Distance (round-trip)
3 mi
Time
1.5 hrs
Elevation Gain
463 ft
Season
Spring
Summer
Fall
Winter
Weather
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A short, 3 mile loop in the Hollywood Hills. Centrally located with easy access from Hollywood and Studio City, this is a slightly easier but nicer alternative to other popular Hollywood hikes like Runyon Canyon. Fryman Canyon has fire road or trail paths, plenty of spur trails to vista points and benches, and access to the TreePeople‘s Coldwater Canyon pavilion. While it is an urban trail, it doesn’t seem crowded on the trail. And while it’s dog friendly, it doesn’t have the pile-of-poop problem that Runyon has. Definitely worth checking out.
My friend Blair had been trying to get me out to Fryman Canyon for a while, singing its praises as being “Just Like Runyon, Without The Runyon.” So, on a long weekend, I finally took her up on the offer and trekked all the way out to the strange and distant land known as Studio City.
Yes, just a quick drive over the Hollywood Hills and we were at the trailhead just off Laurel Canyon Blvd. – a small and packed-to-the-brim parking lot, full of hikers, joggers, and dogs.
While this is not a difficult stretch of trail by any means, there is a gradual but noticeable elevation gain. In the first half mile, you’ll gain about 270 feet — after that, the trail hits a sort of straightaway, slowly trudging up an easy gain. You will also begin to notice a few side-trails climbing sharply to the south, away from the fire road. While these trails are not marked on any maps of the park, they lead to a rough system of use-trails that generally parallel the fire road. So if the crowds are getting to you, you can take a quick escape along one of these many optional routes.
At 0.6 miles, you’ll pass the first of several memorial benches, placed in scenic areas and shady spots along the trail. If you keep moving, the trail continues to the southwest, then loops around a ridge and turns toward Coldwater Canyon Park. At the 1.3 mile mark, you’ll get a nice view of the the end of the canyon, and the side trails up into Coldwater.
Once you hit the dirt road again, continue heading east. Here, the trail begins to press up against the private landowners in the hills, and the north side of the trail gets fenced off. It’s not the most pleasant thing to look at, but the overall trail condition is still fairly nice.
At 2.1 miles, the trail spills out onto a cul-de-sac at the end of Iredell Lane. A few hundred feet down the road, on the south side of the street, there is a fire road that climbs back up the ridge from the street. This is the entrance to the “Rainforest Trail,” a winding single-track trail that meanders through some of the non-developed areas in the Hollywood Hills. I didn’t know much about it when we were there, otherwise I would have explored more — but the LAist checked out some of the scenery a few years back.
Unless you choose to explore the Rainforest Trail, continue on the road for another 0.2 miles, taking a right at Iredell Street and then a left onto Fryman Road to return to the parking area. Even though this is a residential area, it’s still a pleasant downhill stroll. And most likely, you’ll still be surrounded by hikers from the canyon. Even the Google Street View Van couldn’t escape ’em.
In January of 2018, Wilacre Park re-opened after months of renovations, including new improvements to the trailhead and a re-paving of parts of the lower trail. An eyesore-ish chain link fence was removed as well — and the views are still great!
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Modern Hiker, Author of "Day Hiking Los Angeles" and "Discovering Griffith Park." Walking Meditator, Native Plant Enthusiast.
Dog-Friendly
Kid-Friendly
Multi-Use Trail
Potable Water
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Trail Conditions
Excellent. Well-maintained fire road for the majority of the trail, with clear signs and landmarks. The use-trails that parallel the fire road are not marked or maintained, but are heavily traveled and easy to spot.
How to get there
From the Valley, head south on Laurel Canyon Blvd. from Studio City. 0.8 miles south of Ventura Blvd., turn right onto Fryman Road. The parking area is immediately visible. From the south, at Laurel Canyon (Crescent Heights) and Sunset in West Hollywood, head north on Laurel Canyon for 3.5 miles. Take a left onto Fryman Road and park in the lot. There was previously a fee to park here but as of 2015, parking is free. Transit accessible via Metro bus 218.
Trail Map
35 Comments
It's actually 2.60 mile loop according to my GPS.
A lot shorter than I had originally thought.
Leave a Reply to Runrzhy Cancel reply
Now that flush toilets are at this trailhead, the lot is mobbed compared to before when it was just a hut.
Leave a Reply to Kevin C Cancel reply
Would this be a good hike after a storm ? I checked out the post-rain hikes, but I stumbled upon this and am very interested.
Leave a Reply to AH Cancel reply
It is?! Wow! That is totally unexpected (and awesome!)
Leave a Reply to Casey Schreiner Cancel reply
There's free parking at TreePeople's site, at the north fork of Coldwater & Mulholland.
Leave a Reply to Sarah Cancel reply
My experiences with Fryman Canyon pre-date the development of the managed trail system that exists today. As a teenager growing up in LA in the '60's an '70's, I and my friends would spend the night walking (and sometimes running) the trails that ran between Coldwater and Laurel Canyons, below Mulholland Drive. We would enhance our experience with some psychedelic, widely available then. There is nothing like watching the lights of the Valley from the large conglomerate rock a short ways off the fire road, particularly the searchlights that were much more common those days, creating beautiful trails over the shimmering snake-like freeway.
Alas, those days are gone. It's unlikely that people are free to do that any more. These were deep spiritual times for me; laugh if you like -- you just don't know. Running like deer through the eucalyptus trees, their leaves on the trail reflecting the full moon light, the deep sense of connectedness, etc. You know if you know.
And of course, the Swing Tree. Only a few years before I started coming to the Rain Forest, an agile young man tied a stout rope around a solid branch from this old oak tree that reached out over the small gorge that the natural spring had created. The circumference of the swing was at least 40 feet, making it an exciting ride, using the roots of the oak as a jumping-off point.
Our evenings (morning by then) culminated in reaching the pinnacle near Coldwater Cyn, where now a large mansion sits. Here we could see the entire Valley, quite lovely at dawn.
We had the great advantage of being alone most of the time. Even during the day, it was rare to see anyone else. Sadly, that is no longer the case. Much beauty has been lost because of good intentions. Please take special care of this place.
Leave a Reply to Steve Azbill Cancel reply
Those rocks are on a side trail east of the new-ish Taper buildings at Tree People park. Go down that side trail, past the rock display, then you can either walk SE toward Iredell St. or NE to the main part of the trail back to Fryman and Laurel Cyn.
Leave a Reply to Mike Cancel reply
Funny.
I'm a New Yorker and I visited with my sister in Studio City this summer. She suggested that we take this
hike. She knows I love the out doors and beautiful sunny days.
The day we did this hike it was nearly 100 and we left late, noonish. I figured this would just be an
easy challenge because I do 20, 30+ city blocks at at face pace on a regular, running up and down subway stairs. I struggled with this. My sister did not let me quit. In spite of the struggle, I loved it. The views were fantastic and we saw lots of smiling faces, horse back riders, bikers, doggies, it was great. I'm proud
of my sister she handled this like a camp. Nothing like exercise.
