Regularly Scheduled Activities

Full Moon Hikes

Full Moon Nights at 7:00 PM

The LA Chapter has brought back the popular monthly Full Moon hikes in Griffith Park. Bring a friend, or meet some new ones, as we hike about 3 miles from the Griffith Park Observatory to the top of Mt Hollywood and back and enjoy a airline views of LA. Dogs are absolutely welcome, but must be on a leash. This is the same route as our Monday Night hike and is a moderate hike. Where: At the Griffith Park Observatory parking lot, opposite from Observatory at the Mt. Hollywood trail sign..
2010 Dates: Jan 28 | Feb 25 | Mar 25 | April 29 | May 27 | June 24 | July 22 | Aug 19 | Sept 23 | Oct 21 | Nov 18 | Dec 16
Additional questions? contact Gary

Tuesday Night Hike

Tuesdays, 7:00 PM

Come meet old friends or make new ones while enjoying the lights of L.A. from the top of Mount Hollywood. Meet at 7:00 PM in the courtyard at the Griffith Park Headquarters/Visitor Center on Crystal Springs Road.

The hike is aerobic, fast-paced and not for beginners. It's a 5 mile round trip with an 1100 ft elevation gain. Bring a windbreaker and sturdy shoes. Rain after 5 PM cancels.

Additional questions? contact Jeff

Griffith Park Monday Night Hike

Mondays, 6:00 PM

This hike is designed as an alternative hike to the other very successful weekly hike on Thursdays. It is an easy ascent/stroll. After the hike, we will meet at a local restaurant for dinner. Rain after 4:30 p.m. cancels.

The hike is on the Charlie Turner Trail and goes to the top of Mount Hollywood. We meet at the trailhead which is at the far end of the Griffith Park Observatory parking area. Note that as of November 19, 2007, you can drive up to the observatory and park rather than having to take a shuttle.

Starting at the Charlie Turner trailhead, this hike is 2.5 miles with an elevation change of about 1000 feet. The views are great. On a clear day, you can see Catalina Island. Great views of the high rise buildings in downtown, Century City, Westwood and the Miracle Mile. Parking is adjacent to the trailhead. The parking lot is used by visitors to the Griffith Park Observatory. Get there early to ensure close parking. Parking is available on the roads leading to the parking lot but the walk to the trailhead will all be uphill! There is no fee for parking or to enter the park.

For more information, Contact Gary by email or call 213.481.1933.

The Curse of Griffith Park

Circa 1863. Wealthy rancher Don Antonio Feliz dies of smallpox and leaves his vast stretch of land--now Griffith Park--to friend and fellow rancher Don Antonio Coronel. Feliz's blind, 17-year-old niece, Dona Petranilla, is given nothing. In an act of revenge, she swears out a curse:"Misfortune, crime, and death shall follow those who covet these remains!" One by one, Don Coronel's family members die out--of disease or misfortune. After Coronel passes away himself, his widow remarries, only to have her new husband divorce her and try to take the land. The litigation lawyers take almost all that is left. The lawyer in charge of the estate, however, is suddenly killed in a bar fight. The next owner, Leon Baldwin, attempts to run a dairy there, but the business fails and he loses the land to mortgage companies and a devastating rainstorm. Griffith J. Griffith is the last private owner. In 1896, he bequeaths the 3,000 acres to the City of Los Angeles for use as a public park. But the act of goodwill doesn't help him escape the curse. A few years later, he is convicted of trying to kill his wife and is locked up in San Quentin. [LA Weekly - Greg Bishop]

Hike Ratings

We rate Great Outdoors hikes using the following six levels:

• Easy (Beginner/Novice)
• Moderately Easy (Novice)
• Moderate (Novice/Intermediate)
• Moderately Strenuous (Intermediate)
• Strenuous (Intermediate)
• Very Strenuous (Expert)