Deervale Trail
Trail Description
DISTANCE Less than 1 mile one way
ELEVATION GAIN 500 feet(ish)
PARKING Decent Neighborhood street parking at top and bottom.
SPF 15. Almost half the trail is in shade.
CHANCE OF INJURY Mountain biker: High Hiker: Low
WEIRD SMELLS Coyotes and Home Owner Association Rage
TIME 30 – 45 minutes
FEATURES Mountain bike ramps, Views
ANIMALS Hawks, groundhogs (aka hawk-dogs)
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS A kid from iCarly – he’s way in the background.
DOG SHIT Light. People too lazy to pick up after themselves, also too lazy to find this trail.
ANYTHING ELSE? Access at the bottom of the trail is legal, but discouraged by neighbors. Stay low, and don’t whistle.
DISTANCE Less than 1 mile one way
ELEVATION GAIN 500 feet(ish)
PARKING Decent Neighborhood street parking at top and bottom.
SPF 15. Almost half the trail is in shade.
CHANCE OF INJURY Mountain biker: High Hiker: Low
WEIRD SMELLS Coyotes and Home Owner Association Rage
TIME 30 – 45 minutes
FEATURES Mountain bike ramps, Views
ANIMALS Hawks, groundhogs (aka hawk-dogs)
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS A kid from iCarly – he’s way in the background.
DOG SHIT Light. People too lazy to pick up after themselves, also too lazy to find this trail.
ANYTHING ELSE? Access at the bottom of the trail is legal, but discouraged by neighbors. Stay low, and don’t whistle.
Directions
DRIVING DIRETIONS:
Exit the 101 at Van Nuys Blvd. Take that south towards The Hills. These hills don’t have eyes, they only have optometrists, and actors who play optometrists on TV. After you cross Ventura Blvd you’ll dead end into Valley Vista Blvd.
Turn right, you’ll go to the bottom of the trail. Left, the top. So let’s turn right, weave around some wide, windy road, and just before Kester look for the giant “PRIVATE PROPERTY!” sign. Bingo, there you go. Park right on the street and you can walk up that road. The locals are just trying to scare you… well not you, but imaginary drunken-homeless-arsonists that roam the streets of Studio City. I called LAParks. It’s fine.
Turning left instead on Valley Vista sends you over to Beverly Glen where you’ll turn right and be swept up with the commuter traffic over the hill. But keep an eye out for Deervale Drive on your right. It’s got a lot of droopy tree camouflage (a much more subtle deterring technique than the Private Property signs).
Turn right on Deervale Drive and the first left is Deervale Place. Turn left and that will dead end into the trailhead. It may feel weird, but you can park in front of anyone’s house you want.
HIKING DIRECTIONS:
We’ll admit right now, we’re not trying to win a testosterone competition. We saw this trail and said to ourselves, “Can we do this trail and still meet a work friend afterwards without taking a shower?” We could, and did. Cooper parked at the bottom, and I parked at the top. That’s about a mile downhill.
You could go out and back for a two miler, and the steep slope would make it a decent workout with some decent scenery. We really liked this trail. It was the smallish kind with long moments of “I’m not in LA.” That’s our favorite trail. The “I don’t feel like I’m in LA,” trail. For a short trail, this had a lot of that.
There are no side trails or intersections to worry about. The weenies at the bottom who don’t want people to walk past their “Palaces” need to get over themselves… their houses are okay, but not worth breaking into.
Try this trail. If you live nearby, try over and over again, if only to annoy the land-grabbers at the bottom.
THE STORY:
Feud of the Hill People – LA style. The Berkowitz’s liked the view at the top of the hill but would walk to the store at the bottom . The Blinderman’s liked the convenience of the bottom of the hill, but like to take their dog for a walk at the top. When they would occasionally pass each other, they would say hello, but only half heartedly.
DRIVING DIRETIONS:
Exit the 101 at Van Nuys Blvd. Take that south towards The Hills. These hills don’t have eyes, they only have optometrists, and actors who play optometrists on TV. After you cross Ventura Blvd you’ll dead end into Valley Vista Blvd.
Turn right, you’ll go to the bottom of the trail. Left, the top. So let’s turn right, weave around some wide, windy road, and just before Kester look for the giant “PRIVATE PROPERTY!” sign. Bingo, there you go. Park right on the street and you can walk up that road. The locals are just trying to scare you… well not you, but imaginary drunken-homeless-arsonists that roam the streets of Studio City. I called LAParks. It’s fine.
Turning left instead on Valley Vista sends you over to Beverly Glen where you’ll turn right and be swept up with the commuter traffic over the hill. But keep an eye out for Deervale Drive on your right. It’s got a lot of droopy tree camouflage (a much more subtle deterring technique than the Private Property signs).
Turn right on Deervale Drive and the first left is Deervale Place. Turn left and that will dead end into the trailhead. It may feel weird, but you can park in front of anyone’s house you want.
HIKING DIRECTIONS:
We’ll admit right now, we’re not trying to win a testosterone competition. We saw this trail and said to ourselves, “Can we do this trail and still meet a work friend afterwards without taking a shower?” We could, and did. Cooper parked at the bottom, and I parked at the top. That’s about a mile downhill.
You could go out and back for a two miler, and the steep slope would make it a decent workout with some decent scenery. We really liked this trail. It was the smallish kind with long moments of “I’m not in LA.” That’s our favorite trail. The “I don’t feel like I’m in LA,” trail. For a short trail, this had a lot of that.
There are no side trails or intersections to worry about. The weenies at the bottom who don’t want people to walk past their “Palaces” need to get over themselves… their houses are okay, but not worth breaking into.
Try this trail. If you live nearby, try over and over again, if only to annoy the land-grabbers at the bottom.
THE STORY:
Feud of the Hill People – LA style. The Berkowitz’s liked the view at the top of the hill but would walk to the store at the bottom . The Blinderman’s liked the convenience of the bottom of the hill, but like to take their dog for a walk at the top. When they would occasionally pass each other, they would say hello, but only half heartedly.