Chinese Historical Society of Southern California on your right. Otherwise, walk on for another block to the Old Chinatown gates, and find your starting point.
WALK #6
ELYSIAN PARK & GRACE E. SIMONS LODGE
DISTANCE: 2.5 miles
DURATION: 1 hour
DIFFICULTY: 3
DETAILS: Ample free parking. Dogs on leash allowed. Metro buses #2 and #302.
Here’s a hearty city hike that makes a big circle around the heart of Elysian Park. It features good birding, fantastic downtown and northern views, and can be done without crossing any of the park’s paved roadways.
Begin this walk in the shadow of Dodger Stadium, on Stadium Way near the corner of Elysian Park Drive.
Follow the signs for Grace E. Simons Lodge, a community center named after Echo Park’s most storied activist. It was Ms. Simons—a newspaper reporter who in 1939 began working for one of the city’s African-American newspapers—who spearheaded the Citizens Committee to Save Elysian Park. This organization’s noisy protest prevented the 1960s development of a convention center in the middle of the park and, later, a football stadium.
Near the corner of Elysian Park Drive and Stadium Way, find a wide trail going up the grassy slope. Walk up this gentle grade, passing under a grove of eucalyptus trees, gaining a little altitude as you go.
This is Elysian Park Trail, one of many named trails in the 550-acre park. It will parallel Stadium Way, and lift you slowly along the hillside. Stay to the right as smaller trails peel away to the left, remaining on the wide dirt path.
As you gain altitude, you will get a better sense of the size of the park. You will also begin to get some good views of the San Gabriel Mountains and the communities north of downtown L.A. You’ll get a look at the L.A. River and Taylor Yard, where the city’s trains go to sleep at night, as well as Rio de Los Angeles Park, the new park carved out of old Taylor Yard territory. See the swath of greenery on a facing hillside, the one with old-looking buildings on it? That’s Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.
In time, the wide trail will hit a hairpin turn and curve back to the left, climbing more sharply. Follow this up and up, past some houses on the right, and perhaps the smell of horses. People have lived here so long, believe it or not, that one or two of the properties have grandfathered in the right to maintain stables.
After passing a big water tank on the right, you’ll reach the crest of the hill. Pause at the charming little spot, known as the Marian Harlow Memorial Garden, where you’ll find a bench, a drinking fountain, a dog dish or two, and a “lost and found” for dropped keys, cell phones, etc. Admire the views from here. This is the high point (literally) of the walk. It’s all downhill from here.
When you’re done, return to the wide Elysian Park Trail and bear left. Begin following the trail as it winds downhill.
The shade is deeper here, and you’ll find a thicker mixture of the classic Southern California combo of eucalyptus, pine, oak, and so on. Enjoy the passing parade of red-tailed hawks, great horned owls, woodpeckers, crows, ravens, scrub jays, and California quail.
The trail will parallel the palm-lined Park Drive, uphill and on the right, a great free seat for the fireworks that accompany summer ball games at Dodger Stadium. As you follow the trail, you will also have a nice overlook of the Grace E. Simons Lodge, with its gardens and flowing fountain. People get married at this location, which also hosts bar mitzvahs and other special events.
Walk on, staying on the main trail as it hugs the hillside and descends. In time, you will come to a wide gate. Walk around the gate, make a hard left where the trail meets Academy Road, and walk past another gate onto a stretch of badly worn asphalt.
This is actually part of Elysian Park Drive, no longer open to car traffic. Walk along this road, noting as you go some of the man-made features of the park—a bocce ball court and a children’s play area among them.
You will come across one more gate leading into a parking area, beyond which you’ll find picnic tables, barbecue grills, and public restrooms. On your left is Grace E. Simons Lodge. Bear right and continue following Elysian Park Drive as it winds back around to approach Stadium Way. When you hit Stadium Way, you will find yourself back at your starting point.
WALK #7
ELYSIAN PARK’S FREEWAY FLYER
DISTANCE: 2.5 miles
DURATION: 1 hour
DIFFICULTY: 3
DETAILS: Free parking. Dogs on leash allowed. Metro buses #28, #45, and #83.
The grittiest and most urban of the walks in this collection, this freeway-close stroll is not for the faint of heart. It includes, along with some bucolic greenery and some delightful city views, the roar of the freeway and paths that run through industrial districts adjacent to some homeless encampments. It’s perfectly safe, but it’s no walk in the park.
Begin this walk at the northeastern entrance to Elysian Park, where North Broadway meets Meadow Road, near where North Broadway crosses the Los Angeles River.
Park on Meadow Road, and return to the corner of North Broadway. There you will find a bronze plaque commemorating the start of the Spanish conquest of Southern California—the spot where the explorer Don Gaspar de Portola, in the company of soldiers and missionaries, camped by the river in 1769 before beginning his march of conquest to Monterey.
Walk uphill on Meadow Road until you meet the first turning. Take a hairpin left onto Park Row Drive East and continue walking uphill on a wide asphalt road, being mindful of the occasional car that might pass.
On your left, you will see some good-looking mature trees and clumps of bougainvillea. On your right is a high, grassy lawn dotted with eucalyptus and oak trees. Straight ahead are the tower atop Radio Hill—part of Walk #5 in this book—and a fine northeasterly version of the downtown Los Angeles skyline.
As the road flattens, look for a low stone drinking fountain on the left, with a narrow asphalt path heading downhill. Take this path a short distance, to the corner of Park Row Drive and Casanova Street, and walk uphill on Casanova. Take note of the charming, fenced-off park on the right, where gnarled old eucalyptus trees decorate a terraced garden, and of the elderly Craftsman and Victorian homes across the canyon—a remnant of a time when Solano Avenue was considered a good address.
Casanova will climb, turn left, and head downhill. Follow along as it does so, then turn right onto Solano Avenue. It will look like you’re heading onto a freeway on-ramp. Have no fear. Just stay on the sidewalk, going past the gates of the neighborhood community garden.
Follow the sidewalk as it bends right and leads to steps going down into one of the city’s few remaining
