Los Angeles Full Moon Hikes

Take a hike, Los Angeles, by the light of the silvery moon

Moon Rise in Franklin Canyon

The Greater Metropolitan Los Angeles Area offers a multitude of exciting opportunities to experience nature up close and personal, but for a different perspective on the great outdoors try a nighttime hike in one of our many parks. Even the most familiar of paths can become a whole new adventure as owls screech, bats flit overhead and coyotes yip and howl in the distance. And that ominous sound crunching through the underbrush toward you? The fearsome Los Angeles sabre-toothed mouse! Darkness has a way of heightening your auditory senses, amplifying the most innocuous of sounds into rampaging beasts. But that's part of the fun of hitting a trail at night; you experience the same world in a completely different light, or lack thereof. Being Los Angeles, of course, it's not completely dark. In fact, most of the hikes end with fantastic glittering views of the city's lights stretching from the mountains to the sea. Depending on which event you attend, you may even get a pot luck dinner.

Nighttime hikes happen throughout the month, but the most popular are the full moon hikes. These provide some of the most spectacular nightscapes as the moon rises above the San Gabriel Mountains or climbs a canyon ridge on one side while the towers of downtown LA gleam brightly on the other. This month the moon is full on May 4th, but hikes will take place for several days preceding and following this celestial event across the city. Presented below is a selected list of full moon hiking experiences from around the area.

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Skyline from Franklin Canyon

April 30 - Great Outdoors Griffith Park LA Full Moon Hike

The Great Outdoors, Southern California's larges gay and lesbian recreational organization kicks things off with a short hike to Mt. Hollywood from the Observatory in Griffith Park. At only 3-miles roundtrip on fairly level fireroad, this is one of the shortest and easiest of the full moon hikes. The hike departs from the Griffith Park Observatory parking lot at the Mt. Hollywood Trail sign. Click here for more information.

May 1 - Sierra Club Griffith Park Full Moon Hike and Pot Luck Dinner

Griffith Park is one of the most popular spots to view the rising moon and the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club leads a hike from the park's carousel to the top of Mt. Hollywood with gorgeous panoramic views of downtown Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Mountains, the Hollywood Sign and the Griffith Park Observatory. Participants should meet at 6:45 in the Upper Merry-Go-Round parking lot for a 7:00 PM departure. The hike will take about 2.5 hours. You should bring, water, flashlight and a snack to share if you wish to participate in the pot luck dinner. Click here for more information

May 4 - Stough Canyon Full Moon Hike

Stough Canyon Nature Center in Burbank offers a combination sunset and full moon trek in the Verdugo Mountains. As the sun sets in the west, the moon rises above Verdugo Peak in the east on this insanely short 3/4 of a mile hike. Views extend across the valley to the Santa Monica Mountains. The nature center often sets up a telescope for viewing the moon and stars close up. Hikers depart from the parking area at 7 PM. For more information, click here.

May 4 - Franklin Canyon Full Moon Hike

Taking place on the night of the actual full moon, this moderate 4-mile roundtrip hike is centrally located in the mountains between Beverly Hills to the south and Studio City to the north. The views are not as wide as panoramic as in Griffith Park, but the park is much more secluded and far less crowded for a more intimate hiking experience. The group leaves from the Franklin Canyon Ranch parking area at 7 PM. Click here for more information.