Hiking to the Hollywood Sign

On our recent trip to LA, Anthea and I really wanted to hike to the Hollywood sign.  So when I saw and asked multiple sources, I was told it was about 3 miles round trip from Griffith Observatory to the Hollywood sign.  Well, that will be the last time I take directions from anyone from SoCal.  “Yeah, dude, it’s only like 3 miles that way.”

Turns out that it’s 3 miles round trip to Mount Hollywood, which is not where the Hollywood sign is located.  The view from Mount Hollywood makes for a great picture of the sign, but it doesn’t put you near the sign.  Nope, that’s still another 3-4 miles of switchbacks, crossroads, and unmarked trails.  In the end, we hiked about 10 miles round trip between Griffith Observatory and the base of the Hollywood sign.

Here’s what we did:

The Hollywood sign is located within Griffith Park, a huge park that contains other notable features such as Griffith Observatory, The Greek Theater, Sunset Ranch, and the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens.  We decided to park at Griffith Observatory and start our hike from there, but there are many other trailheads, official and unofficial, that lead to the Hollywood sign.  It’s best to arrive at Griffith Observatory early (preferably before 9am) because the tiny parking lot at the top fills up quickly, as does the side of the road leading up to the observatory.  I should note that one of the reasons we chose this as a starting point is because many of the other starting points were near residential areas and I was unsure of the parking situation at those locations.  The observatory has free public parking, so we decided to go that route.

The views from Griffith Observatory are great in itself, both of the Hollywood sign and of downtown LA (if you’re lucky enough to see it through the smog).  Plenty of people are content with taking pictures of the Hollywood sign from there and calling it a day, but Anthea and I like to stay active while traveling so we started our hike from the north end of the parking lot (the farthest point directly opposite the observatory).

From this point, all bets are off.  The “trail” is not marked along the way, so when you come to an intersection you have a few options: 1) if you can see the Hollywood sign, walk in that general direction (even then, you might have to choose a high road or a low road), 2) ask someone  (but you’ll mostly get blank stares and vague directions), 3) follow the crowd (crowds thin out the closer you get to the sign, so this option is more limited the farther you walk), 4) guess.  This picture should help explain why it’s not as straightforward as you would think.

The key takeaway here is come prepared.  Luckily Anthea drinks enough water for 38 people, so we had enough to get us through a 10 mile hike on a hot day mostly in the sun.  Also, sunscreen and good shoes are a must for this hike.  Flip flops and high heels (yes, I saw both) will not cut it here, especially with all the horse crap and snakes in the area.  And finally, if angels take on the form of a middle aged hippie guy selling drinks out his personal cooler at the end of the trail, then we met one. Thank you, good sir!

Here are a few more pictures from the hike: