The Getty View Trail begins on the Casiano Road and is just a 15-minute drive from campus. The trail traverses the mountainside east of the Sepulveda Pass. As the name suggests, the trail offers overhead views of the Getty Center and the I-405 freeway, as well as the mansions of Bel-Air Canyon.
Murphy Ranch is a heavily graffitied ruin located in Rustic Canyon, in the Pacific Palisades. It was built by Nazi sympathizers as a self-sufficient farm during World War II. Only a few miles west of campus, the trailhead is accessible by bus route 602.
At around 2,472 feet above sea level, the Topanga Lookout is an ideal spot to catch the sunrise as the marine layer shrouds the LA basin.
Graffiti is juxtaposed with the otherwise barren mountain landscape around the Topanga Lookout Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains.
The lush landscapes of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, located inland from Malibu along the Pacific Coast Highway, glisten with flora in the springtime.
Accessible from Mulholland Drive near the Cahuenga Pass, a short trail along Runyon Canyon rewards hikers with views of the Hollywood Sign and the city.
The trails around Griffith Park provide hikers with iconic views of the Griffith Observatory on one side and the Hollywood Sign on the other.
On a clear day, visitors to the Griffith Observatory can enjoy a sprawling vista of Los Angeles, stretching all the way to the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Mount Hollywood offers panoramic views of various Los Angeles attractions, including the Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory, as well as Downtown LA and the San Gabriel Mountains. One can take public transport or drive to Griffith Observatory, situated in the mountains above the Los Feliz neighborhood, for a 3.2-mile roundtrip hike to the peak.
Rays of light shine through the early morning fog at the Dawn Mine trail, located in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains above Altadena. The trail runs parallel to a creek, sheltered by dense foliage.
The Dawn Mine Trail connects to the Sunset Ridge Trail, leaving the lush forest for expansive views of Millard Canyon Falls and the San Gabriel Mountains.
Texas Canyon is a 50-minute drive north of campus in the high desert near Santa Clarita. Monumental rock formations dot the chaparral-covered hills, making it a popular spot for rock climbers.
Poppies carpet the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve every spring, covering the prairie with a sheet of orange. Just over an hour’s drive north of campus, the reserve is a common spot for students looking to take photos of the annual blooms.
Devil’s Punchbowl Natural Area and Nature Center, located just over an hour’s drive from campus on the northern end of the Angeles National Forest, features layered rock formations created by the San Andreas Fault, as well as panoramic views of Antelope Valley.
The Mojave Desert, which surrounds the Antelope Valley in Northern Los Angeles County, offers some of the clearest and darkest views of the night sky in California, making it a prime spot for stargazing and astrophotography