We scale Mount Hollywood

Downtown Los Angeles over Stan's right shoulder; Griffith
Observatory over his left wrist. (Photo courtesy Helpful Stranger)

Harding, Wilson, Roosevelt
Golf courses owned by
the city. That's I-5 bordering it.

It's a winding 3 mile hike with moderate inclines, but the summit is very rewarding, with 360 degree views of a metropolitan area with a population of 17 million souls. You can see the nearby Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood sign, of course. And downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach and Burbank and beyond to distant islands in the ocean. The views are best on the days after a rain when the smog has cleared.
It was 70 degrees and sunny on Mount Hollywood when we began the ascent; a light breeze dried our sweat at the summit where hikers compared notes and drank from their bottles and unpacked their lunches.
The every day skies in LA are clearer than we expected. You can see stars shining brightly over the city on most nights. Draconian government regulations have cleaned up the air pollution to a point that shows great improvement over our visits here decades ago.

You can see our house from here!
Not really. We're staying just below the observatory
on Normandie Avenue.

Mount Hollywood rises in the center of Griffith Park, a massive natural recreation set aside that includes three golf courses (see photo), a zoo, observatory and a variety of entertainment venues, including a Greek theatre.
It's an easy hike with plenty of optional trails, lots of climbing men, women and children, dogs and horses. Conveniently, there's a watering tank near the summit where you can refresh your animal, as needed. Keep your dog leashed though -- coyotes abound and are always on the hunt for a tender morsel.

Nearby Mount Lee, with its iconic Hollywood sign, drew the
attention of this Norwegian hiker.