Favorite walks in Southern California
January 25, 2025 5:45 AM Subscribe
We're planning a trip to Southern California and enjoy hikes. We're not in the best shape of our lives, but could handle 1000 - 1500 foot ascents. We'd like something with a 1 to 5 hour duration, ideally with nice views and not currently on fire. We'll be based initially in Los Angeles, and will venture out for stays north, east, and south from there. We'll have a car, and our span runs from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, from the ocean to the Arizona border. Do you have any favorites?
Do you ever use All Trails? I find it useful for the kind of search you want to do. You can search for hiking trails in a map area you choose, filter by elevation gain and difficulty (easy and moderate) and then sort by star rating. I took a quick look and a Torrey Pines hike was the top one meeting your criteria, so listen to SPrintf. And you could get some other ideas.
posted by medusa at 7:51 AM on January 25 [1 favorite]
posted by medusa at 7:51 AM on January 25 [1 favorite]
I noticed you’ve already marked Joshua Tree, which is a good choice. I enjoy Death Valley too, particularly hiking out to the middle of the salt flats.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:15 AM on January 25 [2 favorites]
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:15 AM on January 25 [2 favorites]
Reservoir canyon trail in San Luis Obispo is an awesome hike.
posted by hortense at 4:20 PM on January 25 [1 favorite]
posted by hortense at 4:20 PM on January 25 [1 favorite]
Best answer: borrego palm canyon outside borrego springs is so lovely, and the slot canyons are fascinating.
posted by changeling at 11:01 AM on January 26
posted by changeling at 11:01 AM on January 26
Definitely get AllTrails, very easy to get a sense of a trail and find one that fits you. $25 for the pro version for a year.
Highly recommend taking the ferry to Catalina for a day, possibly an overnight. There are truly spectacular hikes within your abilities. The Botanical Gardens walk is beautiful.
Southern California doesn't really have weather, it has climate. Summertime in Joshua Tree is basically an oven after noon. I might skip it entirely on a summer visit, and it's one of my favorite places in the whole world. The coast will be cool in the middle of summer, even in San Diego, and even in winter it's not what a Bostonian would consider cold. Winter is one of my favorite times to hike out here, as long as you don't mind some rain.
Pretty much the only time of year you can guarantee fire-free conditions is spring. Fall is typically the most fire prone, followed by summer. Winter used to be safe but who knows.
The Angeles National Forest is close to LA (obviously) and has some great hikes. If you're feeling stronger, the Bridge to Nowhere is great and my guess is will be open after the fires are out.
posted by wnissen at 3:04 PM on January 27
Highly recommend taking the ferry to Catalina for a day, possibly an overnight. There are truly spectacular hikes within your abilities. The Botanical Gardens walk is beautiful.
Southern California doesn't really have weather, it has climate. Summertime in Joshua Tree is basically an oven after noon. I might skip it entirely on a summer visit, and it's one of my favorite places in the whole world. The coast will be cool in the middle of summer, even in San Diego, and even in winter it's not what a Bostonian would consider cold. Winter is one of my favorite times to hike out here, as long as you don't mind some rain.
Pretty much the only time of year you can guarantee fire-free conditions is spring. Fall is typically the most fire prone, followed by summer. Winter used to be safe but who knows.
The Angeles National Forest is close to LA (obviously) and has some great hikes. If you're feeling stronger, the Bridge to Nowhere is great and my guess is will be open after the fires are out.
posted by wnissen at 3:04 PM on January 27
If you have any specific questions about hiking in San Diego, happy to answer over MeMail. I'll also recommend Hiking San Diego County as a great blog which gives a good overview of a hike and then gives you very specific directions (often more specific than AllTrails) which help you on certain kinds of 'rabbit trail' hikes which we for sure have around here.
You can for example, see that Torrey Pines has probably half a dozen viable hikes (it's decently well labeled but there's a ton of interconnected trails there).
If you're not looking to do a beach hike, or if you're looking to throw a longer hike into your mix, try Mt Laguna. The blog I mentioned above lists the total amount of ascent each hike has (as well as time it takes, mileage, etc.), which can be helpful as you plan out what you're capable of that day. I love Laguna Meadow and it's not a lot of elevation gain. Watch the weather! On a hot day, Laguna is hot (but not as hot as the nearby desert).
For SLO, definitely check out at least one of the Nine (or Seven, depending on how you count) Sisters. I hiked the Irish Hills, which is one of the least busy, and had a lovely time but I'm guessing either Morro or Bishop would be a better fit for most folks.
posted by librarylis at 8:20 PM on February 4
You can for example, see that Torrey Pines has probably half a dozen viable hikes (it's decently well labeled but there's a ton of interconnected trails there).
If you're not looking to do a beach hike, or if you're looking to throw a longer hike into your mix, try Mt Laguna. The blog I mentioned above lists the total amount of ascent each hike has (as well as time it takes, mileage, etc.), which can be helpful as you plan out what you're capable of that day. I love Laguna Meadow and it's not a lot of elevation gain. Watch the weather! On a hot day, Laguna is hot (but not as hot as the nearby desert).
For SLO, definitely check out at least one of the Nine (or Seven, depending on how you count) Sisters. I hiked the Irish Hills, which is one of the least busy, and had a lovely time but I'm guessing either Morro or Bishop would be a better fit for most folks.
posted by librarylis at 8:20 PM on February 4
Response by poster: I marked as favorites the once we actually got a chance to do. In February, both Anza Borrego and Joshua Tree were fantastic and I'd say you can't go wrong choosing any of the trails.
posted by Jasper Fnorde at 7:56 PM on February 14
posted by Jasper Fnorde at 7:56 PM on February 14
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posted by SPrintF at 6:46 AM on January 25 [3 favorites]