Greek Theater Hogback Trail Loop

The Greek Theater Hogback Trail Loop is about 4 miles. It tops out at Mt. Hollywood and the uphill to that is “indirect.” We head up the Riverside Trail (dumb, because it’s not near a river ever) and hit the Hogback Trail which is a challenging uphill for about a mile. 360 views at the top of the Tom LaBonge Overlook and 1.5 miles back down.

The Parking – The parking lot above the Greek Theater is your first stop unless… the Greek Theater is using it. If it is, do a different trail today. On a nice day, the lot fills quickly so as you are driving up Vermont Ave from Los Feliz keep your head on a swivel and snatch any parking spot that’s open once you’re in sight of The Greek!

The Best Thing – The 1 mile uphill scramble on the Hogback Trail is the reason to take this route. There are easier routes to the top of Mt. Hollywood. But you come to this trail for the burn. The butt burn. The Gluteus Maximus workout-i-mus.

The Route – Imagine that you’ve parked above the Greek Theater. Now cross the street and a pretty prominent trailhead sign says – Riverside Trailhead. Start running.

The first mile is mellow and mostly above the tennis courts. Oh yeah, there are 12 public pay-to-play courts above Riverside Drive. You can barely hear them or see them. Just keep running.

The end of the mile starts to get a little steep and when you reach the intersection with Vista Del Valle Road, you will do a 270 degree turn and head back up to your left on the Hogback Trail.

The next mile is a significant scramble. Uphill. Slippery rocks covered in sand. Lots of people resting and taking a knee. It’s great, but a challenging kind of great.

Towards the top you pass Dante’s Peak which is a garden filled with… garden stuff. But we’re still running, right? Continue on and there is a sharp left turn that takes you up to the highest point in Griffith Park, Mt. Hollywood.

Great views. Spin around. And back down. Keep your eyes open to the left as there is a tricky trail that heads you down towards the Griffith Observatory. We are not going there, just going TOWARDS there. Watch the video. This kind of trail is why I make these videos. Please. Stop reading, and find the video.

So now you are heading downhill and whenever you see the Griffith Observatory you are turning away from it to your left and low and behold, you end up past the closed, and sketchy, bird sanctuary, and back to your car. 4 Miles. Boom.