Will Rogers / Rustic Canyon Trail
Trail Description
DISTANCE Forever! (aka 6 miles)
ELEVATION GAIN 700 ft
PARKING For 12 buck, there better be plenty... and there is. Just don't crowd my Bentley.
SPF 90-10. Sunny going up, and Slim Shady coming down.
CHANCE OF INJURY Very good. Bee stings, poison everything, twisted knees, lock jaw, and it gets really bad if "lost" is an injury.
WEIRD SMELLS Silicone, Botox, Fresh Krylon, and Pony sweat with a hint of sea bass.
TIME Forever (aka 3-5 hours)
FEATURES "Good" graffiti, the original Bridge to Nowhere, creek full of bee shit.
ANIMALS Domesticated bees, and pigmy bears.
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS Harold and Kumar.
DOG SHIT Unseen
ANYTHING ELSE? Lots of rangers where you don't need them... in the parking lot.
DISTANCE Forever! (aka 6 miles)
ELEVATION GAIN 700 ft
PARKING For 12 buck, there better be plenty... and there is. Just don't crowd my Bentley.
SPF 90-10. Sunny going up, and Slim Shady coming down.
CHANCE OF INJURY Very good. Bee stings, poison everything, twisted knees, lock jaw, and it gets really bad if "lost" is an injury.
WEIRD SMELLS Silicone, Botox, Fresh Krylon, and Pony sweat with a hint of sea bass.
TIME Forever (aka 3-5 hours)
FEATURES "Good" graffiti, the original Bridge to Nowhere, creek full of bee shit.
ANIMALS Domesticated bees, and pigmy bears.
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS Harold and Kumar.
DOG SHIT Unseen
ANYTHING ELSE? Lots of rangers where you don't need them... in the parking lot.
Directions
Imagine friends are in town and they want to see where O.J. killed Nicole. That's the direction we're going. Drive on the 405 until you smell a terrible football team. That's the UCLA Bruins. Sunset Blvd is a couple exits north of the 10 freeway. Take Sunset west towards the beach. It's kinda fast and windy but you shouldn't throw up too much. Keep your eye out on the right for Will Rogers State Park. There will be a stop light at Will Rogers State Park Road. Turn right and that will be slow and windy for about 1/2 a mile. If you're okay to walk a bit more, check the street parking signs because you can park for free out here. Otherwise you can continue to the end of the road where there's LOADS of parking... because it's $12.
HIKING DIRECTIONS:
TRAILDUMMIES WARNING: We did get lost on this trail. These directions just might suck. END OF WARNING
The rich old lady trail at Will Rogers State Park is The Inspiration Loop Trail. It starts at one end of the parking lot - up to Inspiration Point - and down to the other end of the parking lot. Less than 2 miles. We didn't do that.
We went up the service road near the main house along the white fence. That cuts straight through the park to the top of Will Rogers Park. Turn left at the top of the hill and you will quickly see a large info board to your right. This marks Topanga Canyon Park and the backbone trail. Take that to your right.
For about 2 1/2 miles you are going to be on the top of this sunny ridge - even at night this ridge is sunny. Soon after the weird bridge there will be a trail to your right. It's pretty steep. If you had dirt skis, it'd be a black diamond... or I guess a brown diamond.
At the bottom is Rustic Canyon. Rustic is an old German word for "Filled with bees and poison." Turn right and head down stream. Don't be fooled by the gravel road to your left. You'll hear people and cars up there, but that goes WAY down to Sunset Blvd away from your car... TRUST US. STAY NEAR THE RIVER BED. Your feet will get wet but that is okay. It might not feel right, but it is. When you get to a 20' concrete waterfall you should A) not go uphill to your left. Been there. Adds 6 street walkin' miles to your trip. B) Probably find your way down below the falls and look for a trail that goes to the right. This is the last part of the trail... maybe...
We will go back and find this route. If you find it, tell us so that we don't have to.
THE STORY:
Some sun-drunk Irishman, afraid that the Nazis would invade during WWII built 23 houses in this canyon as decoys. His plan was to lure the dirty Nazis into the canyon and then unleash the water behind the flood gates - BAM - just like Moses got those dirty Pharaohs. Unfortunately there was no water in the canyon, fortunately, the Germans were busy sneaking into Brazil.
Imagine friends are in town and they want to see where O.J. killed Nicole. That's the direction we're going. Drive on the 405 until you smell a terrible football team. That's the UCLA Bruins. Sunset Blvd is a couple exits north of the 10 freeway. Take Sunset west towards the beach. It's kinda fast and windy but you shouldn't throw up too much. Keep your eye out on the right for Will Rogers State Park. There will be a stop light at Will Rogers State Park Road. Turn right and that will be slow and windy for about 1/2 a mile. If you're okay to walk a bit more, check the street parking signs because you can park for free out here. Otherwise you can continue to the end of the road where there's LOADS of parking... because it's $12.
HIKING DIRECTIONS:
TRAILDUMMIES WARNING: We did get lost on this trail. These directions just might suck. END OF WARNING
The rich old lady trail at Will Rogers State Park is The Inspiration Loop Trail. It starts at one end of the parking lot - up to Inspiration Point - and down to the other end of the parking lot. Less than 2 miles. We didn't do that.
We went up the service road near the main house along the white fence. That cuts straight through the park to the top of Will Rogers Park. Turn left at the top of the hill and you will quickly see a large info board to your right. This marks Topanga Canyon Park and the backbone trail. Take that to your right.
For about 2 1/2 miles you are going to be on the top of this sunny ridge - even at night this ridge is sunny. Soon after the weird bridge there will be a trail to your right. It's pretty steep. If you had dirt skis, it'd be a black diamond... or I guess a brown diamond.
At the bottom is Rustic Canyon. Rustic is an old German word for "Filled with bees and poison." Turn right and head down stream. Don't be fooled by the gravel road to your left. You'll hear people and cars up there, but that goes WAY down to Sunset Blvd away from your car... TRUST US. STAY NEAR THE RIVER BED. Your feet will get wet but that is okay. It might not feel right, but it is. When you get to a 20' concrete waterfall you should A) not go uphill to your left. Been there. Adds 6 street walkin' miles to your trip. B) Probably find your way down below the falls and look for a trail that goes to the right. This is the last part of the trail... maybe...
We will go back and find this route. If you find it, tell us so that we don't have to.
THE STORY:
Some sun-drunk Irishman, afraid that the Nazis would invade during WWII built 23 houses in this canyon as decoys. His plan was to lure the dirty Nazis into the canyon and then unleash the water behind the flood gates - BAM - just like Moses got those dirty Pharaohs. Unfortunately there was no water in the canyon, fortunately, the Germans were busy sneaking into Brazil.