Urban Hike -- Pershing Square to Barnsdall Park

An urban hike of approximately 8 miles from the heart of Downtown Los Angeles to Barnsdall Park in East Hollywood.

Not for beginners.

Plan to meet at Barnsdall Park, where there is ample free parking, and take the Metro from the Sunset and Vermont station to Pershing Square. I will be at the top of the flight of stairs at the north entrance to the park, facing Griffith Park, by 8:20 a.m. We will depart for the Metro station promptly at 8:30 a.m.

Or, join us in the Olive Street lobby of the Biltmore Hotel, facing Pershing Square, at 9:00 a.m. There is free parking Sundays on several nearby streets. From the Pershing Square Metro Station walk across the square to the Olive Street entrance of the Biltmore.

After exiting the hotel, we pass points of interest Downtown, cross over the 110 freeway, and make our way to Vista Hermosa Park, the latest project of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. The ten acre park, only blocks from Downtown, features walking trails, streams, meadows, oaks, picnic grounds and a nature-themed playground amid native vegetation. There will be restroom stops at Vista Hermosa and at Bellevue Park a couple of hours later.

The rest of the hike takes us through Angelino Heights (a large, well-preserved collection of century-old Victorian residences), the commercial center of Echo Park, and various partially gentrified neighborhoods in the hills "south of Sunset" via several public stairways, including the Music Box Stairs immortalized by Laurel and Hardy. There will be a stop for lunch at El Chavo Restaurant at the "five points" street junction of Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards between Silver Lake and Los Feliz around 1 p.m. Those who wish to skip lunch can walk a half-mile west on Sunset Blvd. to the Metro station and Barnsdall Park. The rest of us will follow an hour later.

My mobile number is 323-354-0168.

Since I limit the number of participants please do not RSVP "Yes" unless you mean it.

Joining this hike is entirely voluntary and participants assume all associated risks. It is each hiker's responsibility to ensure that s/he is in sufficient fitness and health to participate, with appropriate provisions and equipment. The Los Angeles Hiking Meetup group and the hike organizer make no warranties about the safety or supervision of these activities.