Los Angeles keeps one of its wildest escapes right inside the city: Topanga State Park, a vast stretch of the Santa Monica Mountains where oak woodlands, grassy ridges and sandstone outcrops feel far removed from the freeways below. California State Parks invites hikers to explore a trail network that climbs from the Trippet Ranch entrance toward sweeping viewpoints over the canyons and the Pacific.
One favorite route heads toward Eagle Rock, one of the many boulder outcrops along the trail, which looms over the terrain and provides panoramic views of the park. Hikers can also follow the Eagle Spring loop, or, at Rogers Junction, opt for the Backbone Trail, which winds through the Santa Monica Mountains from Will Rogers State Historic Park in the east to Point Mugu State Park in the west.
It is an easy, happy kind of day trip: pack water, start early, and let the chaparral hillsides do the rest. Day use at Trippet Ranch is $10 per vehicle, and the Dead Horse lot offers hourly parking at $3, according to California State Parks.
Photo: Mx. Granger via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
