Skyline Trail

The Skyline Trail is 4.5 miles and includes The Migdal Trail and the Main Horse Trail along interstate 134. The elevation gain of 475′ is spread out and the entire trail is fire road wide making the difficulty a 3/10. Views of Forest Lawn and Burbank and IKEA. Not exactly a visitors dream.

The Parking – Let’s say you are coming from the Forest Lawn exit off of the 134 (because that’s where you should come from) you will be on Zoo Drive and will dead end into Griffith Park Drive at Travel Town. Straight ahead is a hundred civilized paved spots for train tourist but you’re not a damned tourist are you? Turn right then quickly left into a dirt, triangular lot that might have 20 parking spots. You’re hitting a trail. Get some dirt on your tires.

The Best Thing – The weird picnic area overlooking the Forest Lawn Cemetery at the end of the Migdal Trail. It feels like someone set this up as a destination with palm trees and railings to tie off your horses and tables and… it’s just an odd spot at the end of an odd trail.

The Route – Head up the main fire road/horse trail until you reach the ridgetop. Turn right on the ridge and that trail heads down, and then up, and ends at the aforementioned Forest Lawn overlook. It’s fine. But look at all the dead people and then turn around.

 When you pass the trail you came up on, continue along the ridgeline. You will pass the Rattlesnake Trail that drops down to your right and then comes up on your left. Continue along the ridge pass the old ‘illegal’ trail to your left that ‘used to’ go down to Zoo Drive and a cool picnic area. But although it still does… don’t go there. Continue along the ridge.

There is a spur that heads off to the right so take it. It dead ends but take it. On a clear day your can see IKEA. It’s not worth a selfie or anything but it’s not nothing. Okay back to the Skyline ridge trail and you will hit a ‘T’ where the Condor Trail heads off to the right and the Skyline Trail continues to the left. So go left young man – or woman – or person – whomever you want to be.

The trail passes by the top of the LA zoo so there are fences and signs but it’s not like you can peek in and see giraffe heads or anything. As the trail heads back down you will arrive at the ass-end of the LA Zoo parking area. The ‘trail’ becomes a kind of dirt connector that skirts the parking lot and goes under Zoo Drive through a pretty cool tunnel. You escape the tunnel trolls and hit the main Griffith Park horse trail that parallels the freeway. Turn left.

You now spend almost 2 miles on the horse trail along the freeway. It’s loud and you’re breathing in exhaust fumes. It’s not great but it is flat. So… silver lining? You will pass 2 horse tunnels under I-5 and this is where all those equestrians in Burbank are able to get in to Griffith Park. But you run along and the horse trail ultimately ends but making a U-turn to the left, and then under Forest Lawn Drive, and you end up across the street from where you parked your car. Look both ways, wipe the horse shit off your shoes, and get back into your car. 4.5 Miles. Boom.