Hikes Near the Valley & Santa Monica Mountains

This trail has very limited parking, so I recommend getting here early. If you can't find parking, you can park further down the road, but that will make your hike a lot longer. It's not a very long hike but it's a good workout. It's good for sunrise with a really good 360 view. A lot of people do this hike early at sunrise. It's easy to get to from LA, you can take the highway all the way there, and the trailhead is right by the exit.

This is a good short trail. I've done it for sunrise. There's a little military box at the top with notebooks inside that you can sign. The trail is a bit overgrown. I didn't see anybody on the trail when I did it at sunrise. It's a local spot and it's pretty easy.

This is a really cool hike. If you don't want to do the whole loop, you can make it really short and just go straight to the peak. It's a good sunrise or sunset hike. There's a sign at the top that you can take a photo with. I like taking beginner hikers on this trail because it has a little incline which presents a challenge, but it's short. Sometimes you can get cloud inversions at the top.

This trail is really cool. It's a short hike, but it's pretty steep. I'm not sure if the main swing is still there, but I know that the bench swing is still there. It's a really cool hike for pictures.

You can do this hike from two different ways. The AllTrails version is about 3 miles. It's a pretty easy hike but it can get a little bit overgrown. Make sure you follow the map and download it ahead of time if you can because sometimes the phone signal is spotty. You can climb on top of the cave or go inside. The cave isn't too big, but it's a cool photo spot.

This hike is pretty popular. Sometimes there's a swing and there's always hammocks in the cave. There's a lot of cool grafitti in the cave as well. I recommend downloading the AllTrails map ahead of time because it can be hard to find the trail & there phone service is spotty. Going up the trail is pretty steep and can be difficult, but it's definitely worth it. If you're afraid of heights, it might feel kind of sketchy. There are wires that are anchored to help you get down.

This hike doesn't have any parking, so you'll have to park on the street. Make sure that you follow the signs and only park legally. There are some interesting building ruins with grafitti to check out. You can take a lot of cool pictures. The hike is mostly shaded except at the beginning. It's a pretty straightforward trail.

The parking for this trail is just street parking. I recommend getting here early because sometimes it's hard to find parking. I recommend downloading the AllTrails map ahead of time because it can get a little bit confusing. You can't see the cave until you get to it. There is a small climb to get up into the cave. Sometimes there is a rope to help you. It's pretty easy to get up to it though. From the big cave where most people take photos, you can continue climbing up to some smaller caves.