Rattlesnake / Suicide Trail
The Rattlesnake/ Suicide Trail is a 3 mile loop that includes the Oak Canyon Trail and the Toyon Trail. The moderate elevation gain combined with a steep and skinny Suicide Trail puts the difficulty at 6/10. A view of Forest Lawn is all you get.
The Parking – There are about 30 dirt spots at the Rattlesnake trailhead. (34.155417, -118.303556) It can have water filled pot holes long after any rain storm just FYI. This is also the parking area for the Train Museum. This is the “small train” parking not the “big train” parking. And don’t worry, there is also plenty of street parking along Zoo Drive and another giant dirt lot across the street
The Best Thing – The steep and skinny Suicide Trail is a welcome change of pace from the mainly wide and dusty horse trails of Griffith Park. Some may disagree (Freya) but I also like that. It eliminates the fraidy cats and momma’s boys for just a little while.
The Route – From the enormous trailhead sign and map begin uphill with a decent elevation gain and past the 2 water tanks on your left. When you reach the ridge a quick right turn then left turn back down hill keeps you on the Rattlesnake Trail. You will pass the Griffith Park Composting area on your left and then cross Griffith Park Drive. It’s a real road with real cars so pay attention.
On the other side of the road you will turn right uphill on a large fire road. Quickly, at the next intersection you will veer left, uphill, while the main trail continues forward and downhill. You are now on the Toyon Trail and after some more elevation gain as you will see, spoiler alert, Toyon Canyon to your left. As you are almost past Toyon (the former city dump) Canyon there will be an intersection. Right is more Toyon Trail and straight ahead is Mulholland Drive.
Right turn is a short and sweet little connecting trail over to Mulholland Drive however… if you can’t get enough of chain link fence and crumbling asphalt and methane gas processing buildings, you can continue forward and scramble around some confusing dead ends and detours and you will still arrive at Mulholland Drive, just much further up the road. If you decide to do this, when you hit Mulholland Drive, turn right. And don’t worry, this is a “no cars” road so worst-case scenario, a cyclist rudely passes too close to you.
After a quarter mile of Mulholland you will meet up with the short Toyon Trail that you had passed up earlier. It’s to your right and there is good signage and everything. So from here turn around and look uphill on big old asphalt Mulholland. There at the top where the road turns left, you will go straight ahead into the brush.
This beginning of the Suicide Trail is not marked but depending upon the time of year it is easier to see or not. Leave the asphalt and head towards the Forest Lawn fence. You will notice the small trail heading downhill paralleling the fence line. Yes, it is overgrown, and yes you have to duck and grab branches that are in your way, and yes, some areas are slick and sandy… That makes it fun, right?
After a couple hundred yards you will emerge onto the classic Griffith Park horse trail Oak Canyon. This parallels Griffith Park Drive and you will take it downhill to where it connects over to Travel Town at Forest Lawn Drive. But since our car is down the road a piece, let’s follow the horses and take the tunnel straight ahead of us that goes under Forest Lawn Drive and loops around to loll along the peaceful and majestic 134 freeway. 100 yards of that is enough so cut through the dirt lot to your right when you see your parking area at the “small train” parking lot. 3.75 miles. Boom.