GP-eX Segment 12:
BRONSON – BRUSH
VIEW MASTER! This two-fer trail on the Park’s quieter West side brings you to winding fire roads and a few challenging, single-track sections, which require hands-on scrambling. You’ll be surrounded by a lush canyon with a dense canopy of sycamores, oaks and willows and slopes thickly covered with ceanothus and other chaparral species. This segment has views at practically every turn; it’s one of the most popular TV/film shooting locations in the Park.
Note: As with all hikes, know your abilities. While this route is mostly fire road, there are several remote sections with loose rocks. Buddy up and make sure someone knows your plans and expected return time.
PARKING
Canyon Dr. lots
Gate closes at sunset
LENGTH
6.2 miles
GAIN
1,063 ft.
DIFFICULTY
Intermediate
DIRECTION
Clockwise
1.Start at the N end of Canyon Dr. past a yellow gate with the Brush Canyon trailhead sign (#6) on your R. The fire road heads slightly NE with a creek bed to your R which is often dry. Soon you see the ridgeline of Western Canyon on your R/E. After crossing a small bridge, you arrive at a clearing with some large rocks, a hitching post and troughs filled with plants. After the trail curves W, you get your first glimpse of the broadcast towers atop Mt. Lee, the last few letters of the Hollywood Sign, and Mulholland Trail. Datura flowers are abundant on both sides of the trail, as are mini catch basins on the E side which prevent rutting on the trail.
4.Continue past the “Hollyridge Trail/Hollywood Sign View” sign (#4) on your R to a flat lookout with a large rock; just beyond is a junction with a fire road on your L. Here’s the money shot: the Hollywood Sign with Sunset Ranch stables below. Retrace your steps uphill, now seeing DTLA, K-town and the Mid-Wilshire neighborhoods to the SE. When you arrive again at the junction with Mulholland (2.31, sign #5), turn L/W toward the Hollywood Sign/Aileen Getty Trail. You’re now at the halfway point.
5.As you continue W, past vistas of the stables and the DTLA skyline to the S, you come upon a view of a lone tree to the W and the Hollywood Sign on the R/NW. At a slat fence on the R, look up to find Mt. Lee Dr. high above, where you’ll be walking soon. After rounding a curve, the Tyrolean Tank comes into view straight ahead. At the junction with paved Mt. Lee Dr. (2.57, sign #3), turn R/NE up the paved road.
Bonus
You can turn L on Mt. Lee Dr. and walk less than a half mile to a popular photo opp spot with the Hollywood Sign in the background and then return to this junction. (That section is also covered in GP-eX Segment 13, Wisdom Tree Loop.)
6.Stay to the outer edge on this steep section of paved road, which is shared with bicyclists often speeding downhill. The road snakes up to a split at 3.01 in front of a section with a white fence. Stay straight to see Forest Lawn below, with Burbank, the Verdugos and Santa Susanas in the distance. Turn R/W and leave the fire/paved roads behind. Now, you begin the more rugged, single-track section. Use caution to climb up a short root-and-rock-filled section of trail. Turn L/E at the top (3.05), with the Mulholland Trail below you, Mt. Chapel ahead and your next destination — Tank #153 — to the L.
7.Continue E on the sometimes-overgrown single track as it alternately climbs and descends. Stay L at the junction at 3.3 for a short, rocky uphill scramble. Shortly after (3.34), take the trail on your L downhill. Do NOT go straight up to the Mt. Chapel Peak which is an unmaintained trail. Use caution on this one-tenth of a mile section that leads to the water tank. Scramble over a large boulder (3.37) and then down a rocky downhill section (3.41). After arriving at Tank #153 (3.45), catch your breath and take the fire road to the L of the tank. It’s all downhill from here!
8.Heading down you’re rewarded with the Verdugos and San Gabriels in the distance, as well as the top of Toyon landfill and the Glendale skyline in the foreground. At the junction with paved Mt. Hollywood Dr. (3.73), turn R/S and again keep to the side of the road for bicycles. On clear days, you can find Century City, Westwood and Santa Monica to the W. Arrive at a white gate on your R and the Mulholland trailhead sign (3.91. sign #8). Turn R/W and continue to the junction with Brush Canyon Trail (4.19, sign #7), closing the loop on this lollipop trail. Turn L/S and go downhill, passing the “You Made It” sign and Memorial Bench. You arrive back at the white gate at the trailhead (5.35). But wait, there’s more!
9.Continue S on paved Canyon Dr. to the trail junction on your L/E for Bronson Canyon (sign #94). Turn L and walk past a white gate and continue S on a fire road. The trail curves L/E and the entrance to Bronson Cave is ahead of you (5.76). A chain link fence at the entrance keeps visitors safe from unstable rocks inside, but you can peek inside. The caves were hewn out of granite in a quarry operation that started in the 1900s to provide crushed rock for railbeds and rock for Wilshire and Sunset Boulevards. After the mining ended, filmmakers cast the caves in starring roles for hundreds of movies and TV shows, including “Bonanza,” “Gunsmoke,” “The Lone Ranger,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “Fantasy Island,” “Mission Impossible,” “Star Trek: Voyager,” and, perhaps most famous of all, the popular ‘60s “Batman” TV series.
10.Walk N and around to the E side of the caves. Before retracing your steps to the start, look N for a perfectly-framed view of the Hollywood Sign. Return to the trailhead (sign #94) to complete your journey.
LEARN MORE
* Who Knew – There is no “Griffith” Canyon in Griffith Park!