Discovering Griffith Park. Casey Schreiner

Чтение книги онлайн.

       IF YOU WANT TO GET SOME SHOPPING DONE, TOO

      Hey, who said you can’t enjoy a decent view of the Hollywood Sign while also picking up a pair of jeans? The Hollywood & Highland shopping complex was L.A.’s attempt to replicate New York City’s Times Square—I have some opinions about whether or not it was a successful attempt, but you can draw your own conclusion. It’s a bit of a tourist trap, but it’s pretty easy to get to without a car and there are some genuinely cool Hollywood history sites nearby, including the El Capitan Theatre, the Chinese and Egyptian Theatres, and the Roosevelt Hotel. You’ll walk along the star-studded (literally) Hollywood Walk of Fame and up into the multistory outdoor shopping center, which is styled to resemble the Babylon set from the 1916 film Intolerance. The upper floor is angled to point you directly toward the Hollywood Sign, but you’ll probably want a good zoom lens, as the sign itself is 2.4 miles away.

      Location: Northwest corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave.

      Distance from Sign: 2.4 miles

      How to Get There: Metro B Line Hollywood/Highland stop, DASH Hollywood, Metro bus lines 212, 222, 237, 312, and Rapid 780; paid parking in garages and on street

       IF YOU WANT SOME WATER IN THE PICTURE

      For what I personally consider one of the most interesting views of the Hollywood Sign, you’ll want to take a nice stroll around the Hollywood Reservoir. Not only is this paved path a great place for joggers and walkers, but there are also several spots where you’ll manage to get good forward-facing views of the sign with a bit of the Hollywood Reservoir in the foreground—which is not a view many people would expect to see. You can hike partway around the reservoir and shoot through a chain-link fence, but in my opinion the best views come when you’re standing atop historic Mulholland Dam.

      Location: Mulholland Dam

      Distance from Sign: 1.3 miles

      How to Get There: Hike 1

       IF YOU WANT TO BEAT THE CROWDS AT LAKE HOLLYWOOD PARK

      Over the past few years, Lake Hollywood Park has become a magnet for sign seekers. On clear weekend days, you can expect to see almost as many people at the unofficial viewpoint just to the south of Lake Hollywood Park as you would at the Hollywood & Highland mall. Residents are getting frustrated with the foot and car traffic, which is why I strongly recommend hiking in instead. Following the route described in Hike 2, you won’t get snarled in tourist traffic, you’ll make the residents happy, and you’ll get better views, too. First, you’ll have some great through-the-chaparral views from the Mulholland Highway, and then on the Innsdale Trail you’ll get as close to the front of the sign as you can without getting arrested.

      Location: Mulholland Highway and the Innsdale Trail

      Distance from Sign: 1.2 miles and 1350 feet, respectively

      How to Get There: Hike 2

       IF YOU DON’T MIND A BEHIND-THE-SIGN VIEW

      When people find out you can indeed hike up to the Hollywood Sign atop Mount Lee, few continue reading to find out that location actually gets you behind the sign with no way to get up close to the big white letters. Don’t fret, though—any route to the top of Mount Lee is a day well spent in Griffith Park, and although the summit can get crowded on the weekends, the views can be exceptional.

      There are two primary treks most people take to get to the top of Mount Lee. The route that feels most like a hike is also the shortest and steepest. Coming in from the west, the single-track trail tops out on Burbank and Cahuenga Peaks before joining Mount Lee Drive for the final short summit push. The classic route from the end of Canyon Drive is longer, but it has a gentler ascent and is on wider fire roads, meaning it’s better for larger groups. Either way you choose, this is a mountain you are definitely going to want to summit at some point.

      Location: Summit of Mount Lee

      Distance from Sign: 150 feet behind the sign

      How to Get There: Hike 3 for the shorter, tougher option; Hike 7 for the longer, milder option

       There are plenty of places where you can see the sign without having to jostle your way through throngs of tourists.

       IF YOU WANT TO HIKE BUT, LIKE, JUST A LITTLE BIT

      Let’s say you want to get a good front-facing view of the Hollywood Sign but don’t want to spend too much time on the trail. Maybe you’re in a rush, or maybe you’ve got some little ones with you who don’t have energy for a longer trek. No worries!

      If you want to keep it especially short, there’s a good view from the other side of the Bronson Cave with the sign behind some rugged mountain terrain. You may even recognize this scene from dozens of different films or television shows. If you’re up for a bit more elevation gain and not that much more distance, there’s a surprisingly excellent viewpoint on the West Observatory СКАЧАТЬ