Day Hikes Around Los Angeles: 82 Great Hikes

by Robert Stone

LA TIMES BEST SELLER Day Hikes Around Los Angeles includes 82 hikes in and around a 50-mile radius of the city. Now in its fourth edition, this hiking guide has made the LA Times Bestseller list.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573420441
• ISBN13: 9781573420440
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Day Hike Books
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Great Suggestions for walks, Needs better maps

I went on a number of the suggested hikes - all were good ideas and well described in the text, also nicely sorted by area - hill range. The maps leave a bit to be desired - best to check the trip out on Google maps first, especially if you are combining routes into a single longer hike.

Mt. Lee and the Hollywood sign - Hike 64

I purchased this book for directions to hike to the Hollywood sign with a friend, and was not disappointed. The directions in this book take you as close as you can legally get to the sign. The map, driving directions, and hiking directions were quite accurate. The trailhead has been moved since this edition was published, but there were signs clearly directing us to and marking the new trailhead. The only unclear element was the listed hiking time, which the book says is 1.5 hours, not stating whether this is one-way or round-trip. Taking time along the trail to stop for water breaks on a warm sunny day and photograph the excellent vistas, it took us about 3 hours round-trip to complete the hike. I suppose if one did the hike in a hurry it might be completed in the stated time, but if you plan to admire the scenery, you should probably add at least an hour onto the hiking times provided in this book. Though there were several other groups of hikers on the trail with us (one group also using this book as a guide), there were many points where it was so quiet that you couldn't hear anything but nature sounds. Even the freeways and fellow hikers elsewhere along the trail were often inaudible. The views along the trail and from the top of Mt. Lee were gorgeous - we could see all the way to the ocean!

Super fun book

Considering that there are like 20 million people living in the LA area, it's sad no one's really written a review of this gem of a book. I find that even though people may have lived here their whole lives, they really haven't seen much of the city. So what better way to get acquainted with my new home than this book? More interesting to me than "how to go to Disneyland with 110,000 other people" or "learning where the Orange Crush is located," is a book about some offbeat, and beautiful, parts of LA. Case in point was the hike to Point Fermin I took Sunday. A fine day with my father-in-law, son, and daughter. My panama hat did yeoman's duty, and we enjoyed the wonderful scenery and relative solitude. The best part is, it didn't cost a dime. We even drove over the only suspension bridge in LA county to get there. My boss has lived in LA for forty years, and hadn't heard of this location. Anyway, this book falls under the heading of "potentially life-changing books" not because the hikes are all that mind-blowing, but because it is the key to unlock experiences you'd otherwise never have. It's that little push that gives you permission to do something a little unusual, a little less safe, than your ordinary weekend. The exploration of such a complex city rich in natural beauty is a great gift, and opening the book is the first step on that journey. Sean Penn says that now that men aren't hunters anymore, the only thing left for them is violence. I say that's not true. There's a whole world out there to explore, and a man can still try to see it for himself, and take pleasure in showing it to his family.

good short hikes

Focusing on the Santa Monica mountains and Griffith Park, this book contains a number of very nice short hikes. For longer hikes or hikes in a larger variety of areas, I'd suggest Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles County.One very nice feature of this book is the simpliflied map which accompanies each hike. Each hike's map is zoomed in to cover only the area of interest, with important landmarks identified. I did find one small mistake on one of the maps, but it was easy enough to figure out what was intended.The descriptions of the hikes are very brief, and there isn't any detailed information about what to look out for, but all of the hikes go to very interesting places. Again, the book Afoot and Afield in Los Angeles County can fill in many gaps, as that book lacks the nice maps, but has great descriptions of many of the hikes in this book. I recommend buying both. Read the long descriptions in the bigger book, then carry this book with you on the trail as it has more useful maps.

Good starter if you're new to the area

New in town? Don't know where to go to get away for a day? This is the most economical way to get started, with 45 suggestions for hikes that are mostly in the Santa Monicas (a lot of these are in Malibu), state parks and wilderness areas, and even a few smack dab in the metro area (including the Venice canals and Runyan Canyon, right in Hollywood).Each hike includes location, some directions to the trailhead, and a very loose map to show the routes suggested by Stone. A reality check is very important with respect to the maps and the directions (especially distances). Landmarks change and in a couple of cases the distances are either mistakes or typographical errors. The maps are sketchy, and do not always accurately reflect the side trails you may find or their names. Stone also does not describe very much of what you will find, leaving most of that up to you. Tuck the book in your pack, or leave it in the car, and explore.