Hikes near Los Angeles/Angeles National Forest

This is one of my favorite hikes. It's pretty local and easy. AllTrails says that it's 5.6 miles, but you can actually make it shorter. Leave from the same trailhead, but take the trail to the left. It will end up being about 3 miles if you do it this way. It's a really good trail to see cloud inversions on. It's my go to cloud inversion spot. It will kind of depend on weather to see a cloud inversion, but I recommend going at sunrise for the highest chance. Sometimes during the day you can still get one, but sunrise is usually the best option.

This trail is definitely more on the difficult side and is for more experienced hikers. It's about 8 miles and is pretty hard. There are a lot of forested sections and false peaks but it's definitely worth the views & is still one of my favorite trails. I've done it multiple times, and it's a great one to do if you want a good challenge. I prefer to do this one during sunrise because it's super exposed and you don't get any shade. I also don't recommend doing it in the summer because it can get really hot. Be prepared and make sure you have enough water.

San Antonio Falls is right next to Mount Baldy. It's on the same road up to the Mount Baldy trail. It's about a mile long. It's super kid friendly, or parent friendly. It's a really cool hike and the waterfall is usually flowing all year.

This is a pretty moderate trail. It's good for beginners or someone who is looking for a small challenge. It's a bit of a longer hike but it is still easy. I like doing it for sunrise. I haven't done it for sunset, but I've heard it's also good then. I've gotten a couple of cloud inversions here & it's dog friendly too.

This hike is right next to Mount Lowe. It starts at the same place but you take a right onto the trail instead of a left. It's pretty short, only about 3 miles total. It's a good beginner-friendly hike with really good views. They sometimes have signs at the top that you can take pictures with.

This hike is definitely for more advanced hikers. Moderate hikers can probably do it, but it's a challenge. The trail has really good views. My favorite way to do it is to go up the San Antonio way, and then down the Devil's Backbone. You can get really scenic photos going down the Devil's Backbone. I really like doing this one for sunrise because it's pretty exposed and can get really hot. When I did it for sunrise, I started hiking around 1:30 AM. The last time I did it, we started a little bit later and it was hot by the time we got to the top.

This is actually a campground. I hiked up to it for fun. There are a lot of interesting historical things to see up here too, as a lookout tower. It's also a good place for camping & cloud inversions. The camping has been closed since COVID, so check to see if it's open before you go. The sites are all first-come-first-serve.

This is a moderate hike with rarely any shade. There's a bookshelf at the top of the peak that people like to take pictures with. They also usually have signs you can take pictures with. It's great for sunrise because of how the sun rises over the mountains here.

This hike is pretty easy and isn't too long. It's a good hike for beginners. The highlight is the mine. There's a big structure that's grafitti'd up and is really cool. You can actually explore in the mines. If you do, it's recommended to bring a mask and flashlight.

This is a longer hike and is considered moderate because of the distance. It's mostly flat the entire way but it's really rocky and has a lot of water crossings. During the Spring & Fall, it can be a bit more difficult because water levels tend to be higher. You can also Bungy jump at the bridge. You need to book it ahead of time, and the company will take you on the hike as a group. You can also camp here and it's dog-friendly. I love taking my dog here.

This is one of my favorite hikes even though I've only done it once. I saw the best sunrise ever on this hike. It's a good hike to see cloud inversions on, especially at sunrise. It can get really foggy at lower elevations. They usually have signs at the top that you can take photos with as well. I'm sure it's really pretty for sunset as well. The parking lot is kind of small so going early is a good idea. There is a second parking lot, but I'd recommend having a high-clearance vehicle to park there because there are a lot of rocks.

This hike is a bit of a drive out of LA, but it's a good short hike. It's usually flowing all year long & has water crossings on the trail. The only difficult part of it is that there are a lot of large rocks to walk over and around, so just be careful. It's pretty cool & it's dog-friendly. My dog likes this one a lot.

People like to take potatoes to the top of this hike. At the top, there's a big round platform with everyone's potatoes on it. Sometimes people decorate theirs. It's a really cool sunset hike. I think it's better for sunset than sunrise. It's kid friendly and not too hard.

I've only done this hike once, and I did it while there was snow. It's a really famous hike, people like to bring a strawberry to the top. It's more of a moderate to difficult hike. You can park right next to the trailhead, or across the street at the Redbox Picnic Area.

This is a cool hike. There are two different ways you can start it. You can start it from the same gate that starts Heninger Flats, which is the way that I've done it. The gate at this entrance opens earlier, so you can do the hike earlier and avoid the crowds. I've never done it the other way, but there's a different parking lot that you can enter from which is at the actual Eaton Canyon Falls parking lot. It opens later and the trail is a little bit longer this way. There are a couple of different water crossings on the trail. It can get a little tricky if the water is high, but this is also when the waterfall is at the fullest. A lot of people take kids on this one and it's super close to LA.

This is a good beginner-friendly hike. I've done it a couple of times on my own & with my hiking group and they've really enjoyed it. It's not as much of a sunrise hike, but it's really good for sunset because you get views of the ocean. It's not too long.

This is a good hike when there has been a lot of rain. I don't recommend going in the summer or when there hasn't been a heavy rainfall. But if there has been, the waterfall can be pretty big. Check the recent revies on AllTrails before you go to see if anyone has reported the amount of water. The hike is easy. There are some water crossings, so definitely bring water-friendly shoes. It's a kid-friendly hike & you can also camp here.

This is a really cool waterfall when it's running. When it's really flowing it's super awesome. It trickles all year long, but I recommend checking the recent reviews on AllTrails to make sure it's really flowing before you go. It's a very scenic hike with a lot of shade, water crossings, and it's great for Fall colors if you go during the Fall.

This is a shorter hike and the waterfall flows all year usually, so it's really cool. It's a good hike for kids. It has a lot of water crossings and is super shady.

This hike is considered moderate to hard. It's a loop trail, and you can do it in either direction. The harder direction is clockwise because it's really sandy on the trail so when you're going uphill it can feel like you're slipping back down. The other direction is a little bit easier because it's less sandy going up. It's a good hike for sunrise and sunset. There isn't a lot of shade, only in the beginning part of the trail.

This hike is rated moderate to hard. I did this hike during the winter when it was snowing and I really enjoyed it. It was like a winter wonderland. This trail makes you feel very accomplished. It's also dog-friendly, it's one of my favorite ones to take my dog on.

This hike is the same trail as Mount Baden Powell & also connects with Throop Peak. You can do the entire thing as one hike if you want, or you can choose to only hike to whichever peak you'd like to get to. For Mount Burnham, you can take two different ways. You can go via Baden-Powell or via Throop Peak. It's moderate to hard depending on your experience. It doesn't have as many views but there's usually a sign you can take a photo with. It's also a really good workout and will make you feel very accomplished.

Throop Peak can also be done with Baden-Powell & Burnham if you want a longer hike - or you can just hike to Throop Peak. It's a really good shorter hike on its own. It's also a good sunrise hike because the sun rises through these mountains. There's also usually a sign you can take a picture with if it's still there.

This is a good beginner hike. It's really close to the city so it's not a far drive into the mountains to get to it. The waterfall mostly flows all year round & there's also a teepee. A lot of families like to do this hike.

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.

This is a pretty cool hike. I've only done it once, during sunrise. It was more difficult than I thought it would be but it was a good challenge. You can also take the same trail further to the top view of the Hollywood sign. There isn't a lot of shade on this hike, so I recommend going early. Parking can also be tricky, so it's good to go early for that. Also, check the signs. If it says not to park, don't park there because they do give tickets.

This is a really good training hike if you're trying to start doing some harder hikes. What I usually do is Poop Out to Punk Out. Punk Out isn't on AllTrails, but if you keep going up from Poop Out, you'll get to Punk Out. It's really challenging. I've done this one on a group hike before and some people were struggling, but it's a really cool hike. I recommend going early because there isn't very much shade.

This hike is really local to LA. The main highlight is the teepee structure. I've done it during sunrise, and it's great during that time.

This waterfall tends to dry out during the summer. I had wanted to go on this hike for a really long time, but we finally got some rain and I got lucky and it was really flowing. If there has been rain, the waterfall has a lot of moss behind it. I recommend going early because the parking lot isn't very big. They do charge for parking so bring cash to put in the envelope. The AllTrails link doesn't take you to the bigger falls (the one in the photo). To get to the bigger falls, you'll climb up the cliff using the rope. I recommend bringing good shoes so that you don't slip. If you're afraid of heights it might feel pretty sketchy. The AllTrails link will take you to the first (smaller) falls.