More Great Family Hikes: A Visit to Franklin Canyon

Another in our series on great family hikes... if you haven't been to Franklin Canyon Park in a while, it's worth taking the kiddies along for a bit of urban nature. You can almost hear the whistle from the opening credits of "The Andy Griffith Show."



Some details from LAMountains.com:

Franklin Canyon Park rests on 605 acres near the center of Los Angeles between the San Fernando Valley and Beverly Hills. Within the park boundaries are chaparral, grasslands and oak woodlands, a three-acre lake, an ADA-accessible duck pond, expansive picnic grounds, and over five miles of hiking trails. The lake and pond serve as permanent and seasonal home for birds in the Pacific flyway.

The park has a history steeped in the forces that created the bustling metropolis of Los Angeles—oil and water. In 1914, William Mulholland and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) began construction of a reservoir in upper Franklin Canyon to distribute water newly brought from the Owens Valley. The family of oil baron Edward L. Doheny used the canyon as a summer retreat and a place to graze and water their cattle. The Doheny family built the Spanish style home in lower Franklin Canyon in 1935.

The William O. Douglas Outdoor Classroom and Sooky Goldman Nature Center offers exhibits and a chance for kids to learn more about the canyon.



Just remember to fully stop at the stop signs there... they do truly enforce it via cameras and video (trust me, I learned the hard way!)



Franklin Canyon Park
2600 Franklin Canyon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Saving Franklin Canyon

Fans of Franklin Canyon will gather this Saturday, March 19 to show support for the land, which is threatened with development.

Hiker Ellen Scott has helped organize a "Save Franklin Canyon" campaign, including Saturday's event and this website. Here's what she writes:

Franklin Canyon is being graded and ravaged for development by developer Mohamed Hadid. I sat in front of the bulldozer on Tuesday, February 15 and stopped progress for one day, then started a website and hundreds have signed on. The city has placed a 'Stop Work Order' on the development as Hadid was operating on expired permits but this won't last.

This canyon is unique in it's accessibility to residents of North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Studio City, Sherman Oaks and also Beverly Hills residents. It is a 15-20 minute drive at most for all living in these cities and there is no replacing it. Once this land is gone there is not another hiking oasis that will serve us as this one does.

Hikers will meet where the Hastain Trail ends at 10 a.m.