Lured by the prospect of a fine hike and a fabulous view, I’ve long been drawn to any promontory known as Inspiration Point. I’ve reveled in designated ones in the West’s marquee national parks—Grand Teton, Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite. But as I discovered in the ’90s, when I was the “Trailmaster” hiking columnist for the Los Angeles Times, I needn’t travel far to find such grand panoramas. Greater Los Angeles boasts not one but six Inspiration Points, each with its own geography and cultural identity. At these overlooks, vehicles are verboten; you must take a hike. How ironic in this infamously car-centric city! Sadly, two of the points—Mount Lowe and Will Rogers—are currently inaccessible owing to the devastating fires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades. But on a blustery week after a storm cleared the air over the city, I decided to hit the trail to assess the other four.
Razor’s Edge: King Gillette Ranch
The visitor center of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is located at a ranch once owned by safety razor magnate King Camp Gillette, who lived in a 1928 Spanish colonial revival mansion designed by renowned architect Wallace Neff. It’s the National Park Service’s first net-zero visitor center—producing as much power as it consumes (the building, converted from Gillette’s former stables, is certified LEED Platinum).
I’d recommend meandering from the tame side of the ranch, with its large pond and wide lawns, to the wild side and up gentle, oak-dotted slopes to the point. The 360-degree view takes in the gorge below and Malibu Hindu Temple, along with mountains, mountains, and more mountains. Los Angeles is the rare metropolis bisected by a mountain range.
The Dam Disaster: Baldwin Hills
Views from atop Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area offer a study in contrasts: You can see the residential neighborhood of Baldwin Hills, historically known as the Black Beverly Hills, and also the busy Inglewood Oil Field, one of the largest urban spots in the United States to crank out petroleum. I like looking toward the coast for an air traffic controller’s view of planes taking off from and landing at LAX about nine miles away. What you don’t see is much green space; in the five-mile area surrounding Baldwin Hills, there’s less than one acre of parkland for every 1,000 residents.
The paucity of parks makes this protected expanse encompassing the hills and canyons between La Brea Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard a rare refuge for residents who flock here.
My preferred route to the point leads around a big grassy bowl, once the site of Baldwin Hills Reservoir. In 1963, the dam broke, leading to around 250 million gallons of water cascading down the hills, drowning five people and destroying homes. It’s all horrifying to contemplate, and no wonder this view point was established decades after the disaster to distance the location from the memory.
Shaky Ground: Palos Verdes
One way to access Inspiration Point on Palos Verdes Peninsula is by hiking through Portuguese Bend, one of the most geologically unstable areas in Southern California. Landslides that started in 1956 wrecked approximately 100 homes over the next couple of years and continue to wreak havoc to this day.
Leaving red-roofed residences behind, I heard the shrill call of a resident peacock; its kraa-kraa-kraa followed me for a mile. From pathways leading through the slide zone, I observed slopes defoliated by the ground’s constant sliding, then headed down to the point. Yes, down to. This one is an outlier, requiring a descent to reach it, one of the many contradictory aspects of the peninsula.
The beauties of the shoreline below are beyond inspiring: tide pools, sea caves, black sand beaches, dramatic bluffs, and the restless, teal-colored sea. The idyllic scene is in jarring contrast, though, to the ubiquitous warning signs along the trail: DANGEROUS CONDITIONS, LANDSLIDE AREA PRONE TO CONSTANT MOVEMENT, PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.
And while Inspiration Point overlooks a lovely coastal tableau, with the morbid curiosity of one who can’t help gaping at a traffic accident, I turned my gaze two miles inland to where, in July 2023, a dozen homes slid into a ravine in the Rolling Hills neighborhood of Palos Verdes.
My compulsive rubbernecking continued with a look a couple of miles down the coast at the Trump National Golf Club. In 2002, Donald Trump purchased the financially and geologically stressed Ocean Trails Golf Course at a reduced rate, as holes 9, 12, and 18 had slipped away toward the sea. Massive remediation was required, and the 18th is now said to be one of golfdom’s most expensive holes.
Star Gazing: Runyon Canyon
Perched on the east wall of Runyon Canyon, the premier Inspiration Point of the Hollywood Hills is the most popular hiking destination in the entire region. According to the Friends of Runyon Canyon Foundation, nearly two million people a year tramp the park’s trails. And God knows how many dogs. Hard to believe that the deep gorge was once known as No Man’s Canyon.
Passing up opportunities to take an outdoor yoga class or experience a meditative rock mandala atop the hill, I opted for a clockwise circuit of the canyon, going with the flow of hikers, along with trail tourists attracted to Runyon Canyon because it’s considered a sure place to spot a celebrity. Many stars own homes nearby, and the park is a convenient—though not the most private—place for them to take a hike.
Seeing as some 38,000 people descend upon the place every week, I was surprised to spot abundant wildlife from the trail: California quail scurrying through the underbrush, rabbits bounding across my path, coyotes keeping watch from the urban edges, red-tailed hawks circling overhead.
The best views from Runyon’s point are of local landmarks: the rooftop pools of the Godfrey and Andaz West Hollywood hotels, the pagoda of the Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Boulevard, the Sunset Strip, the iconic Capitol Records building, and that famous sign in the hills.•
