the second landing.
The Destination: Once at the top, you get a great view of not just the ocean and downtown LA but you also get to see the Hollywood sign in the distance. I know there is a trail in the Hollywood Hills where you can actually hike really close to the sign. That will be one of the next hikes I go on. 🙂
Additional Tips:
- Parking can be really tricky. It’s all residential in the area so if you plan to go on the weekend, prime times, you may have to circle around or wait it out.
- The hike is very central to Hollywood and a lot of organic shops. I ended up getting a juice from a cute store called Open Source Organics which is just a couple of blocks down from the hill.
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