An Amazing Urban Hike in Los Angeles

Last month I wrote a blog post about the amazing discoveries Bob Inman and I made when we wandered through the incredible Arroyo Seco Corridor in the northeast Los Angeles and Pasadena area. On the very next day I did the Whitley and Hollywood Heights hike from Bob Inman’s book, Urban Hikes Southern California. The hike was fantastic, and the book should be on the bookshelf of everyone who likes to explore in Los Angeles.

Here’s a link if you want to buy a copy – Click Here!

The hike begins a little bit north of the Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue subway stop. When I got off of the subway and made it up to the street level, my first impression was that this is a very hectic place for a hike. But when I looked down at the sidewalk, I realized that I was in the middle of the famous Hollywood Star sidewalk. And when I looked across the street, I noticed a McDonald’s and walked over there for breakfast.

I couldn’t help but to notice all the stars in the sidewalk. There were even stars for people I had never heard of, but when I reached the star for Marilyn Monroe, I was right at the front door of McDonald’s.

After getting a bite to eat, I headed north on Highland Avenue and turned left at the first street to begin the hike. And almost immediately the magic began. Just one block north of Hollywood Boulevard, the hustle and bustle comes to an end and the quiet begins. Two turns later, I was headed up a steep hill with fantastic views and houses everywhere you looked. And for the most part, it was totally quiet and I was the only one on the street. And I am sure that a Hollywood historian could tell you who lived where and what movies were shot at any particular location. All in all, it was like stepping into a fairyland.

At the first possible chance for right-hand turn, the hike route makes a sharp turn and continues uphill. At the next turn, this one to the left, there was a Frank Lloyd Wright house right at the bend.

The Samuel Freeman House was built and designed by Wright in 1924. Whereas many of the Wright houses that you’ll see in the Midwest incorporate Prairie School elements that have similarities to the Craftsmen houses that prevail in the Arroyo Seco Corridor, the Freeman House is built with Textile Blocks. It’s as if Wright wanted to try something new with the houses he designed in Los Angeles. Four houses that Wright built in the 1920s in the LA/Pasadena area use textile blocks.

After making the turn in front of the Frank Lloyd Wright house, the hike continues up the road and again passes fabulous houses the entire way.

But before you know it, the road comes to an abrupt end.

But if you look to your left, you’ll see some stairs. They look private, but they’re actually part of a public right-of-way to get you around the obstruction. The combination of path and stairway too is a magical experience.

And when you pop out on the other side, you’ll be overwhelmed with more fantastic views.

In addition to the views, all of the houses and yards have fantastic details.

Very soon you’ll reach another public stairway. There are stairs going both up and down. The hike route loops around to get both stairways.

The fabulous walk continues at the bottom of the stairs, and you’ll soon see the High Tower off in the distance.

The tower was built in 1923 to let people park their car in their garage at the bottom of the hill and then take the elevator inside the tower up to their home higher up or on top of the hill. The tower is privately owned and has a locked gate. If it were public, LA could claim to having an elevator street similar to the one Oregon City, Oregon.

But all is not lost, and even better, there is a network of public stairways and sidewalk streets to get you around, up, and over the hill. You could easily spend the better part of the day exploring and testing all of the possible options. And I’m sure that all of them would be great!

Eventually, you do get over the hill and work your way back down to Highland Avenue. I did run into some city utility workers who were not very happy about lugging their tools up the stairs, but you can’t please everyone. Once at Highland Avenue, you are almost on top of the entrance to the Hollywood Bowl. I was not expecting that, and it’s one of those type of places that I had heard about all of my life but had never actually seen it in person. And here it was!

Needless to say, I had to walk over there to check it out. After a couple of false starts, I finally figured out how to get into the Hollywood Bowl. And guess what? The LA Philharmonic Orchestra was rehearsing for the evening’s performance! And even better, you were more than welcome to come in and listen free of charge. Since I had several more items to check out before leaving LA, I could only stay for a few minutes. But it always amazes me how much you can discover and the surprises you run into when you allow yourself to wander!

After the brief detour to the Hollywood Bowl, I picked up the hike route again as it continued on to the other side of Highland Avenue into the Whitley Heights area. And if the first part of the hike was fantastic, this part was just as great. And again, if you’re a Hollywood historian, you’ll be passing houses that were once homes to many well known stars.

The hike route followed a street that wound up to the top of the hill and then took stairs back down to the bottom of the hill.

The route then continued on other streets going back up to the top of the hill and then back down. The route eventually looped back to the starting point to conclude an incredible hike. I only hope my pictures do the hike justice.

I hope this blog post shows that you can have an incredible walk or hike in any setting. You don’t have to go the mountains or wilderness to find peace and beauty. You can find it anywhere you walk. Especially in Los Angeles with its hilly topography and its role in the nation’s cultural history. And when you combine a wonderful walk with wandering, you’ll make amazing discoveries and have a great adventure wherever you are!