Los Angeles, well known for its great weather, food and tourist attractions can also offer active vacationers options for staying healthy with entertaining exercise options while they are away from home.
Oftentimes, when people think of of vacations they think of tour groups, amusement parks and an excuse for deep-fried everything. But once the trip is over vacationers realize the damage done by bad eating, site seeing and sitting by the hotel pool sleeping off last night’s food truck menagerie. It’s back to work and three weeks in the gym on the cardio machines trying to burn off that extra five pounds added to the scale post-vacation.
Fortunately for visitors to Los Angeles (or locals who want to get a little exercise outside of the gym), there are a variety of opportunities for interesting and healthy activities to fill gaps in a trip’s itinerary.
The seven places listed below aren’t out of the way, they have amazing views and are a lot of fun for the active or average vacationer without breaking the bank.
Always remember to take plenty of H20, snacks, and lunch if you plan to spend a lot of time at any of the destinations.
1. Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Park and Fishing Lake, Baldwin Hills
Nestled in the community of Baldwin Hills and Culver City, this is one of the most beautiful parks to visit in LA. The entrance to the park is off of La Cienega Blvd. just north of Stocker Blvd. and south of Rodeo Rd., 15 minutes north of LAX and 15-20 minutes south of Beverly Hills, The Grove in the Fairfax District, and The Beverly Center.
Hiking trails abound here after a restoration project was completed to expand the trails and provide exercise stations to promote “health in the city.” Parking is free and plentiful on the weekdays and $8 to $10 on the weekend.
Start at the bottom just near the fishing lakes and follow the waterfalls past the smaller lake and streams to a steep paved road. Follow the road up to the top of the summit where there are exercise stations as well as a bathroom, water fountains and a large grassy knoll. Utilize the exercise stations and try to do three sets of 15 reps for each exercise for a great total body workout.
Follow the road to the left past the grass to the highest points of the summit. Take a few minutes to get a great panoramic view of the ocean, downtown and the restored Hollywood sign. Continue to the left and follow any of the trails to the best part of the hike, the Olympic Garden—a secluded Japanese pond with a small foot bridge, beautiful giant lilies, koi and small turtles everywhere.
Take the road down back toward the entrance and finish the day sitting by the lake at one of the picnic tables with a nice, healthy lunch.
2. Culver City Overlook Culver City, CA
Just northwest of Kenneth Hahn Park is the Culver City Overlook, located in Culver City near Culver City Park on Jefferson Blvd., three minutes west of La Cienega off Rodeo Rd. Street parking is available, just be aware of the signs and time limits.
The entrance starts on the street and progresses up as a series of switchbacks. A third of the way up is the stairs, there is a concrete staircase that climbs straight up for a little over a quarter of a mile. If you’re really up to blast the butt and thighs, challenge yourself and go straight up, if you’re not quite up to the challenge you can proceed up the switchbacks to the top where the stairs meet.
Once at the top, take a second to get some good panorama shots and hydrate. At the top, focus on some stretching, follow up with squats and lunges (3 sets of 15 reps each). Take the concrete switchback trail down and before you finish stop at the cultural visitors center to get a brief history and pictorial tour of the land and fauna. Finish at the bottom with more light stretching to avoid sore muscles and cramps.
3. Gymnastics Jungle Gyms Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica
About 200 yards just south of the Santa Monica Pier is the jungle gyms and gymnastics area with sorts of apparatus. Try the monkey bars to start, and if you just want to be nostalgic hop on the swing sets. Another added bonus is a bike and rollerblade rental shop on the cobblestone walkway just below Shutters hotel.
Do some pushups and dips from the benches or concrete wall and then rent a bike for $10 to $15. Take the bike path north toward Malibu, just past Will Rogers Beach and take a minute to view the water for pods of dolphins. It’s an amazing sight to see them jumping in the harbor. Take the path to the end and take a few minutes to take in some fresh air and stretch. You can also utilize one of the concrete benches to do more tricep dips added with some crunches. Ride back and make the most of the rest of your day.
4. Temescal Canyon Park Hiking Trail, Pacific Palisades
Located in Pacific Palisades, part of the Santa Monica Mountains conservancy, there is easy access to the trail head and entrance of the park just off of Sunset Blvd. at Temescal Canyon Blvd. There is four hour free street parking or $8 to park inside the park.
The grassy knoll at the entrance is a great area to bring a towel or stretch mat, and do light yoga and calisthenics. Go forward through the parking lot to a handrail at the trail head. If you stay to the right you’ll pass a day camp, and a large grassy area that is a popular wedding spot. Proceed uphill from there to a large footbridge with a small waterfall. During the spring months after heavy rains it’s pretty amazing, but the water flow is usually light.
From there you can proceed hike the loop trail or turn around and head back to the entrance. If you take the rail path to the left you’ll hit the switchbacks. This will get your heart racing, so make sure to take sunscreen and plenty of water. The path round trip is four miles.
5.Manhattan Beach Sand Dune Park, Manhattan Beach
Located at 33rd at Bell Avenue in Manhattan Beach, this is a great place to test your endurance and stamina. Because of the growing popularity of the park, the city now requires you to make online reservations for $1.
At the park, visitors will see a 100-foot high sand dune perfect for cardio and leg workouts. There are also switchbacks and trails that take visitors through nature and learning areas of the park. The top offers an easterly view of LA.
6. Echo Park Lake, Echo Park
This once very polluted and forgotten lake received a $45 million makeover with over two years of restoration work. Located just north of downtown LA along Glendale Blvd., there are plenty of walking and running paths parallel to the lake with great sightseeing opportunities as well as a chance to see some of Los Angeles’ history.
The once beautiful lotus plants that were choked off by algae and pollution are back. Over 376 new plants are near the lake along with fresh crystal clear water run. Take time to do some calisthenics periodically; jumping jacks, toe touches, good mornings, etc. When finished, take time to have a nice lunch and people watch.
7. Runyon Canyon Park Hiking Trail, Hollywood
Located in Hollywood at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, Runyon Canyon Park is an urban canyon trail that is popular with locals, including neighborhood celebrities. The southern entrance is located at Fuller Ave, and the northern entrance is located off the 7300 block of Mulholland Dr.
A fire road runs through the center of the park and has numerous smaller trails that connect and reconnect. Because of its close location to the Hollywood Hills celebrity sightings are not uncommon and are actually very frequent. This trail also has an extremely liberal dog walking policy that extends to 90 of the 160 acres. If you arrive early you can see the occasional dears and coyote that are residents of the park.
There are three trails to look for, Runyon Canyon Road (easy fire road), Star Trail (medium), and Hero Trail (hard). Runyon starts as a gradual climb and connects with Star Trail before leading back down the hill. Star Trail is reverse and more difficult if you take that direction; both hikes are roughly 30-45 minutes depending on your fitness level.
Hero Trail starts at an 18 degree slope and takes hikers to the second highest point of the area, where they get amazing views from the West and South. This hike will take approximately 45 minutes. The upper trails are home to wildlife, which includes birds, hawks, owls, deer, coyote, snakes and lizards. There are also several hundred native species of plants, including sage, elderberry, sagebrush, California honeysuckle, wild buckwheat, golden yarrow, laurel sumac, scrub oak, sugar brush and toyon.
James Aiken is an LA based personal trainer who believes everyone can achieve their goals if you believe in yourself! He is the author of “Starting From The Ground A Simple Yet Sensible Approach To Health And Fitness” available on Lulu.com and Amazon.com. Learn more about James Aiken Here.
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