Sometimes I just like to share pictures of my vacations, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do today! In the end of March, my brother and I took a quick little trip out to Los Angeles. I absolutely love LA, I’ve taken trips out there 5 times in the last 3 years and plan to move there. It was my brothers first time so of course I had to show him as much as I could of my favorite thing to do there… HIKING!! We went on 4 different hikes that I will share with you, along with some other awesome stuff we saw like the actual house they used as the front of Mickey’s house on the Netflix series Love!

Hiking in Los Angeles

Hike #1: Runyon Canyon

Address: 2001 N Fuller Ave Los Angeles, CA 90046

Runyon Canyon is a really popular hike, and for a reason! It’s definitely a must-see in LA. Gorgeous views of the skyline and the Hollywood sign, and there are 3 different levels of trails, easy, medium, and hard. We tried to get there for the sunset but it was a little cloudy.

Can you see the Hollywood sign in the distance?

As much of the sunset we could get!

Hike #2: Los Leones Canyon Trailhead

Address: 510 Los Liones Dr, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

Los Leones trail is in the Santa Monica Mountains, and just GORGEOUS. You will have ocean views the majority of the hike. We went around 9 or 10 in the morning on a weekday, and I was really surprised how quiet it was! We passed a few people, but not many. The hike was so secluded… you forget you’re in LA! Again, it was a cloudy day but the views were still breathtaking, I can’t imagine how pretty it would be on a clear sunny day. But it was spring, so flowers everywhere were in bloom! 🙂

Beginning of the hike, so secluded!

So many gorgeous flowers!

Ocean views from the trail, still gorgeous on a cloudy day.

My brother and I loving the ocean views!

Hike #3: Cahuenga Peak and The Wisdom Tree

Address: Wonder View Drive & Lake Hollywood Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90068

This hike was pretty tough but so worth it. The “Wisdom Tree” is the only tree that survived a massive fire in 2007, which makes it kind of famous, so much so that it has its own Instagram account. There is a geocaching box at the tree where visitors write journal entries. It was so cool to see and read through some of the little notes people had left behind. There are also a ton of rocks stacked up at the top, I’m not sure of the purpose or if it just randomly started, but it looked pretty awesome. From the top you’ll also get good views of the skyline.

Hike #4: The Hollywood Sign!

Address: 3160 Canyon Lake Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90068

The address above is where we parked, which is Lake Hollywood Park. From there we had to walk quite a distance up some residential streets before actually getting to the trailhead, but the residential streets are narrow and marked for residents only, so the spot we parked seemed to be as close as we could get. This hike took us a couple of hours and wasn’t too challenging, but it was our 3rd hike of the day and we were out of water so we were pretty exhausted. DO NOT FORGET WATER! Seems like a given, but we underestimated how much water we would drink after a couple of hikes. Anyway, I felt like going to the Hollywood sign was a really touristy thing to do but it was actually really amazing. The views were insane and it was just kind of a “wow” moment to be so close to the Hollywood sign and see how big it really is, and then to look at the sign from the bottom and think “holy crap I was all the way up there”.

My brother and I on our way up!

As close to the sign as you can legally get!

Obligatory selfie at the top 🙂

A couple of other cool things we did:

Saw the house in Silverlake they used to film the front of Mickey’s house on the Netflix series Love. (It is actually a duplex!)

Found a MATCHA BAR in Silverlake!!! I LOVE matcha. So amazing.

Visited LACMA and saw the Urban Light installation.

Until next time, Los Angeles! <3

 

What are some of your favorite things to do in LA?