Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Mount Lee

At 1680 feet above sea level, the summit of Mount Lee perches high above the Los Angeles Basin on the western edge of spacious Griffith Park. In addition to hosting the iconic “Hollywood” sign, the summit area offers one of the most stupendous views of the Southland’s real estate — carpets of houses, shopping centers, industrial buildings, and office towers that roll out miles and miles toward distant snow-capped peaks and the blue Pacific Ocean.

Mount Lee’s summit, although largely occupied by a fenced-off antenna installation, can be reached from below by self-propelled means — typically, walking and mountain biking. A great place to begin is the Hollyridge Trail, which starts just shy of the Sunset Ranch Stables at the north end of Beachwood Drive in the Hollywood Hills. Beachwood Drive runs north from Franklin Avenue, which itself is accessible from the Hollywood (101) Freeway in Hollywood, or from Interstate 5 via Los Feliz Boulevard.

A small dirt parking area just below the stables has room for only a few cars. There’s more space for parking one-quarter mile below, along Beachwood Drive or residential streets parallel to it.

Sponsored
Sponsored

From the dirt lot, climb briefly south to a hillside vantage point where you can gaze south over the Hollywood Hills and the L.A. Basin to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Long Beach, and (when clear enough) Santa Catalina Island. From there, swing left and continue uphill (north) on the Hollyridge Trail. Horses and riders from the nearby stables are sometimes in view ahead; behind you is an ever-widening view of the L.A. Basin. Eventually, the tops of Los Angeles’ downtown office towers come into view.

At about 0.5 mile you reach a junction. Go left on Mulholland Trail, and follow its curvy course west until you reach the paved (but closed to motorized traffic) service road called Mount Lee Drive. Follow that road uphill to a crest where a full, 180-degree sweep of the San Fernando Valley comes into view. Keep climbing, and don’t give up until you reach the summit.

A formidable fence divides the topmost part of Mount Lee from the sheer slope below, which precariously supports the spindly looking whitewashed letters of the famous sign. Climb a rocky peaklet at the end of the service road (just shy of the antenna installation) to get a nearly 360-degree view of the landscape. Through the month of March, and perhaps into April, you’ll probably notice a prominent mantle of snow on a rounded peak far to the east. That’s Mount San Antonio, or Old Baldy, 10,064 feet above sea level — the highest point in Los Angeles County.

Mount Lee
In L.A.’s Griffith Park, climb to a perch overlooking the “Hollywood” sign and a whole lot more.
Distance from downtown San Diego: 128 miles
Length: 3.0 miles round trip
Difficulty: Moderate

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

National City to junk permissive land-use code

Airbnb regs would be like Chula Vista's
Next Article

94th Aero Squadron – French farmhouse still works

Try the antinoise –tomatoes with olive oil dressing plus capers, garlic, toasted coriander seeds, basil, spring onions, salted anchovies

At 1680 feet above sea level, the summit of Mount Lee perches high above the Los Angeles Basin on the western edge of spacious Griffith Park. In addition to hosting the iconic “Hollywood” sign, the summit area offers one of the most stupendous views of the Southland’s real estate — carpets of houses, shopping centers, industrial buildings, and office towers that roll out miles and miles toward distant snow-capped peaks and the blue Pacific Ocean.

Mount Lee’s summit, although largely occupied by a fenced-off antenna installation, can be reached from below by self-propelled means — typically, walking and mountain biking. A great place to begin is the Hollyridge Trail, which starts just shy of the Sunset Ranch Stables at the north end of Beachwood Drive in the Hollywood Hills. Beachwood Drive runs north from Franklin Avenue, which itself is accessible from the Hollywood (101) Freeway in Hollywood, or from Interstate 5 via Los Feliz Boulevard.

A small dirt parking area just below the stables has room for only a few cars. There’s more space for parking one-quarter mile below, along Beachwood Drive or residential streets parallel to it.

Sponsored
Sponsored

From the dirt lot, climb briefly south to a hillside vantage point where you can gaze south over the Hollywood Hills and the L.A. Basin to the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Long Beach, and (when clear enough) Santa Catalina Island. From there, swing left and continue uphill (north) on the Hollyridge Trail. Horses and riders from the nearby stables are sometimes in view ahead; behind you is an ever-widening view of the L.A. Basin. Eventually, the tops of Los Angeles’ downtown office towers come into view.

At about 0.5 mile you reach a junction. Go left on Mulholland Trail, and follow its curvy course west until you reach the paved (but closed to motorized traffic) service road called Mount Lee Drive. Follow that road uphill to a crest where a full, 180-degree sweep of the San Fernando Valley comes into view. Keep climbing, and don’t give up until you reach the summit.

A formidable fence divides the topmost part of Mount Lee from the sheer slope below, which precariously supports the spindly looking whitewashed letters of the famous sign. Climb a rocky peaklet at the end of the service road (just shy of the antenna installation) to get a nearly 360-degree view of the landscape. Through the month of March, and perhaps into April, you’ll probably notice a prominent mantle of snow on a rounded peak far to the east. That’s Mount San Antonio, or Old Baldy, 10,064 feet above sea level — the highest point in Los Angeles County.

Mount Lee
In L.A.’s Griffith Park, climb to a perch overlooking the “Hollywood” sign and a whole lot more.
Distance from downtown San Diego: 128 miles
Length: 3.0 miles round trip
Difficulty: Moderate

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader writer fends off attacks on Encinitas cliff story

Says each letter writer takes on only part of the article
Next Article

Can three-on-three basketball challenge the NBA?

Union-Tribune owner finds bull rider crowds booing, wearing cowboy hats backwards.
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader