Best LA Hiking Trails with City Views

For visitors and locals in Los Angeles, this guide gathers open trails and overlooks where the payoff is a skyline panorama. They spread from Griffith Park and the Hollywood Hills to Elysian Park, Lake Hollywood, and the Baldwin Hills in Culver City.

The Charlie Turner Trail climbs about 2.5 miles round trip from Griffith Observatory to Mount Hollywood, with the Hollywood Sign at eye level. At Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, roughly 280 stone steps lead to a panorama from downtown to the ocean. Angels Point in Elysian Park looks straight down at Dodger Stadium and the downtown towers. The short, steep trail to the Wisdom Tree on Burbank Peak ends at a lone pine with a summit notebook to sign. Street parking near Runyon Canyon is tight, so rideshare or come early, and skip Elysian Park on game days.