Los Angeles County offers many hiking opportunities
SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS There’s no need to head to Yosemite to find natural beauty.
In less than an hour or driving, active Santa Monicans itching to go hiking in the wilderness can hop on the Pacific Coast Highway and explore the beautiful parkland of the Santa Monica Mountains, located right in their own backyards.
It’s a lot quicker than the six-hour trek north to Yosemite.
“The mountains in most parts of Los Angeles are no more than 15-20 minutes away, depending on traffic,” said Dash Stolarz, spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, a state agency. “The Los Angeles basin is surrounded by mountains. There are hundreds of places to hike.”
Perhaps one of the most scenic places to hike in Los Angeles County is the Santa Monica Mountains from where hikers could enjoy views of Catalina Island, Long Beach, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Anacapa Island, Oxnard, and even Santa Barbara, according to Hal Margolis, author of “100 Mile Route.”
The book, slated for release in May, details and maps a 103.3 mile hike that Margolis undertook across the Santa Monica Mountains.
The Santa Monica Mountains begin just east of Griffith Park and end near the Pacific Ocean to the west. In mapping his book, Margolis started at Griffith Park, slowly moving through different forests, fossil sites, parklands and conservancies. Around the 33.8 mile mark, Margolis’ hike merged onto the Backbone Trail in Topanga State Park and continued into the La Jolla Valley. The hike later merged again onto the Chumash Trail, a trail that is believed to be 7,000 years old and one of the oldest in the world.
His journey ended near the Pacific Ocean between Point Mugu and Oxnard.
An avid outdoorsman since 1948 when he climbed Mount Wilson, Margolis proudly claims to have traversed much of the region by either foot, bicycle, scooter or plane.
For those wanting to stray further inland, the San Gabriel Mountains, located in parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, provides ample hiking opportunities. That range is also home to ski resort Mountain High.
But the San Gabriel Mountains cannot match the beauty of the Santa Monica Mountains in Margolis’ opinion.
“San Gabriel Mountains has less ocean and is not as close to everything,” Margolis said.
Whenever Tim Nelson, an employee at outdoor gear store Patagonia on Main Street, wants to head out on a hike but does-n’t want to spend hours sitting in his car getting to his destination, he visits Temescal Canyon or Malibu Creek State Park, located just minutes away. There are people who feel they don’t have enough time to spare to go hiking because many of the famous destinations are located hours away. But if they can stand just five to 20 minutes of drive time, these hikers will find hiking opportunities right around the corner, Nelson said.
Many of Nelson’s hikes occur several hours away from Los Angeles in places like Joshua Tree National Park. There are countless number of places to hike just an hour away from Los Angeles, he said, naming locations like the Biona Wetlands in Manhattan Beach and Kern River Valley in Lake Isabella, located two hours northeast of Los Angeles.
There are so many hidden gems within hours of Los Angeles, including waterfalls and other natural wonders, Nelson said. Hikers just need to expand their horizons.
“In Malibu Creek, you don’t even know you’re in LA,” Nelson said.“If you don’t turn around and see the city, it doesn’t feel like you’re right in the middle of the city.”
Those who have never hiked before shouldn’t be afraid. It’s an activity that almost anyone can do, according to Margolis.
When working for the Los Angeles County Jail years ago, Margolis conducted a study of inmates. As a side question, a curious Margolis asked the inmates whether they have any outdoor experience and if they were ever a Boy Scout. He found that only two out of the thousand inmates surveyed were Boy Scouts, and they did not continue beyond the rank of Tenderfoot. In Margolis’ opinion, hikers tend to be a cut above the rest in terms of achievement, intelligence, and citizenship.
“If they’re kids, they’ve gone through well known universities,”Margolis said.“If they’re adults, they’ve had wonderful careers.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 10, 2007. Read the original PDF.