Park to Playa Trail

The Park to Playa Trail in Los Angeles County, California is a 13-mile (21 km) pedestrian and bicycle route that connects the Baldwin Hills parklands to the Pacific Ocean (Playa is beach in Spanish). According to the Los Angeles Times, “Good views of L.A. are guaranteed on the dirt-and-paved track from Baldwin Hills to Playa del Rey.”[1]

Park to Playa Trail
Trail marker
Length13 mi (21 km)
LocationLos Angeles County, California, United States
Established2020
UseBiking, walking, mixed
DifficultyMixed

Segments

Various aspects of the trail have existed for decades[2] but the trail was considered “complete” when the bridge over La Cienega Blvd. was opened in 2020.[3]

Park to Playa Trail segments (roughly east to west):

Access gates
ImageNameDescriptionAddress
Stocker CorridorPark to Playa trailhead, including fruit park,[4] 1.4-mile (2.3 km) dirt trailIntersection of Stocker Street and Presidio Drive.[5]
Norman O. Houston ParkA 10-acre park opened 1981, named for Norman O. Houston, the park has a 0.8 mi (1.3 km) loop track and workout equipment.[6][7]4800 South La Brea, 90008
Reuben Ingold ParkOpened 1972 in the View Park-Windsor Hills neighborhood[8]4400 West Mount Vernon Drive, 90043
Kenneth Hahn State Recreation AreaEstablished 1983 as Baldwin Hills SRA,[9] Kenneth Hahn is a 400-acre (1.6 km2) major regional park built on the site of the 1965 Baldwin Hills Dam disaster. Trails to navigate through the park include La Brea Loop Trail to the maintenance road to the Bowl Loop (aka Janice’s Green Valley), or the Five Points Trail to the Boy Scouts Trail to the Bowl Loop.[10] Amenities at Kenneth Hahn include “two fishing lakes, picnic areas, an archery range, parking for 478 cars, spectacular city views, and an Olympic Forest, with ponds and paths that twist down the hillside.”[11]4100 South La Cienega Blvd, 90056
Park to Playa Bridge Opened 2020,[12] this is a 440-foot (130 m)[13] metal-truss[14] pedestrian and bike bridge with an accompanying landscaped wildlife crossing,[15] formally Mark Ridley Thomas Bridge (after Mark Ridley Thomas, a long-time local politician) Although it crosses La Cienega, it is not readily accessible on foot due to the "steady whoosh of nearby La Cienega [car] traffic."[11] Pedestrians can get to the bridge from multiple routes through the adjacent parks.[16]
Stoneview Nature Center Opened 2017,[17] formerly a Culver City primary school campus, now one of a network of 10 urban nature centers run by Los Angeles County Parks & Recreation. The site offers edible plantings and a demonstration kitchen, classes for kids, outdoor fitness equipment, a butterfly dome and an apiary.[18] 5950 Stoneview Drive, 90232
Blair Hills Corridor Blair Hills Corridor is a connecting trail along ridgetop of the Blair Hills neighborhood of Culver City.[19]
Culver City Stairs Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook state park opened 2009[20] 6300 Hetzler Rd. Culver City 90232
Culver City Park Culver City Park, opened 1980,[21] offers an "excellent scenic vista." Authors of a 1987 cycle-touring guide "highly recommended" a Ballona Creek Bike Path detour into the heights of this park long before Park to Playa Trail was conceived. Their directions were to "take Duquesne Avenue east across Jefferson Boulevard and proceed uphill…about one mile from the creek exit point. At the top of the route, stop and enjoy one of the most spectacular, unobstructed views of the greater Los Angeles Basin available in the South Bay Area. Note that this [detour] has some steep uphill along an unshaded route."[22] 9910 Jefferson Blvd, 90232
Ballona Creek Bike PathOpened in 1980, connects to Beach Bike Path at the waterfront and connects to Expo Bike Path to the eastDuquesne Ave. & Jefferson Blvd.

See also

References
  1. Forgione, Mary, and Matt Pawlik. "50 SIMPLY FABULOUS HIKES; make this Your Bucket List for all Southern California Hiking has to Offer." Los Angeles Times, Mar 14, 2021.
  2. Donloe, Darlene (2020). "Pedestrian bridge opens on Park to Playa Trail". Los Angeles Wave. Archived from the original on 2022-09-07. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  3. Sharp, Steven (2020-11-04). "Pedestrian Bridge Completes 13-Mile Park to Playa Trail". Urbanize LA. Archived from the original on 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  4. "PUBLIC FRUIT PARK AT THE TRAILHEAD OF PARK". 2015-02-14. Archived from the original on 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  5. "Best Go-To City Hike: Stocker Corridor Trail". Brassy. Archived from the original on 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  6. "A Look at the Norman O. Houston Park in Baldwin Hills". The South LA Recap. 2021-05-13. Archived from the original on 2022-06-24. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  7. "Norman O Houston Park Trails". trails.lacounty.gov. Archived from the original on 2022-06-24. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  8. "A Look at the Reuben Ingold Park in View Park". The South LA Recap. 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  9. "Kenneth Hahn SRA General Plan (PDF)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-06-24. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  10. Cottrell, Wayne D. (2015). Best bike rides Los Angeles: the greatest recreational rides in the metro area. Helena, Mont.: Falcon Guides. pp. 209–220. ISBN 978-1-4930-0384-6.
  11. Faris, Gerald (1988-03-26). "300-Acre Wilderness at Home in Midst of Oil Wells, Power Lines, Traffic". Los Angeles Times. pp. I18.
  12. "Ridley-Thomas leads hike to celebrate Park to Playa Trail opening". Los Angeles Daily News. 2020-10-30. Archived from the original on 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  13. Hemmerlein, Sandi (2020-11-26). "Where to Explore 5 of L.A.'s Great Footbridges". KCET. Archived from the original on 2022-07-27. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  14. "LACDPW Park To Playa Trail Wildlife Crossing and Pedestrian Bridge – McLean & Schultz". Archived from the original on 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  15. "Park to Playa Pedestrian Bridge". griffithcompany.net. Archived from the original on 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  16. "How To Get To The New La Cienega Pedestrian Bridge". Brassy. Archived from the original on 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  17. "Stoneview Nature Center (SNC) – Baldwin Hills Conservancy". bhc.ca.gov. Archived from the original on 2022-04-27. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  18. "Los Angeles County - Parks & Recreation". Los Angeles County - Parks & Recreation. Archived from the original on 2022-04-29. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  19. "Initial Study Park to Playa Trail" (PDF). Jan 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  20. "Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook brochure (PDF)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-05-12. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  21. "Culver City Timeline: A Work in Progress - Culver City Historical Society". Archived from the original on 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  22. Brundige, Don; Brundige, Sharron (2007). Cycling Los Angeles (2nd ed.). San Diego, Calif.: Sunbelt Publications. p. 18-20. ISBN 978-0-932653-81-9.
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