Hollywood Sign Trail
Long Video
Short Video
Map
Trail Description
DISTANCE 4 Mile round trip
ELEVATION We've settled on 700 feet.
PARKING If no one finds out about this spot, it is fantastic suburb parking.
SPF 20. Don't worry, the dust from the trail will cover 10 SPFs.
CHANCE OF INJURY Low, unless you attempt to touch the sign, then - 100% of taser gun burns.
WEIRD SMELLS European cologne.
TIME 3 leisurely hours or a 40 minute jog.
FEATURES HOLLYWOOD sign. Selfie sticks.
ANIMALS Deer and shuttle van drivers.
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS All the dads from all the Disney kid shows.
DOG SHIT Normal amounts.
ANYTHING ELSE? Below the sign there is a HUGE pile of broken dreams.
DISTANCE 4 Mile round trip
ELEVATION We've settled on 700 feet.
PARKING If no one finds out about this spot, it is fantastic suburb parking.
SPF 20. Don't worry, the dust from the trail will cover 10 SPFs.
CHANCE OF INJURY Low, unless you attempt to touch the sign, then - 100% of taser gun burns.
WEIRD SMELLS European cologne.
TIME 3 leisurely hours or a 40 minute jog.
FEATURES HOLLYWOOD sign. Selfie sticks.
ANIMALS Deer and shuttle van drivers.
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS All the dads from all the Disney kid shows.
DOG SHIT Normal amounts.
ANYTHING ELSE? Below the sign there is a HUGE pile of broken dreams.
Directions
If you're on the 101, good for you. Take it towards Universal Studios. Just follow the sound of fake cowboys and fake dinosaurs. But skip the studio and take the Barham Road exit. Head uphill until the first light which is Lake Hollywood Drive. Turn right.
If you're coming from Azusa or the Yorba Linda or somewhere off the 5, get to the 134 and head to Warner Bros Studios. That's the Hollywood way exit. Take that to Olive which goes past WB studios and becomes Barham Blvd. Take that uphill and turn left on Lake Hollywood Blvd.
Now you drive through a skinny street neighborhood winding around until you reach a sharp right turn down towards the reservoir. Still on Lake Hollywood Blvd you drive along the left bank of the water until you dead end and turn left on Tahoe Drive. That ALSO dend ends into Canyon Lake Drive where you will turn left. One more dead end, and you're there.
HIKING DIRECTIONS:
Not one sign will say "Hollywood Sign this way!". Nobody wants you here and that's why this route is the best. Locals are selfish wieners. The dirt path you start on is called Innsdale, but it's just a dirt road. It ends on Mulholland Hwy and you'll feel like you're coming out of somebody's driveway. Now turn left on Mulholland for a hundred yards or so and you'll hit the intersection with Ledgewood Drive with all the "DO NOT PARK", "RESIDENTS ONLY", "HOLLYWOOD SIGN? NEVER HEARD OF IT. GO AWAY!" signs. That is uphill to the left and is still considered Mulholland Hwy and although you can't drive or park up there, you can walk this road that becomes a trail. Take it. Believe me. The asphalt becomes dirt and then becomes a small trail that loops behind 4 or 5 homes and then emerges (you'll see. you "emerge" through a narrow walkway and then residential gate. they definitely try to make you feel uncomfortable) at the base of the main Hollywood Sign trail -called Mt Lee Drive.
You are now at the turn-around at the end of Deronda Drive. There is the massive metal gate that only the cops, indy horror film crews, and Hollywood Sign repairmen can use. Notice again, there are no "Hollywood Sign This Way" signs anywhere! Selfish, rich locals. But, to the left, back where you "emerged" is the pedestrian entrance. Up through there and you're on Mt. Lee Drive. That asphalt road goes all the way up to the sign. You can climb up to that dirt hilltop just to the left there and grab some photos, but if you've come this far, might as well finish it off.
The hike to the top is not picturesque by any means, and you won't even see the Hollywood Sign most of the time, but it's all you've got so just keep walking. It's less than a mile. You will walk behind the sign and you WILL be disappointed by the view. Just the back of the top of the sign - Probably so much smog, you can barely make out downtown LA - Razor wire and chainlink fence and jillions of giant antennas. But you knocked it off the old bucket list.
THE STORY:
If you're on the 101, good for you. Take it towards Universal Studios. Just follow the sound of fake cowboys and fake dinosaurs. But skip the studio and take the Barham Road exit. Head uphill until the first light which is Lake Hollywood Drive. Turn right.
If you're coming from Azusa or the Yorba Linda or somewhere off the 5, get to the 134 and head to Warner Bros Studios. That's the Hollywood way exit. Take that to Olive which goes past WB studios and becomes Barham Blvd. Take that uphill and turn left on Lake Hollywood Blvd.
Now you drive through a skinny street neighborhood winding around until you reach a sharp right turn down towards the reservoir. Still on Lake Hollywood Blvd you drive along the left bank of the water until you dead end and turn left on Tahoe Drive. That ALSO dend ends into Canyon Lake Drive where you will turn left. One more dead end, and you're there.
HIKING DIRECTIONS:
Not one sign will say "Hollywood Sign this way!". Nobody wants you here and that's why this route is the best. Locals are selfish wieners. The dirt path you start on is called Innsdale, but it's just a dirt road. It ends on Mulholland Hwy and you'll feel like you're coming out of somebody's driveway. Now turn left on Mulholland for a hundred yards or so and you'll hit the intersection with Ledgewood Drive with all the "DO NOT PARK", "RESIDENTS ONLY", "HOLLYWOOD SIGN? NEVER HEARD OF IT. GO AWAY!" signs. That is uphill to the left and is still considered Mulholland Hwy and although you can't drive or park up there, you can walk this road that becomes a trail. Take it. Believe me. The asphalt becomes dirt and then becomes a small trail that loops behind 4 or 5 homes and then emerges (you'll see. you "emerge" through a narrow walkway and then residential gate. they definitely try to make you feel uncomfortable) at the base of the main Hollywood Sign trail -called Mt Lee Drive.
You are now at the turn-around at the end of Deronda Drive. There is the massive metal gate that only the cops, indy horror film crews, and Hollywood Sign repairmen can use. Notice again, there are no "Hollywood Sign This Way" signs anywhere! Selfish, rich locals. But, to the left, back where you "emerged" is the pedestrian entrance. Up through there and you're on Mt. Lee Drive. That asphalt road goes all the way up to the sign. You can climb up to that dirt hilltop just to the left there and grab some photos, but if you've come this far, might as well finish it off.
The hike to the top is not picturesque by any means, and you won't even see the Hollywood Sign most of the time, but it's all you've got so just keep walking. It's less than a mile. You will walk behind the sign and you WILL be disappointed by the view. Just the back of the top of the sign - Probably so much smog, you can barely make out downtown LA - Razor wire and chainlink fence and jillions of giant antennas. But you knocked it off the old bucket list.
THE STORY: