Nestled between Benedict and Coldwater Canyons on 605 acres of land is a hidden oasis of natural beauty: Franklin Canyon Park. This charming and idyllic spot offers a unique sense of seclusion that cannot be found at Tree People/Cold Water Canyon Park just a short distance away, or at the larger Griffith Park, overrun as it is with tourists scrambling to see the Hollywood Sign, hike to the Observatory or ride the Carousel. In fact, wandering the path around Franklin Lake or relaxing on the grassy field of Franklin Canyon Ranch, it is easy to forget that you are mere minutes from the hustle and bustle of Greater Metropolitan Los Angeles. That’s not to say there are no people in the park, it’s just that they seem to move at a slower, more relaxed pace. It also helps that there are fewer of them. This is due in part to the fact the park can be difficult to find if you don’t know where it is. No signage exists on the northern approach, and the southern entrance offers only one sign. As a result, parking is seldom a problem, even on weekends.

The bottom of the canyon is a rich, dense riparian landscape irrigated by a steady flow of water from Franklin Lake. Several underground springs also add to the watershed, creating a lush landscape year round. As you work your way up the slopes of the canyon, the canopy of oak, walnut and sycamore gives way to the more common chaparral of Southern California. The park is also a birdwatcher’s paradise being home to eagles, horned owls and seven different species of hawks. Franklin Lake and Heavenly Pond are nesting grounds for both Mandarin and Wood Ducks. 

Though not officially designated as parkland until 1981, the origins of the park as we know it today began in 1914. By the turn of the 20th Century, Los Angeles was already a thirsty town and Mayor Fred Eaton sought to quench that thirst by acquiring water rights from the Owens Valley to the east of the city. That these rights may not have been secured through strictly legal means remains a bitter controversy in many parts outside of the metropolitan area t this day. Whether legal or not, the rights were acquired and a 223-mile aqueduct was completed in 1913. The following year William Mulholland and the DWP (Department of Water and Power) began construction on two reservoirs in the upper reaches of the canyon to store and distribute water diverted from the Owens Valley. So much was water was diverted from Owens Valley by Mulholland’s aqueduct that farming became unsustainable by the early 20s and by 1926, just 13 years after the aqueduct opened, Owens Lake was completely dry.

Though the Owens Valley began to blow dust, Franklin Canyon, thanks to a steady supply of water from both the new reservoirs and a series of underground springs, began to bloom setting the stage for the unique ecological environment that exists today. But it wasn’t only Mulholland and the DWP that had a hand in shaping Franklin Canyon. Around the same time as Mulholland was constructing his reservoir, the family of oil magnate Edward L. Doheny purchased the land in the lower canyon for watering and grazing cattle. In 1935, the Doheny’s expanded their presence in the canyon by builing a modest Spanish Adobe style home as a summer retreat. The house still stands today as the Franklin Canyon Ranch and houses park personnel. So well before the US entered WWII, the basic building blocks of today’s park were already in place, and they remained untouched for nearly 40 years until the Sylmar Earthquake of 1971.

The earthquake, measuring 6.7 on the Richter Scale, occurred at 6 A.M. on February 9 in the northeast corner of the San Fernando Valley. The massive trembler caused extensive damage throughout the valley including the near collapse of Lower Van Norman Dam. As a result, the city and the DWP began a system wide survey of its dams and reservoirs. The Franklin Canyon Reservoirs were deemed at high risk for failure. The lower reservoir was emptied completely and the upper reservoir level was lowered by 15’. A new, modern reservoir and surge dam were constructed below the Doheny Ranch as a replacement. With the upper reservoirs decommissioned and the Doheny Ranch properties slated for sale, the once protected Franklin Canyon was now open for development. Fortunately, Sooky Goldman, a political organizer and conservationist, had other plans. She had a vision for the canyon that included not only preserving the natural state of the canyon, but creating an education center that would enable inner city children to connect with California’s natural resources.

Enlisting the help of Congressman Howard Berman, Ms Goldman convinced the National Park Service to acquire the Doheny holdings as part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and the DWP to donate the upper reservoir property as parkland. The new Franklin Canyon Park, combining both properties, was opened to the public in 1981. Improvements to the property included the construction of the Sooky Goldman Nature Center, the William O. Douglas Outdoor Classroom and the Heavenly Pond. Activities at the park include native arts and crafts, photography and moonlight hikes and natural resources education, all presented free of charge. But man is not the only force working to restructure the park, nature is playing a hand as well. With the lowering of the water level in Franklin Lake (the former upper reservoir), grassy reeds have taken root on the northern perimeter of the lake, creating a marshy area that has become a waterfowl habitat. The reeds are currently encroaching on the southern end of the lake around the dam. As the grasses die off each season, the decaying vegetation is silting up the bottom of the lake. If this cycle continues unabated, the lake will eventually dry up and the ecology of the canyon will change once more, albeit to the more natural state that existed prior to the construction of the reservoir. The decision to be made will be whether to let nature take its course or let man preserve the idyllic oasis he inadvertently created.

For more information on Franklin Canyon Park and its scheduled activities, visit Franklin Canyon Park or Franklin Canyon NPS.

The City of Los Angeles recently opened a section of Mount Hollywood Drive that has been closed to traffic since 1991for a feasibility study on relieving traffic congestion around the Griffith Observatory. Part of the reason for the increase in traffic is due in part by the city trying to relieve traffic congestion (and soothe angry neighbors) in the Beachwood Canyon area. With Los Angeles seeing an uptick in tourism, out-of-towners have flooded the canyon to snap pictures of the fabled Hollywood Sign. City planners means of handling the situation was to simply redirect traffic to the eastern side of Griffith Park and anger homeowners in the Vermont Avenue Ferndell Avenue areas. Vermont Avenue already sees it fair share of traffic with access to both the observatory and the Greek Theatre. Shifting additional traffic there seems little more than a poke in the eye to the neighborhood residents. As a result, the city decided to turn 1.1 miles of the formerly closed Mount Hollywood Drive into a temporary parking lot. This has the double result of inviting more cars to enter the park through Vermont and Ferndell Avenues while reducing the 'wilderness' area of the nation's largest urban wilderness park. While the city is calling this a temporary decision and a feasibility study, outdoor enthusiasts are already rallying to prevent the situation from becoming permanent. A petition is already circulating on change.org asking for a ban on cars and trams on Mount Hollywood Drive. You can find the petition here. Sandi Hemmerlein has also written an informative article on the situation for KCET as shown below.

I was hiking in Eaton Canyon when I first had the idea of creating Hike-LosAngeles.com.  It seemed like a simple idea at the time: take a hike and then write a little about it.  Oh, if only it had stayed that simple, but by the time I returned home, that simple idea had become a bit more complex.  I began looking at other hiking sites and deciding what I did and didn’t like about them.  Most gave the basic essentials about the hikes, but many were assembled in a random, almost haphazard way.  The hikes were listed either alphabetically or in the order the hiker completed them.  Some of the larger, more ‘institutional’ sites were a bit sterile without any of the heart that makes a hike special.  Others were a bit too personal with my favorite being a hiker’s blog where the hiker found the sky so overwhelming he had to sit down on the trail and cry.  The description of his tears landing in the dust at his feet was a bit much and I can only imagine what his fellow hikers must have thought as they passed him weeping in the chaparral.

After reviewing a number of such sites I decided I would build the web destination that I would want to go to, one that would excite me about the trail and prepare me for whatever challenges I may encounter.  I also wanted to be able to find specific trails quickly and easily.  So my first goal was to organize the site in a way locate different types of hikes depending on mood and inclination.  As such, you will find the hikes are broken down by destination and specialty.  Under Destinations, the hikes are grouped geographically, which makes it easy to find a hike near your location.  Currently, our destinations include Griffith Park, the Verdugo Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains.  Upcoming destinations will include the Santa Monica Mountains, the Hollywood Hills and the Santa Susana Mountains.

If you are not particular about where you go, but rather what you want to see, our Specialty Hikes include Waterfalls, Sunrise/Sunset and Historic Hikes.  As more hikes are added I expect to add a Challenging category for those who want a more aggressive workout with their hike.  All of the hikes on Hike-LosAngeles.com can be found on the map at the bottom of our home page.  Click on the map icons to get a brief description of the hike.

Once your have found a hike your interested in, navigate to that hike’s page for trail statistics (length, elevation and time estimates), a video highlight tour and a map and trail guide.  Again, clicking on the map icons will bring up a brief description of trail junctions or interesting features as they correspond with the trail guide.  The map and trail guide can also be downloaded and printed for your use on the trail.  Directions to the trailhead and parking are included with every hike, as well as locations of nearby restrooms and water fountains.  We’ve also included pictures of the hike’s scenic views as well as photos of major trail junctions so you know what to look for out on the trail.

When searching for a hike, you will find that by clicking on Destinations instead of one of the drop down menus, you will be taken to a page giving you information on the Los Angeles area.  Likewise, clicking on Griffith Park, rather than a specific hike in the park, will bring you to an informational page on the history of the park.  The same holds true for the Verdugo Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains or any other destination on the site. 

Another good place for information is our resources page.  Here you will find local merchants who specialize in hiking gear, hiking groups and links to local, state and federal parks.  Initially, we are offering guides on 14 hikes on the eastern side of the metropolitan region, but we hope to add at least two new hikes a month beginning with some western walks in the Santa Monica Mountains.  And this blog will keep you up to date on interesting articles and facts about hiking in Los Angeles.  So there is plenty of exploring you can do right here on the website before heading out into the wilderness.  But once you do, drop us a line at [email protected] to tell us about your own outdoor adventures or maybe even recommend a hike to add to our growing collection.  So take a hike, Los Angeles, and become part of the scenery.