When you’re in Los Angeles, sometimes you can’t help but to be a tourist.
There are several different trails to get to the Hollywood Sign varying from 3.5 miles to 8 miles.
Here are the directions for the shortest route…
Start by plugging this address into your GPS: 3000 N. Beachwood Dr., Hollywood, CA 90068. Unfortunately, there is no parking on weekends or holidays, probably the days you’d want to do this hike, so you will probably have to find some street parking around the 2000s and walk up Beachwood Drive to the trailhead.
Once you hit the end of the road, you will hit a gate. Go through it and you will see a sign for Sunset Ranch to the left, a small parking lot and a sign with Smokey the Bear on the right. The start of the trail is to the right.
For a while, there is only one path, then the sandy trail will split, with one trail on the left going down to a horse farm. Keep to your right. After jumping around horse manure for a little while, the trail will split again. Do not continue on the path that curves around the canyon that the horses take, instead, take the tight hairpin turn to the left and keep hiking upwards. The trail will eventually lead to a cement road. Take a right and continue the ascension up the Hollywood Hills. This will lead you to behind the letters of the Hollywood sign, which are surrounded by a fence and cameras. If you have a selfie-stick or GoPro, you should be able to get some cool panoramas. Keep on this trail and climb up the dirt mound to get the 360 degree view of Los Angeles!
If at any point you think you are going the wrong way or may be lost, don’t hesitate to ask a fellow hiker, you don’t want to unintentionally add a 3 mile detour!
While this hike is quite short, but be sure to wear proper footwear, as some parts are quite steep. Having a water bottle and your phone for some upbeat tunes would also not be a bad idea (you can never go wrong with Beyoncé).
The trail can get crowded, so definitely try to get a head start in the morning. The park opens at 5am, and watching the sun rise over Los Angeles would definitely be a sight to see if you can get up in time!
For more information about this trail, visit https://hikingguy.com/hiking-trails/easy-hollywood-sign-hike.