Hike Los Angeles County

Discover the best day hikes in Los Angeles County. Safely explore the county’s most compelling parks, preserves and special places. Hit the trail to improved health as you share a fun and uplifting activity in the natural world with your friends and family. My tips, stories and trail accounts will help you select—and take—a quality hike you’re guaranteed to like.

I got to know—and appreciate—L.A. County’s trails while serving for seventeen years as the Los Angeles Times hiking columnist. Recently I collected my favorite hikes in a new book, Los AngelesCounty, A Day Hiker’s Guide.

I launched HIKE-LA.com in order to help you get to know the trails and terrain in L.A.’s regional parks, wilderness parks, national forest and state parklands. Enjoy this sampling of outstanding hikes on classic trails and brand-new pathways. And visit again soon to learn more about new parks new trails, and guided tours.

Some misguided souls still claim that the Missing Persons song lyric “nobody walks in L.A. is fact. That attitude is so 70s and so over. I think everybody hikes instead. Okay, maybe not everybody. But L.A. per capita has an extremely high number of hikers and Angelenos have made the Angeles National Forest the most hiked of any of America’s forests.

Learn more about hiking elsewhere around California and across the nation by visiting The Trailmaster Network, my special collection of web sites. And for a unique look at hiking, America’s most popular form of outdoor recreation, take a hike to www.TheTrailmaster.com

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Features

Autumn Hikes in Southern California's State Parks. Think the seasons don’t change in Southern California and there’s no fall foliage to be found? Think again. The Trailmaster suggests eight great autumn adventures.

The Joy of Hiking L.A. County 

L.A. County Terrain and Trails 

Best Hikes in Los Angeles County 

Hike ‘n ride in Santa Monica Mountains 

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