Fryman - Franklin Foray

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/5/2/a/event_69961322.jpegPicture Bud (played by Opie Taylor) skipping a rock in the water during the opening credits of The Andy Griffith Show, Special Agent Gibbs investigating a car crash on NCIS or Capt. Kirk falling in love with an Indian maiden on Star Trek. There is one thing all these scenes have in common: They were filmed at Franklin Canyon Park in Beverly Hills.

Within the park boundaries are chaparral, grasslands and oak woodlands, a three-acre lake, a duck pond and over five miles of hiking trails

The park is one of the very few places in LA with a greenbelt filled with pines, sycamore, eucalyptus and cedars, most notably the Atlas Cedar and mature Coast Redwoods that are a rare site in most big cities. They are not native to Southern California. They were planted as part of the Work Projects Administration’s program to give people jobs during the Depression. The trees certainly come in handy when the park needs to look like Wisconsin for the movie The Great Outdoors, Washington state for the television show Twin Peaks or Georgia for the movie Big Momma’s House.

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/3/0/event_69962352.jpegBut first, our hike will begin in Fryman Canyon where the scraggly ridges and precipitous canyons separating San Fernando Valley from Hollywood and Beverly Hills harbor more than just a tangled net of serpentine streets and the homes of the rich and famous. Here and there small islands of open space remain where one can roam over sage-scented trails, deep forest canyons, year-round springs and partake of wide-ranging views of the San Fernando Valley in a peaceful, quiet atmosphere.....

Hike will be about 9 miles with moderate elevation gain (lots of ups and downs but none of them strenuous on their own)

Directions:

From the 101 Freeway, exit Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Travel south almost one mile and turn right at the light onto Laurel Terrace Dr. Drive westbound to Viewcrest Rd., the third street on the left. There should be ample side street parking in the area and we'll meet at Laurel Terrace Dr and the beginning of Viewcrest Rd.

Here are some scenes from some popular TV shows and movies filmed at Franklin Canyon. Do you recognize any?

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For you music lovers, here are a couple of albums covers photographed in Franklin Canyon:

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Are we almost to the bathrooms?

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Hey Dean, you didn't say anything about crossing a lake!

More to follow.....Check back often!