Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers 4,310 acres (1,740 ha) of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America.[1] It is the second-largest city park in California, after Mission Trails Preserve in San Diego, and the eleventh largest municipally owned park in the United States.[2] It has also been referred to as the Central Park of Los Angeles but is much larger, more untamed, and rugged than its New York City counterpart.
On a Sunday morning without traffic, it's only 15 minutes from my house. Besides being a slice of the Santa Monica Mountains, the park also includes Griffith Park Observatory, the LA Zoo, the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Traveltown, the Hollywood sign (on Mt Lee), a golf course, a merry-go-round, a stage area for the summer Independent Shakespeare Company, and the Bronson Caves (the old Bat cave from the 1960s Batman TV show).
I've actually been to most of these other attractions, but amazingly enough, I had rarely hiked in the park. I haven't hiked much in the last two years and I'd like to get back into hiking with a group. But I needed to see if I was in shape enough. So I hiked the 4.7 mile (1040 ft elevation gain) trail from Fern Dell Dr to the top of Mt Hollywood (the highest point in the park). Verdict: I need to do a few more hikes on my own :)
It's a lovely hike, with the added perq of visiting the Observatory on the way back down. Next time I'd like to do it on a clearer day. Here are some pics from my hike. I hope you enjoy them.
