The Orange County/Long Beach Chapter of Great Outdoos presents:
OCLB - Park to Playa Urban Hike
Sunday, August 31, 2025, starting at 9:00 AM
(In the event of extreme heat, the hike will be postponed.)
Contact: Frederick Brown E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 562-754-1838
Bring comfortable walking shoes, sunscreen, sunglasses and a liter of water.
(This writeup was adapted from LAIST)
The entrance is at 4100 S. La Cienega Boulevard in Baldwin Hills. (Click here for map)
Make your first left into a parking lot. From there, you'll travel back through two
parking lots — almost as if you are heading back to La Cienega — until you hit a
cul-de-sac and see the distinctive red entrance to the Doris Japanese Garden.
You'll park here, and then venture through the gate, stopping to say hello to the
ornate carved lions on either side. The garden here is a little weathered and
worn, but you can still enjoy the koi, the turtles, squirrels, ducks and other wildlife
that make their homes here. This is the meet up point.
If you wish to take Metro, arrive at the La Cienga/Jefferson Station on the E Line
at 8:05 AM if traveling West, or 8:09 if traveling East. Walk to the Link-Baldwin
Hills shuttle stop on the West side of La Cienega, South of Jefferson and take the
Link-Baldwin Hills Parkland shuttle, get off at Stone View Nature Center (5950
Stoneview Dr.), and walk back across Jefferson to the meet-up point.
Enter the Kenneth Hahn Recreation Area entrance at 4100 S. La Cienega Boulevard in Baldwin Hills and make your first left into a parking lot. From there, you'll travel back through two parking lots — almost as if you are heading back to La Cienega — until you hit a cul-de-sac and see the distinctive red entrance to the Doris Japanese Garden. You'll park here, and then venture through the gate, stopping to say hello to the ornate carved lions on either side. The garden here is a little weathered and worn, but you can still enjoy the koi, the turtles, squirrels, ducks and other wildlife that make their homes here. We will meet up at this location. Just before the Garden, you will find public rest rooms.
Upon entering, we will take the center path so that we keep the koi pond on our immediate left as you walk on by it. We will see a yellow pole ahead as we enter through the gate which means we’re in the right place. A few more steps and the lower parking lot, and abridge, will soon come into view on our left. We will continue on the path as bends and curves down into the lower parking lot, and the eastern end of the bridge. Here, the hike begins in earnest.
This is probably where we will see a sign of a convicted felon’s name engraved into the steel truss of this bridge may seem surprising, but there’s no denying that Mark Ridley-Thomas helped create more open space in South L.A. as a member of the county board of supervisors.
As we walk over the bridge, the beds of native landscaping to your right aren’t just for show; they offer safe passage for the park’s critters to cross over bustling La Cienega Boulevard. After we step off the bridge, we'll follow the fenced trail as it begins to gently zig and zag its way up the hillside.
This is L.A., and so you're never too far from creativity, even on the trails. About 500 feet past the bridge we’ll find one of a half-dozen “Citizen Seeds” sculptures created by artist Kim Abeles. The installation calls attention to the area’s biodiversity and history. We will keep walking, enjoying the twists and turns of the road as we continue a gradual climb.
A few more hundred feet on our right is the Stoneview Nature Center. Completed in 2017, the county-run complex is a model of adaptive land use, sitting as it does on an abandoned oil mine. We will amble along a well-curated trail that takes us past meditative gardens, compost stations, a labyrinth, even a “bee hotel.” There are many classes held here, such as cooking and art creation for kids, yoga in the shade for adults. (You can also drive directly to the center.)
If the breeze is just right, we just might be serenaded by the soothing sound of metal music. Two unique wind chimes are in the nature center's avocado and orange groves. Designed by the art collective Fallen Fruit, the chimes are made up of discarded kitchen utensils and cookware donated by neighbors.
Exiting Stoneview we make a right, continuing on our walk. We'll soon come up on Lavender Chiveeví, a Los Angeles County commissioned mural that honors the biodiversity of the plants found in the area, the surrounding community and roads, and the indigenous people who once called the area home. Active oil pumpjacks can be seen in the distance, part of the Inglewood Oil Field. The trail will dip once more before it begins a climb of 200 feet over the next half mile. Along the way, take an opportunity to pause and turn. At several points, we can enjoy the blissful feeling of seeing nature all around, and barely any signs of "civilization" beyond a glimpse of some power lines and the whirring of traffic in the distance.
The trail will lead u sto the edge of the parking lot at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Outlook. Walk all the way through the parking lot, and just before you hit the street on the other side — Hetzler Road — take a right and walk into the outlook area. This spot is almost always busy with people walking dogs, working out and chatting with friends.
We’ll walk past the bathrooms and events area and begin making our way to the left, along a new series of fenced trails, and head to the outer edge and outlook. We'll know we're going in right direction when we hear lots of voices. We’ll then walk out into an opening and all our hard work will be rewarded with sweeping cities views.
Now, we have a decision to make: Turn back or explore the Culver City Stairs and the trail that zig zags around it. Just remember, what goes down, must come up, and these stairs are no joke. Also fun: Just watching others navigating the stairs while we enjoy the vistas before you are including the Hollywood sign, DTLA, and more. Total round trip distance with the Culver City Stairs is 2.6 miles.
