10 Best Hiking & Trails in Los Angeles (Costs & Tips, 2026)

No entry fee at all for one of the largest urban parks in the country, and this trail climbs past the Griffith Observatory itself before delivering a summit view that takes in the Hollywood Sign, downtown LA, and the Pacific on a clear day all at once. Around 3 miles round trip, moderate grade, and the observatory makes a natural stop either before or after.

Free and dog-friendly off-leash in parts, which is a big part of why this is the most heavily trafficked hiking trail in the city — walk it early enough and it's genuinely peaceful; walk it midday and you're sharing the trail with half of Hollywood. The upper loop's city-and-ocean view is worth the crowd either way.

This is the actual legal route to the back of the sign, unlike the fenced-off approaches from Beachwood Canyon that end at a locked gate — a steep 3.5-mile round trip through Griffith Park's Cahuenga Peak area gets you directly behind the letters, not just a distant photo of them. Free, though the fire road can be brutally exposed with almost no shade by midday.

Stone ruins of a mid-century Paul Williams-designed house sit right along the creek here, burned in a 1982 wildfire and never rebuilt, which gives an otherwise easy family-friendly canyon walk a genuinely eerie stop partway through. No fee, gentle grade, and a small seasonal waterfall at the far end when winter rains have been decent.

A 40-foot waterfall at the end of this canyon trail requires wading across the creek several times to reach, which keeps the crowd noticeably thinner than the last quarter-mile scramble usually suggests it should be. Free, about 3.5 miles round trip, and the nature center at the trailhead is worth a stop for anyone hiking with kids.

At roughly 150 feet, this is the tallest waterfall in the Santa Monica Mountains, dropping over a travertine limestone face that keeps it running longer into the dry season than most Malibu creeks manage. No fee, though the final stretch to the upper falls involves a genuine rock scramble that a fenced lower viewpoint lets you skip if you'd rather not.

The cave here has appeared on-screen so often — the original 1966 Batman TV series used it as the Batcave entrance — that film buffs sometimes outnumber hikers on a weekend. Free, under a mile round trip to the cave itself, an easy add-on to a longer Griffith Park day rather than a destination on its own.

At 3,111 feet, this is the highest point in the entire Santa Monica Mountains range, and a clear day from the summit takes in Anacapa Island and the Channel Islands out past the coastline. No fee, moderate 6-mile loop, with volcanic rock scrambling near the top that's more fun than technical.

Twelve dollars for parking gets you into the same rocky gorge and grassy meadows that stood in for Korea throughout the entire run of M*A*S*H, with rusted jeep props still visible along the trail decades after filming wrapped. A natural swimming hole partway through, Rock Pool, makes this one of the few hikes on this list you can actually cool off on.

Ocean views open up almost as soon as you clear the initial tree cover, which is unusual for a canyon trail — most keep the coastline hidden until the very end. Free, a small seasonal waterfall partway up after rain, and the loop option back down through Temescal Gateway Park adds variety instead of retracing the same path.