Best hikes in LA: Get outdoors and view the city from the hills

Hollywood | Los Feliz | Malibu | Culver City | Altadena

Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, Culver City

An oil-rig studded hill on the edge of Culver City’s industrial zone is an odd place for a state park. But that’s all part of this urban overlook’s understated charm. A destination for exercisers south of the 10 freeway, the park’s main draw is the steps: more than 260 stone slabs that deliver hikers—breathless, aching—to the top in under 20 minutes.

If it’s your first time, don’t look back until you reach the top. That way you’ll maximize the surprise of this north-gazing view of LA’s east-to-west spine—far less photographed than the standard postcard pic snapped from south-facing Hollywood Hills, but just as worthy. Peer east toward Downtown’s skyline and the sprawl of South LA. To the north and west, Century City high-rises and Westwood’s Mormon temple cut imposing figures, with the Santa Monica Mountains serving as a smoky backdrop.

At happy hour, a no-frills workout scene flourishes, with people streaming into the park up until the moment it closes at sunset (and after). The paved viewing deck at the top turns into a sweaty zone of improvised pilates, exuding an electric post–work day energy that reverberates in the glow of city lights below. The hill’s central location and low-key crowd make you feel like you’re above the city, and within it, all at the same time.