Trail Review: Hollywood Reservoir Loop
Parking: street parking along hillside near gate
Distance: 3.5 mile loop
Difficulty: Easy
Nestled to the south west of the Hollywood sign is Lake Hollywood, or the Hollywood Reservoir, a man-made lake created by the Mulholland Dam. The entire circumference of the body of water is lined with a paved walking path which adds up to a 3.5 mile loop.
I started the loop at the North Gate which is off of Lake Hollywood Drive (there is also a South Gate on Weidlake Drive). There is street parking on the hill of Lake Hollywood Drive just to the northwest of the gate. During a weekday, parking here isn't a problem. But I could see how the weekends could become an issue. If you park on the hillside, just remember to use your parking break and turn your wheels!
The entrance to the walking path is through a gate in the fence. There are lots of signs and notices so that'll help you find it!
The path is entirely flat and paved so it's less of a hike and more of a nice walk. I did this loop in the spring so there were lots of flowers along the outer edge which were very pretty. My two issues with this trail are that almost the entire view of the reservoir is behind a fence (except for when you cross over the dam) and that there were a lot of random construction and industrial items scattered throughout. It makes the walk a little less idyllic.
But to contrast, here are all the lovely flowers I passed along the way!
At about 1.2 miles, you'll come upon the dam crossing. This is where the view gets pretty great. You'll get an unobstructed view of the lake along with the Hollywood sign and the surrounding hills. I parked myself in some shade by the edge of the dam and got some nice drone shots:
And here are some regular, non-drone photos:
Right after crossing over the dam, you'll see the South Gate entrance. I could see a little dirt parking area so parking here is probably pretty similar to the North Gate on the weekends. It may be difficult to find a spot...
Continuing on the loop, the next mile or so will follow the east side of the lake. There were two or three spots where I caught a closer glimpse of the Hollywood Sign among the trees which was a nice, little surprise. Other than that though, it's much of the same as before with the fencing and the flowers and the occasional construction cone.
At the 2.75 mile mark, the walking path meets back with Lake Hollywood Drive, except you will be .75 miles to the east of the original entrance. So the remainder of the trek will be spent on a walking path along the road. You'll need to cross the street at the exit gate and head to the left along the path.
The loops ends when you get back to the North Gate and the hill with the parking!
Bottom Line: Not really a hike, but a nice walk along the edge of a reservoir on a paved path. Has a great view of the Hollywood Sign from the dam crossing.
Opmerkingen