Runyon Canyon
Hollywood Hills hiking trail where celebrity sightings rival canyon views.
Runyon Canyon is a 160-acre public park tucked into the Santa Monica Mountains just above Hollywood, offering a network of hiking trails with sweeping views over the Los Angeles basin. It's one of the most visited urban parks in the country — not just because of the scenery, but because it's become a cultural institution in its own right, a daily ritual for a swath of Angelenos who show up before or after work to sweat it out on dusty switchbacks with their dogs in tow.
The park has three main trail loops ranging from a gentle paved path along the canyon floor to the steep fire road that climbs to the ridge at roughly 1,320 feet. From the top, on a clear day, you get unobstructed panoramas stretching from downtown LA all the way to the Pacific. Most people combine trails to make a satisfying one-to-two hour loop. Dogs are welcome off-leash throughout most of the park, which makes it a magnet for pet owners — and incidentally one of the best places in LA to spot celebrities doing something mundane, since the park draws a very Hollywood crowd.
The main entrance is at the top of Fuller Avenue, just off Franklin, with another entrance at the Mulholland Drive end. Come early on weekends — the parking situation is notoriously chaotic and the trailheads fill up fast. Weekday mornings are far more manageable. The trails are mostly exposed dirt and rock with some uneven terrain, so proper footwear matters more than people expect when they show up in flip-flops.