Hiking is one of my favorite activities in Los Angeles. There are dozens of options in the city, and hundreds more if you’re willing to drive further. (Tip for locals: check out the website Modern Hiker for details on practically every trail in Southern California.)

The hike featured in this post is incredibly popular: Mt. Lee to the Hollywood Sign. A few years ago my sister offered to hike it with me — it was my first time on the trail but she’d done it a bunch of times — and of course I brought my DSLR along. It’s a moderate hike with an uphill climb and really great views of Los Angeles.

See those horse stables below-left? That’s Sunset Ranch, a company that offers horseback rides in the Hollywood Hills. I did it back in the fall of 2005 as part of my college’s Residence Life program — we rode horses over the hill at sunset and then ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Burbank… and then had to ride horses back in the dark after a drink or two! Hard to believe that was almost a decade ago. My sister poses on the right.

Downtown LA in the distance:

A helicopter flies over Lake Hollywood:

Finally, we reach the famous Hollywood sign!

I reach all the way up on my tip toes to get a shot over the fence with my fish-eye lens:

The trail winds around the back side of the mountain, with views overlooking Burbank.

Perhaps this is a horseback riding tour from Sunset Ranch:

Looking back at these photos has me excited to hike more in Los Angeles. How neat that we have these epic trails in our backyard?