The foreboding sounding Tarantula Hill, which also goes by the more welcoming name of Dawn's Peak, is a small, isolated mound in Thousand Oaks that hikers can summit for views over the Conejo Valley and into the nearby Santa Monica Mountains. If your spider senses are detecting pavement, that's because the entire half-mile-long trail up Tarantula Hill is paved. While Tarantula Hill Trail... Read more.

Are you looking for a hike that's an action-packed adventure? Rarely does a 2.1-mile loop offer as much excitement as the hike to the Cave of Munits and Castle Peak. You'll start with a gradual warm-up across El Escorpion Park to Upper Las Virgenes Open Space Preserve to find a fun vertical cave just begging to be explored. You won't need any ropes or gear to get through the cave, just an... Read more.

Perched atop a hill on the south side of Palos Verdes Peninsula, Deane Dana Friendship Park offers hikers panoramic ocean views on an easy 1.1-mile loop. While exploring the 123-acre park, the hike gains 200 feet to views west across the Pacific Ocean toward Catalina Island and around the south end of the peninsula toward Long Beach Harbor to the east. If you're looking for a short hike... Read more.

Old Youth Camp Loop presents a short hike and a decent workout to the cool ruins of an abandoned and burned down camp in the Verdugo Mountains. In addition to the old camp, the 2.6-mile loop with 700 feet of elevation gain passes an overlook with broad views over the San Fernando Valley and several other scenic spots. The hike begins from the Stough Canyon Trailhead, where there is a nature... Read more.

Within the Verdugo Mountains, the small mountain range north of Burbank, you'll find a big league suburban hike up an abandoned fire road called Skyline Motorway. Skyline Motorway should probably be renamed Skyline Trail since the overgrown track is no longer suitable for vehicles. The Skyline half of the name is still quite valid though, as the trail presents sensational sights over the... Read more.